(no subject)
Though they are easy to hate, I love public and common aphorisms because often they are simplified versions of compelling philosophical questions. The "tree falls" idea as an example of the problem of qualia. The "chicken or the egg" as an example of the problem of drawing lines and defining things, of Nietzsche's problem with pluralizing "leaves" as if there is more than one of an identical thing, which is by definition impossible.
And just today I realized that the cheesy 'courage' quote is another one like that: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of fear and the will to act in spite of it." Because I've long wanted to create a story around the problem that if you condition your level of acceptance of suffering, that is for example if you heighten your tolerance for pain, are you actually therefore worthy of credit for great bravery and endurance when you suffer from great pain, or have you simply built up your armor better? I think this problem is not a real one since I think it's answered very simply, by for example the choice within the moment of suffering where the suffering is quite real but the person chooses nonetheless to take a dive, or to keep suffering the pain and do the deed at hand; that is, this person in the moment has not built up their armor but has nakedly and amateurishly experienced and undergone actual pain, and survived.
And just today I realized that the cheesy 'courage' quote is another one like that: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of fear and the will to act in spite of it." Because I've long wanted to create a story around the problem that if you condition your level of acceptance of suffering, that is for example if you heighten your tolerance for pain, are you actually therefore worthy of credit for great bravery and endurance when you suffer from great pain, or have you simply built up your armor better? I think this problem is not a real one since I think it's answered very simply, by for example the choice within the moment of suffering where the suffering is quite real but the person chooses nonetheless to take a dive, or to keep suffering the pain and do the deed at hand; that is, this person in the moment has not built up their armor but has nakedly and amateurishly experienced and undergone actual pain, and survived.