How far the perspectival character of existence extends
or indeed whether existence has any other character than this;
whether existence without interpretation,
without sense,
does not become
“meaninglessness”.

Whether on the other hand, all existence
is not essentially actively engaged in interpretation
–that cannot be decided
even by the most industrious
and most scrupulously conscientious analysis
and self-examination of the intellect;

for in the course of this analysis the human intellect
cannot avoid seeing itself in its own perspectives, and only in these.

We cannot look around our own corner.

But I should think that today
we are at least far from the ridiculous immodesty
that would be involved in decreeing from out of our own corner
that perspectives are permitted only from this corner…

Rather has the world become ‘infinite’, for us all over again,
inasmuch as we cannot reject the possibility
that it may include infinite interpretations.

Once more we are seized by a great shudder;
but who would feel inclined immediately to deify again
after the old manner
this monster of an unknown world?

And to worship the unknown henceforth
as “the Unknown One”?

Alas, too many ungodly possibilities of interpretation
are included in the unknown,
too much devilry, stupidity, and foolishness of interpretation
—even our own human, all too human folly, which we know.

The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche, trans. by Walter Kaufmann, aphorism 374

Disappointment with myself, is one description my sense of our philosophy discussion of Tuesday evening. The text under consideration offered an example of ‘dialectic’. When opposites – values, colors, states of activity, etc., are brought into contact, they appear to cancel each other out. Imagine a black as black cavern in contrast with a seashore at mid day. Or imagine goodness demonstrated in proximity to an abject evil act. For example offering medical care to poor strangers as did Mother Teresa, compared with imprisonment and murder of someone who disagrees with you: Putin vs. Navalny.

I attempted to show, (explain) when opposites appear to cancel each other out, this indicates that these words are symbols useful to us for communicating our interpretations of events, nothing more. There are interpretations of ‘goodness” but nothing that is essentially good. Likewise with light, and dark. Both are indicators of our impression of an environment, and nothing more.  Words are linked to human requirements, expectations and not to a “truth” that stands apart from human needs.

My sense of my effort to communicate that what we have is merely interpretation, and nothing else of “the world” — was failure. I’d grade myself with an ‘F’. This is a most difficult, anxiety producing fork in the road of contemporary philosophy. Consider that nothing at all matters, EXCEPT that communities of discourse construct, and inhabit their own neighborhood. This alone matters. We simply do not know and cannot know if there’s anything else. My corner is all that I can know.

This possibility first dawns as a ground tone of disquiet. Then it grows into a full blown stampede toward some weird-assed messiah, a con-artist of priest-craft promising salvation from our terror. Seized again by the ancient shudder, we rush to deify a ‘monster’. The known monster is preferred to the Unknown One. Perhaps you will fill in the blank with the current candidate for monster.

I must add, I’d not bet that we Americans have shed our immodesty, ceasing to proclaim that alternative view points are permitted only from our corner. The nub of the issue is indeed:

We cannot look around our own corner.

A tune always helps to relieve the friction.  This one, Patience by Guns N’ Roses works.  Enjoy!