Abundance And Brain Fog
Brain fog this morning. My mind felt on the edge of malfunction, like a slowing old computer hard-drive memory disc. I entered Starbucks without wearing a mask. Fortunately a spare mask was in my computer bag. I remind myself to “settle down,” as if a parent were instructing a small child. Aided by the astringent taste of hot coffee, the comfort of this warm and welcoming room — mind and body finds equilibrium.
In the past these words have served as a compass needle, or as a north-star. It is necessary often to check my progress, the course of my life, against the charts left behind, and the instruments that have been useful for others.
The only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths.
There is not a single rule, however plausible, and however firmly grounded in epistemology, that is not violated at some time or other. It becomes evident that such violations are not accidental events, they are not the results of insufficient knowledge or of inattention which might have been avoided. On the contrary, we see they are necessary for progress.
The world we inhabit is abundant
beyond our wildest imagination.
There are trees, dreams, sunrises, there are thunderstorms, shadows, rivers, there are wars, flea bites, love affairs, there are the lives of people, Gods, entire galaxies. The simplest human action varies from one person and occasion to the next- how else would we recognize our friends only from their gait, posture, voice, and divine their changing moods?
Only a tiny fraction of this abundance affects our minds.
This is a blessing, not a drawback.
A super-conscious organism would not be super-wise. It would be paralyzed.
The quotations come from the writings of Paul K. Feyerabend (1924-1994) philosopher of science, and epistemological anarchist. Feyerabend worked for 30 years at the university of California at Berkeley. Among his publications are: Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge, Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction vs The Richness Of Being, Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend, and Farewell To Reason.
I plan to read Farewell To Reason soon.
