Always In Recovery
The laws of numbers assume
there are identical things,
but in fact, nothing is identical
with anything else.
-Human, All Too Human, “Of First and Last Things,” Section 19
Mathematics would certainly not have come into existence
if one had known from the beginning
that there was in nature no such thing
as a straight line,
no perfect circle
or absolute magnitude.
-Human, All Too Human, “Of First and Last Things,” Section 11
Even if
the existence of a metaphysical world were demonstrated,
it is certain that knowledge of it
would be as useless
as knowledge of the chemical composition of water
to a shipwrecked sailor.
-Human, All Too Human, “Of First and Last Things,” Section 9
I confess that the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche have always “knocked me out.” Nietzsche was a ruthless skeptic, as one has to be if one is a lifelong survivor, always “in recovery” from a Christian fundamentalist upbringing.
As for a song, something to hold onto, I like this one. Leave Virginia Alone by Tom Petty. I could not tell you why I like the song, but I do.