Play & Amusement (Psychology, Part 4; Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections): "I would ask my anima, "now what are you up to? what do you see? I should like to know"

Springboard: Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Series Posts: http://greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/play

"In therapy the problem is always the whole person, never the symptom alone. We must ask questions which challenge the whole personality....[But] the risk of inner experience, the adventure of the spirit, is in any case alien to most human beings." Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

"Nowadays we can see as never before that the peril which threatens all of us comes not from nature, but from man, from the psyches of the individual and the mass. The psychic aberration of man is the danger." Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

"It is perfectly true that I have thought and felt this way at some time or other, but I don't have to think and feel that way now. I need not accept this banality of mine in perpetuity; that is an unnecessary humiliation." Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

"I have frequently seen people become neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the questions of life. They seek position, marriage, reputation, outward success or money, and remain unhappy and neurotic even when they have attained what they are seeking. Such people are usually confined within too narrow a spiritual horizon. Their life has not sufficient content, sufficient meaning. If they are enabled to develop into more spacious personalities, the neurosis generally disappears. For that reason the idea of development was always of the highest importance to me." Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

(1) In each human brain there are an estimated 100 trillion synapses, the electrical and chemical connections between neurons. This means that- at all times- the human mind has 100 trillion synapses available, ready to interconnect them at will for whatever purpose it deems necessary. The various ways in which these synapses are connected forms a stable human personality type.

(2) At birth, MIND is open to any potential configuration of these synapses. There is infinite plasticity and potential perfection at birth. Given a healthy human brain, there is a potential perfection of MIND that consists of infinite thought and self-reflexivity, all surgically aimed at determining how best to pursue and attain the GOOD within the world of being.

(3) The dominant trends of the day are not geared toward the activity mentioned in #1-2 above. Man has no natural "tailwind" supporting such an activity (although the Internet may be one exception). Notwithstanding the dominant trends, perfection demands the ceaseless repetition of the activities set forth in #1-2 and thus requires mental strength and fortitude: "It is only a question of strength: to have all the morbid traits of a century, but to balance them through a superabundant recuperative strength. The strong man." (Nietzsche, Will to Power) 

(4) Exploration of the content of dreams is one way to forge an ever more more perfected constellation of new forged synapses within MIND. Our dreams are a form of "newness" which literally infuse new thoughts, images, and experiences within MIND: "Now nothing is moved at random, but there must always be something present to move it...a thing moves in one way by nature, and in another by force or through the influence of reason or something else..." (Aristotle, Metaphysics). They are one exit off the closed infinite loop: "He had a normal practice, normal success, a normal wife, normal children, lived in a normal little house in a normal little town, had a normal income and probably a normal diet." (Jung, Psychiatric Activities)

But one must be extremely cautious in this regard; dreams generally reside in the world of non-being: "For the apparent good is the object of appetite, and the real good is the primary object of rational wish." (Aristotle, Metaphysics) The content of our dreams often do not obey any of the rules that man necessarily MUST obey within reality. People appear and vanish within dreams almost instantly; gatherings occur at remote places one has never been; various persons that would not otherwise meet "come together" within dreams; situations present themselves which have almost zero possibility of ever occurring within reality.

As opposed to what is going on in these dreams, man's waking activities require that he always obey the unwritten laws; he must live within Planck time and space, give gravity its due consideration, drive carefully, work 9 to 5, and so on. There is absolutely no corner of the Earth where man can evade most of these requirements. The unwritten laws are eternal because they cannot be violated or disobeyed. These laws appear to be the same everywhere at all times.

(5) Through gradual trial-and-error interpretation of the significance of dreams, there is the potential to perfect the architecture of synapses within the brain that will provide the foundation for a more enduringly interesting personality, both for your own enjoyment and those around you. What is happening repetitively in your dreams appears to be the self's way of telling you something that you are not otherwise aware of. This may either be cautionary (don't do this or, if you do, be more careful in how you do it) or action-driven (hurry up and do this!) Those dreams that reappear should not simply be ignored. Of course some dreams are simply a total nothing and can be almost totally ignored: "This world was not beautiful but the moon was beautiful and life there was rich in meaning." (Jung, Psychiatric Activities)

(6) "One form of life cannot simply be abandoned unless it is exchanged for another." (Jung, Sigmund Freud)

(7) For most persons, the activity of dream interpretation should be viewed as a sort of play/amusement until such time as credible accurate true information confirms that one is "on the right path" in the significance and interpretation of these dreams and their being a springboard to the attainment of GOOD within the world of being. At that point, one can begin to make wholesale changes to the rewiring of the synapses within MIND to attain infinite freedom, GOOD, and perfection.

Freedom (Psychology, Part 3; Kohut, Restoration of the Self): On ENDURING Freedom.

Springboard: Kohut, Restoration of the Self

Series Posts: http://www.greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/freedom

"We define mental health...as the capacity of a firm self to avail itself of the talents and skills at an individual's disposal, enabling him to love and work successfully." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"Men guided by reason do not obey through fear; but, in so far as they endeavour to preserve their being according to the dictates of reason, [they] endeavour to live in freedom..." Spinoza, Ethica

"But I have observed a number of patients who began to devote themselves during the terminal phase to some deeply absorbing creative endeavor. The evaluation of the analysands' total behavior pattern- especially an attitude of quiet certitude- led me to the conclusion that the creative activity of such patients is...an indication that these analysands have at least preliminarily determined the mode by which the self will from now on attempt to ensure its cohesion, to maintain its balance, and to achieve its fulfillment." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"Our self- or should we say: the specific condition of our self?- influences our functioning, our well-being, the course of our life, both comprehensively and in depth. As I said earlier when discussing the significance of the depressions of later middle age there are, on the one hand, many people with poorly constituted selves who, despite the absence of symptoms, inhibitions, and disabling conflicts, lead joyless and fruitless lives and curse their existence. And there are, on the other hand, those with firm, well-defined selves who, despite serious neurotic disturbance...are leading worthwhile lives and are blessed with a sense of fulfillment and joy. It is the central position of the self within the personality that accounts for its broad influence on our life; and it is this central position that explains the vast increase in well-being provided for our patients by even a comparatively small improvement of self-pathology." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

Henceforth, unwritten REALITY= the unwritten & written REALITY= the written

(1) The entire unwritten does not "need" nor "care" about the written. There is no evidence of any communication (ever) between the written and the unwritten; the unwritten does not even know the written exists. The unwritten cannot penetrate into the depths of the written; using MIND, the written can penetrate into the depths of the unwritten. The unwritten is "dead" but still this "deadness" is absolutely life-sustaining for the written. Unlike the written, the unwritten is absolutely indestructible (no one could ever blow up SUN). The "end" of the unwritten is in no way to "serve" the life requirements of the written: "countless stars present conditions for the generation of life similar to those of the earth....life on each of these stars, measured by the period of its existence, has been but an instant, a flicker, with long, long intervals afterwards- and this in no way the aim and final purpose of their existence." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human)

(2) The written creatures with DNA are all "alive." Earth (the infinitely beautiful borderless "trillion to 1" longshot) is alone home to written alive creatures; such creatures are always surrounded by the deadness of the unwritten. Because the unwritten is not alive, the written has a right to use the unwritten to perfect itself in myriad ways. The written should always attempt (in whatever way best suits its particular circumstances, configuration, and abilities) to "grow, to gain ground, attract to itself and acquire ascendancy...because it LIVES, and because life IS precisely Will to Power." (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil)

(3) This activity of growth in SELF-POWER is written into human DNA. Every human cell contains about six feet of coiled up human DNA; this DNA contains written code or instructions that cause you to have "arms rather than fins, hair rather than feathers, and two eyes rather than one." (Peter Raven, Biology) Beyond these physical characteristics, human DNA causes humans to have a MIND that is potentially capable of infinite self-reflexivity, consciousness, choice, and behavioral modification- all for the GOOD. The product of these last four things is FREEDOM. This appears to be the distinctive "achievement" of human DNA. It is not the size of the human genome that is so impressive (the rice genome is far lengthier); nor is it its uniqueness in the animal kingdom generally (humans have only 300 genes that have no counterpart in mice); it is this.

(4) The written code of DNA is a code of infinite possibility, a language (containing only four letters) of infinite freedom; it thereby makes man an infinite creature subject (for now) only to temporal limitations. Because of DNA, man's freedom is in fact "free" (no one is charged for the initial receipt of DNA nor is any fee charged for "routine maintenance") Infinite freedom is programmed as a potentiality into DNA. The history of life is a ceaseless forward march toward the actualization of this infinite freedom within REALITY. We see this in the infinities of human types, creations, and productions of all sorts that surround us today.

(5) MIND is programmable. It is even self-programmable. MIND has two basic existential options: to remain forever "open" to new experiences and programming, or to be closed and not accept any new programming. The latter option lands the self in a closed, finite (in terms of the number of commands) loop, destined to infinitely repeat (as a circle within the loop), the same five, six, seven instructions (prepare for work, go to work, come home, eat, watch TV, go to the gym and bar, sleep) over and over and over again: "His existence is confined within his narrow programme like an egg within its shell..it may all be reduced to wine, cards, slippers, and women...[At work] he is only punctual on the 20th of the month, when he gets his salary; on the other days he lounges about at home in slippers..." (Chekhov, The Duel)

But there is more than this here. No man should be "open" to an experience that endangers the life and limb of any human. Nor should we be "open" to an experience that does not appear to present the prospect of any GOOD, no matter how remote (cocaine use). MIND must supervise whatever new activity is being proposed to see if it meets a low threshold test for what could produce GOOD. Ordinarily, most (though not all) new activities should pass this test (pugs, tattoos, and cycling all passing the test).

(6) It appears that becoming "closed" to new thoughts, experiences, and programming is the self's initial reaction to some tragedy, misfortune, or existential collision. Before discussing this further, we stress the perfection of the unwritten mandates that it not "respond" this way to any collision. The moon has been bombarded with thousands maybe even millions of asteroids over time and still "stands" firm, cohesive, strong, and proud. Just this past March, a meteorite slammed into the lunar surface at a speed of 56,000 miles per hour! The shape of every planet in the solar system is the result of thousands of collisions of matter. The unwritten ENDURES after any and all collisions though, to be sure, it "changes," "moves," and adapts as a result of collisions.

(7) There is no question that man has both the ability to remain "open" after a collision (Nietzsche: "The deeply wounded have Olympian laughter") and to become closed. Either option is written somewhere into the DNA. The choice is entirely up to each man...perhaps a glance at the unwritten may "tip the scale?"

(8) "These and similar observations, which we have made on man's true freedom, may be referred to strength, that is, to courage and nobility of character." (Spinoza, Ethica)

Love (Literature, Part 8; Camus, The Fall): Loving in Being or Non-Being?

Series Posts: http://www.greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/love

Springboard: Albert Camus, The Fall

"Of course true love is exceptional- two or three times a century, more or less. The rest of the time there is vanity or boredom." Camus, The Fall

"Ideas, like objects, differ one from another, one being more excellent than another and containing more reality." Spinoza, Ethics

"I knew a man who gave twenty years of his life to a scatterbrained woman, sacrificing everything to her, his friendships, his work, the very respectability of his life, and who one evening recognized that he had never loved her. He had been bored, that's all, bored like most people. Hence he had made himself out of whole cloth a life full of complications and drama. Something must happen- and that explains most human commitments. Something must happen..." Camus, The Fall

"Hence I played the game. I knew they didn't like one to reveal one's purpose too quickly. First, there had to be conversation, fond attentions, as they say. I wasn't worried about speeches, being a lawyer, nor about glances, having been an amateur actor during my military service. I often changed parts, but it was always the same play. For instance, the scene of the incomprehensible attraction, of the 'mysterious something' of the 'it's unreasonable, I certainly didn't want to be attracted, I was even tired of love, etc.' always worked, though it is one of the oldest in the repertory. There was also the gambit of the mysterious happiness no other woman has ever given you...As a result of beginning over and over again, one gets in the habit. Soon the speech comes without thinking and the reflex follows; and one day you find yourself taking without really desiring." Camus, The Fall

(1) The road to perfection forks not so much at "good" and "bad" but at being and non-being: (1) "In proportion as each thing is more perfect it possesses more of reality..." (Spinoza, Ethics) & (2) "The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense" (Jung). The individual approaching perfection and GOOD has had long "trial and error" practice with this critical distinction; over time, the ability to distinguish the one from the other becomes "second nature" or a "sixth sense." Such a person routinely situates himself in the world of being: "For me, irreality was the quintessence of horror, for I aimed, after all, at this world and this life." (Jung, Confrontation with the Unconscious) And when entering the world of non-being, the individual is aware of exactly where he is and remains in non-being only so long as it is GOOD to remain there (say the two hours of a  sci-fi movie or the three minutes of a song, including the "national anthem").

(2) Love is a supreme almost limitless commitment to a shared journey between two persons. We have repeated this definition often for good reason: "It is an excellent thing to express a thing consecutively in two ways, and thus provide it with a right and a left foot. Truth can stand indeed on one leg, but with two she will walk and complete her journey." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human). In its perfected variant, love often calls for the creative non-cliched non-rote exercise of many different virtues, all within quick succession. One should not begin this process merely to escape boredom (there being easier ways to temporarily banish boredom); even if one did such activity cannot be sustained very long merely to fend off boredom. Further, ERROR in the selection of a partner unquestionably causes its own boredom with the partner and their "favored" activities; this boredom often greatly dwarfs whatever boredom one felt before. Rather than boredom being the motivation, there must- always- remain a very high level of respect, admiration, and interest in many dimensions of another person's TOTAL character or "personality essence" (naturally, this must extend well beyond the physical appearance of the other).

Using almost any metric, an objective evaluation of the "state of love" today is not encouraging (loveless marriages sustained by calcified habits of all sorts, divorces, separations, cheating, endless fighting and domestic violence, and exceedingly brief relationships are visible whichever way one turns). The almost total lack of decent examples of human love is increasingly making an entire human generation wary of making such a supreme commitment to another person, and further providing this same generation a non-trivial reason to see everything (albeit briefly) through the prism of futility: "I have never been really able to believe that human affairs were serious matters. I had no idea where the serious might lie, except that it was not in all this I saw around me- which seemed to me merely an amusing game or tiresome." (Camus, The Fall)

(3) Love can (a) exist and flourish in the world of organic being and (b) "exist" in a more limited sense in the world of non-being (but it cannot flourish in non-being because it does not even have organic existence "there"). Although rare, the existence, maintenance, and deepening of love in the world of being is an "out of this world" achievement: "She was still in love with him, was jealous, blushed at the word love, and told everyone she was very happy." (Chekhov, The Duel) In its perfected form, there is nothing "mad" nor "crazy" about love:

But the right kind of love is by nature the love of order and beauty that has been moderated by education....

That's right.

Therefore, the right kind of love has nothing mad nor licentious about it?

No, it hasn't.

(Plato, Republic)

(4) Judged objectively, the basic "set-up" of total REALITY (unwritten + written) is dominantly in favor of organic being. Nanosecond to nanosecond, man is always surrounded in all directions and on all sides (extending all the way to infinity) by organic being, all of which possesses true reality and "substance." Gravity always pulls man DOWN, toward the earth and the dirt. Man's very survival requires a constant input and output of substances within the world of being (water, food, waste products). No man can "survive" strictly on any form of "nothingness" (e.g. an "idea" of food). The unwritten punishes any and all attempts to escape the world of being; no man can "dance" with SUN nor fly with his arms and legs nor abandon sleep. Most civil laws similarly look with disfavor on any attempt to create nothingness within the world of being.

Excluding thoughts existing only within the MIND of man, the entire cosmos has not one item of "non-being" anywhere to be found. Even what is generally characterized as "dark matter" (accounting for 84.5% of the mass of the entire universe) has organic being by virtue of the observable gravitational effects it has on visible matter. In general, the unwritten does not "do nothing." It does everything for a specific reason within the world of being, the most dominant of which is to keep the entire unwritten in a state of perfectuation.

(5) Man can use MIND and the various sensory inputs received (including the reading of written realities in books) to learn an infinite amount of information about what has being: "Assuredly, blessedness must consist in the mind being endowed with perfection itself." (Spinoza, Ethica) When MIND is operating well and not under the grip of excessive emotions, there is literally an infinity of sensory information MIND is correctly processing. This includes infinities of information touching upon the initial pursuit and subsequent deepening of human love with another human being. Some of this sensory information includes- but is in no way limited to- the various emotions one experiences in the pursuit of human love.

(6) Unfortunately, MIND can also turn its back on the world of being and pursue love within the world of non-being. MIND must always be "supervised" to ensure it does not stray for very long into the world of non-being. At least on earth, non-being generally finds no existential support within the four corners of the unwritten. It literally has no "home" anywhere on Earth. Except for the human MIND: "For ages men have let their imaginations run riot where they could establish nothing, and have induced posterity to accept these fantasies as something serious and true..." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human).

In MIND, quite literally any thought (romantic or otherwise) can find a home. Once it has secured a home within MIND, the thought or idea can dig its roots deep within MIND, making it difficult for MIND to recognize the thought for what it is (a total nothing with no "being" outside of MIND). When this happens for an extended period in romantic matters, the result is usually quite bad. 

(7) There are some rather obvious bits and pieces of information MIND perfectly receives that can be used to evaluate whether any particular two persons can be said to be mutually "in love." While much has been made of love's mysterious ways, perhaps this is ERROR. Note that some speak of love as a "matter of the heart" and speak often of the "heart's mysterious ways." These statements "achieve" perfect imprecision by virtue of being perfectly wrong...every time: "Many errors, in truth, can be traced to this head, namely, that we do not apply names to things rightly." (Spinoza, Ethica) The human heart is a 9-11 ounce muscle that pumps blood several billion times to the rest of the human body by repeated, rhythmic contractions; it has nothing to do with one's romantic attachments. In a 1992 study, 47 heart transplant patients overwhelmingly and vehemently reported no change in their personality after a heart transplant. This shows neither the original nor the new heart has anything to do with any aspect of one's personality, including one's romantic personality or taste.

In any event, some of the most obvious "non-mysterious" signs of the lack of love include: (1) a disturbing waning of interest, empathy, or communication from either person toward the other: (a) "So soon as we note that any one in conversation with us has to force himself to attention, we have adequate evidence that he loves us not, or loves us no longer." Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human; & (b) "In old days, when Laevsky loved her, Nadyezhda Fyodorovna's illness had excited his pity and terror; now he saw falsity even in her illness...everything she said or did seemed to him a lie..." (Chekhov, The Duel); (2) perpetual hijacking of every conversation from a mutual exploration of GOOD for the couple or the other to what is GOOD for the self: "I, I, I, is the refrain of my whole life, which could be heard in everything I said...I lived consequently without any other continuity than that, from day to day, of I, I, I." (Camus); and (3) a failure to absorb "new" information about the identity of the other (new dreams, goals, activities) which would warrant a different "level" and "type" of interaction with the other: "in all loves and friendships one has the experience that nothing of the kind continues when the discovery has been made that in using the same words, one of the two parties has feelings, thoughts, intuitions, wishes, or fears different from those of the other." (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil)

(8) In situations where one sees the above happening with one's own senses, there is simply no need to doubt what one is experiencing. There is a problem when you do not even trust your own senses. The senses are not bent on deceiving man; they are geared toward providing man useful accurate information about the world of being. One could perhaps probe to see whether there is some unknown explanation for what has happened (extremely elevated work responsibilities, the death of a close family member, mental health impairment, etc.).

Where these are not found, the sensory information MIND processes is telling the individual something fairly important about the health or "non-health" of the relationship. If one then confronts the other and demands a verbal explanation of what is going on (which appears unnecessary), one will usually only receive "boatloads" of inferior vague cliched and often false explanations to account for the "change." Compared to this disinformation and imprecision, the sensory information man already possessed is far superior in every way.

(9) Whether one is "married" or "in a relationship" one's written relationship "status" is a written reality. The written status is a written abstraction in the world of non-being. Even more generally, the pairing of any two persons based on some form of verbal/written indications of shared mutual interests and attitudes and the like amounts to a written pairing within the world of non-being.

This is all "on paper" and there is no actual LIFE anywhere in any of it. What "exists" at this point is potential life, potential GOOD. The situation is completely analogous to a symphony score that has been composed "on paper." While remaining strictly "on paper" there is no LIFE to the score. The score can only "come alive" when living human beings begin to perform it. Only when performed within the dimensions of the unwritten does the score have being and tangible true REALITY. While no two performances will ever be identical, each performance does bring the dead written REALITY of the score into the world of being (with sound waves emitted for processing by living human beings).

Similarly, any written relationship status or pairing can only come alive when two human beings engage in a diverse range of activities within the world of being. This is a process that must be endlessly looped but all for the GOOD (with variations perpetually mixed in to the process so that the "loop" never becomes a "loop" at all). While the written REALITIES of the couple may set some limitations on how things ultimately turn out, there is still an infinitely wide sphere of diverse activities within the world of being for the couple to pursue "romantic perfectuation." What is being sought is not a frozen "state" of romantic perfection but a ceaseless evolution toward higher levels: "I hear with pleasure that our sun is moving rapidly towards the constellation Hercules; and I hope that the men on this earth will do like the sun." (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil)

Wealth (Philosophy; Aristotle, Metaphysics): Returning to Aristotle. On Wealth. Again!

Series Posts: http://greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/wealth

Springboard: Aristotle ("the philosopher"), Metaphysics

"For universal attributes belong to things in virtue of their own nature, but accidents do not belong to them in virtue of their own nature...For this is the distinction between substance and accident- 'white' is accidental to man, because though he is white, whiteness is not his essence....What, then, you are by your very nature is your essence." Aristotle, Metaphysics

"But that there us a barzen sphere, this we make. For we make it out of brass and the sphere; we bring the form into this particular matter, and the result is a brazen sphere...[Hence], that which is spoken of as form or substance is not produced, but the concrete thing which gets its name from this is produced, and that in everything which is generated matter is present, and one part of the thing is matter and the other form." The philosopher, Metaphysics

"Evidently even of the things that are thought to be substances, most are only potencies- both the parts of animals and earth and fire and air; for none of them is a unity, but as it were a mere heap; till they are worked up and some unity is made out of them." The philosopher, Metaphysics

"Another question is naturally raised, what sort of parts belong to form and what sort not to the form, but to the concrete thing...If then it is not evident what sort of parts are of the nature of matter and what sort are not, neither will the formula of the thing be evident. In the case of things which are found to occur in specifically different materials, as a circle may exist in bronze or stone or wood, it seems plain that these, the bronze or stone, are no part of the essence of the circle, since it is found apart from them." The philosopher, Metaphysics

(1) As with all things (not strictly limited to money and its pursuit), "what the populace once learned to believe without reasons, who could - refute it to them by means of reasons?" Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra. Still, we must think about the perfected use of money with the philosopher's praise of precision in sight: "To say of what is that it is not, or what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true.." (Metaphysics).

Money is not "alive." It is printed on paper by government officials. It is a written REALITY and, as such, is imperfect. In contemporary society, it serves as a tool that allows man to do certain things he could not otherwise do. No man can eat at a restaurant without paying the bill. No man can fly to Europe without purchasing a ticket. No man can rent a car or bike without money. Simply to survive, nearly all members of our species have no "choice" but to make money and then use it.

(2) Like any inorganic tool man has produced from "nothing," one's attitude to money must be closely supervised to make sure it is always serving GOOD and allowing man to reach his/her unique perfection. Most men do not properly engage in this sort of supervision; instead, they somehow come to equate (=) their entire being with their (=) level of inorganic dead resource accumulation (money being such). This formula is ERROR (man=rich man or poor man).

No man is strictly a "rich" or "poor" man; being rich or poor is an accidental feature of a specific man: "When all else is stripped off evidently nothing but matter remains." (Metaphysics). Being rich or poor does not "define" any man; such definition consists of man's internal writings (DNA) and the many choices and environments the DNA-driven self has pursued within unwritten REALITY.

For all members of our species, money (however much or little one has) can best serve the GOOD by facilitating a broader range of experiences within unwritten REALITY. These experiences, in turn, have a certain tendency to "mentally break down" the negative closed infinite loop, which is destructive of human good: "For wisdom increases in men according to what is before them...So far as their nature changed, so far to them always came changed thoughts into mind." (Aristotle, Metaphysics) Indeed, entrapment within the negative closed infinite loop almost always causes a mental shutdown of one's experience of TOTAL REALITY. However it occurs, recognition of one's entrapment within this loop is usually a profound moment, occurring (often) rather late in life: "It is strange, though, that I have been on the stage now for forty-five years, and this is the first time I have seen a theatre at night, after the lights have been put out. The first time." (Chekhov, Three Years)

(3) Money can either purchase things (smartphone or bike), assets (land), human services (landscaping), or experiences (symphony attendance, attendance at philosophic conference, or companionship with a dog). There is nothing else money can buy.

(4) When man buys tangible things, all that he is purchasing (despite all advertising to the contrary) is simply a certain combination of specific matter in a certain form. Other men have put together this matter in a specific form to serve a specific function. Whatever thing is purchased often requires much maintenance and care to maintain in a perfected condition (e.g. car).

In the easy case (say a hammer), all of the above is very clear. When we buy hammer, we know we are buying some wood that is attached to some metal that will allow us to apply concentrated and elevated physical force onto objects that we would not be able to do otherwise. Hardly anyone "hypes" the properties of a hammer; even if this were to occur, few would be "fooled" by it.

The average hammer is not expensive. Yet it can fulfill its function for a very very long time. And the total amount of GOOD it can facilitate (directly or indirectly) can vastly exceed whatever amount was spent on it to begin with. A father could use a hammer to build a swing set for his child; this swing set could provide father and son almost endless GOOD over many years.

Moving beyond the example of a hammer and swing set, there are many other tangible things man has made where the value, composition, and/or function of the thing is only vaguely and imprecisely (in the best case) known by either buyer or seller. In these cases, one has no idea whether the purchase of the thing has a reasonable likelihood of being GOOD. Much modern advertising is specifically aimed at making it difficult to evaluate the value, composition, or function of a thing with precision. This is a form of disinformation. There are ways to evade this disinformation but it requires a certain form of laboring (which has its own cost).

(5) Money spent on various (though by no means all) experiences can also be for the GOOD. In these cases, the benefit is hard to numerically quantify. But still the benefit is undeniable and these experiences do not require repetitive maintenance and care (requiring further time and $). As to the benefit of money spent on experiences, it is obvious that 99% of us greatly benefit from our first trip to Europe or Australia or Africa. Provided the trip is long enough, accidents do not occur, and one is in the right frame of mind, such trips really do expand one's consciousness of TOTAL REALITY. What is usually GOOD about such trips are not the hotels or restaurants one frequents but the appreciation of how men in different parts of the world face the very same challenges posed to them by unwritten REALITY. What is interesting about these trips is gaining further precision on what other men think, hope, fear, and believe about their experience of REALITY. Further, these trips reveal different perspectives on how unwritten REALITY has evolved as a result of physical, biological, and chemical processes operating without error (Mount Everest, rain forests of South America).

(6) Money spent to secure the human services of another is usually the murkiest zone in which to evaluate GOOD. One never knows what level of service one will ultimately obtain from another human being and whether this service is truly valuable or not. Today, man is often provided some lengthy "contract" containing dense legal terms that few read, and fewer still, understand. Being a written REALITY which is usually "totally" divorced from the unwritten REALITY which it purports to "cover," the contract is far far removed from whatever actual level of services on ultimately obtains. Man cannot simply rely on the contract to guage the level of services he/she will actually receive.

The best man can do is to keep a watchful eye on these services, evaluate what is "really going on," and what GOOD (or bad) is being produced from the human services employed. Despite whatever is in the contract for "services," man can use the TRUE accurate information he continuously receives from his senses to gain an appreciation of what exact services are being provided, for what reason, and for what GOOD. In some cases, the actual services provided are far better than what is listed in the contract; at others, it is far worse.

With respect to evaluating services one has received, there is a finite continuum of outcomes. In some cases, only the most spiteful miser would deny that the service was really for the GOOD (landscaper perfectly cuts grass and rakes leaves for a reasonable fee); in others, only the most apathetic, imprecise, and careless individual would identify the service as being for the GOOD. In the large middle ground, the services are likely producing some GOOD but could be perfected in various ways for the twin benefit of the person providing the services and the person receiving it.

Practical Wisdom (Psychology, Part 4; Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections): Deploying Human Energy Quanta with Precision

Springboard: Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Series Posts: http://greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/practical%20wisdom

"In physics, too, we speak of energy and its various manifestations, such as electricity, light, heat, etc. The situation in pscyhology is precisely the same. Here, too, we are dealing primarily with energy, that is to say, with measures of intensity, with greater or lesser quanities. It can appear in various guises. If we conceive of libido as energy, we can take a comprehensive and unified view. Qualitative questions as to the nature of the libido- whether it be sexuality, power, hunger, or something else- recede into the background. What I wished to do for psychology was to arrive at some logical and thorough view such as is provided in the physical sciences by the theory of energetics...I see man's drives, for example, as various manifestations of energic processes and thus as forces analogous to heat, light, etc." Carl Jung, The Work

"We rush impetuously into novelty, driven by a mounting sense of insufficiency, dissatisfaction, and restlessness." Carl Jung, The Tower

"What are they seeking? They always want something; they are always uneasy and restless. We do not know what they want. We do not understand them. We think that they are mad." Carl Jung, Travels

"This is a species of madness, wherein a man dreams with his eyes open, thinking that he can accomplish all things that fall within the scope of his conception, and thereupon accounting them real, and exluting in them..." Spinoza, Ethica 

(1) Praise be, man can always pursue and approach infinite GOOD: "go out where the world waiteth for thee like a garden. Go out unto the roses, the bees, and the flocks of doves! Especially, however, unto the singing-birds, to learn SINGING from them!" (Nietzsche, Zarathustra) As we've emphasized, this is a human potentiality that must be ceaselesly striven for; there is no automatic right to infinite GOOD: "To those who think like us, things all dance themselves: they come and hold out the hand and laugh and flee- and return." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra) Excessively pessimistic dour orientations on LIFE are usually the first exit off the highway of GOOD: "The badly paired found I ever the most revengful: they make every one suffer for it that they no longer run singly." (Zarathsutra)

Still...even with a positive orientation on LIFE and an actualized pursuit of GOOD, there are certain human fixed hardware limitations that cannot simply be ignored. Even something as powerful as EARTH has limitations; it is fixed in terms of matter. Earth is not "creating" any new matter. And one day billions of years from now, scientists tell us Earth will be gobbled up by SUN, unable to do anything about it.

(2) Human temporal existence is finite. Even within this finite span, the amount of human psychic and physical energy that can be "deployed" is also finite: "(1) The day dieth out, unto all things cometh now the evening, also unto the best things." (Zarathustra) + (2) "for no movement is infinite, but every moment has an end" (Aristotle, Metaphysics) Even the greatest athlete ever cannot run or swim or cycle for more than a few days without break. Even the workaholic needs an occasional day off. Even a compassionate person cannot listen without break to everyone's problems.

Naturally, anyone can project the appearance of having infinite energy and ability to overcome the human hardware fixed limitations. Such attempts usually end badly as they ignore the human energy hardware limitation: "A great man I wanted to appear, and persuaded many; but the lie hath been beyond my power. On it do I collapse." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra)

(3) The exercise of practical wisdom must be tightly connected with the ability to "sense" what is worth pursuing, with whom, to what extent, using how much quanta of human energy, and why such a deployment is justified under the particular circumstances (the pursuit of anything strictly because it is "new" or "different" does not amount to a precise use of energy quanta). It similarly must include the decision to DISCONTINUE a certain pursuit, career, or relationship in favor of using finite human energy quanta in a better manner, in some manner more likely to result in a terminal point of GOOD: "To the incurable shall one not seek to be a physician: thus teacheth Zarathustra:- so shall ye pass away!" (Zarathustra).

(4) Where does this type of practical wisdom "come from"? Does it just magically appear out of nowhere, from nothing? Does it have a supportive pre-existing base? What is that base?

(5) A "healthy" human person is continuously receiving literally hundreds of pieces of different information every second. The information received only multiples over an hour, day, week, month, and year. This information is received through the human sensory faculties: taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound. Assuming a "healthy" human person, the sensory human faculties (though not perfected) are usually "doing their best" to provide tons of accurate information to MIND on a constant "real time" basis. This information is constantly provided to MIND so MIND can make good decisions, survive, thrive, and ultimately help the human being reach his/her unique GOOD and perfection.

(6) The five senses have no "intent" to deceive MIND. We stress again that they are ALWAYS doing their best to provide accurate information to MIND for the benefit of the entire organism, on any and ALL subjects that the organism encounters within TOTAL REALITY: "From everything, from her glances, from her smile, and even from her tone, from the way she held her head and shoulders as she walked beside him, he saw that, as before, she did not love him." (Chekhov, Three Years) The human eyes are not pure and perfected, particularly for the attainment of irrefutable knowledge of fundamental realities; they only "see" certain photons within a certain frequency. The eye cannot see bacteria, which comprises 95% of living mass on Earth!

On the grandest of levels, TOTAL REALITY always remains independent of the limited perspective of any single observer. The human eye cannot even look in certain directions at all; staring at the SUN for more than a second or two can cause severe irreparable damage. But most of the time and for most situations in which humans find themselves, the eyes seem to provide us more than enough information to make decent decisions. If someone constantly believes otherwise, believing that their senses are constantly "lying" to them, then this is a rather BIG problem. Such an organism is not functioning properly.

Notably, part of the reality the senses provide to us is the sense that a certain environment (frequently the work environment) is nowhere close to harnessing all of our human powers and faculties, that this same environment is deadly dull and seeped to the core with various unnecessary formalities, circularities, traditions, and customs that are not leading to a terminal point of GOOD:

He did nothing in the business but talk to the customers and have tea and jam with them.

Laptev was soon bored and longing to go home, but it was awkward to go away. He was obliged to stay at least two hours at the warehouse to keep up appearances.

Chekhov, Three Years

The senses tell us this and this information should not be ignored. Despite its brutal ugliness, this sensory information should be accepted for what it is: "We struggle wretchedly to perpetuate a wretched life; this terrible predicament necessitates exhausting work which man now and again admires as something dignified...The Greeks have no need for conceptual hallucinations like this, they voice their opinion that work is a disgrace with shocking openness..." (Nietzsche, The Greek State).

(7) What can happen however is MIND rejects and/or ignores the information provided to it for an infinity of reasons. Rather than relying on the information that is continually and accurately provided to it, MIND approaches the BRIGHT LINE of nothingness/non-being and goes beyond it, sometimes WELL beyond it: "while fancying themselves to be speaking of being, they are speaking about non-being..." (Aristotle, Metaphysics). In certain situations, this is normal and good. Many Hollywood movies would never have been "born" had some writer somewhere not blown past the BRIGHT LINE to invent a fantastic story that would thrill moviegoers (e.g., Harry Potter). Even movies that are party based on fact (Orson Well's Citizen Kane) require occasional leaps beyond the BRIGHT LINE for the sake of the movie's total experiential affect: "Verily, also new stars did I make them see, along with new nights; and over cloud and day and night, did I spread out laughter like a gay-coloured canopy." (Zarathustra) Literature often requires a move beyond the BRIGHT LINE: "Where there is art and genius there can never be such things as old age or loneliness or sickness." (Chekhov, Three Years) But in other situations, venturing beyond the BRIGHT LINE is rather bad, foolish, and just plain stupid.

(8) A MIND with a firm grasp on the virtue of practical wisdom usually stays within the BRIGHT LINE of being and accurate information. When it occasionally ventures beyond this line (say in daydreaming), it correctly and swiftly identifies "where it is" and accordingly does not waste precious human energy quanta on pure nothingness.

A middling recreational cycler may briefly imagine that he is about to win the Tour de France. So long as this thought floats in and out of MIND without further incident, this is "no big deal." Were this same cycler to get up at midnight and begin cycling for days on end believing he was a pro cycler this would be very bad (result: overtraining, fatigue, and even complete destruction of many muscles within the human body). Similar examples abound.

(9) In a world that is increasingly jammed with the creation and promotion of largely imaginary inorganic ON THE SCREEN electronic realities, identities, and communications (these realities existing purely ON THE SCREEN), this kind of distinguishing activity takes on added importance while simultaneously becoming ever rarer (this because most flock to ON THE SCREEN from the desire to "suspend" and "escape" from REALITY).

Self-Creation (Psychology, Part 6; Kohut, Restoration of the Self): Self-Creating with the Correct Use of Human Hardware and Software

Springboard: Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"[He] became a more firmly organized person: he became more thoughtful and deliberate and less inclined to act rashly, on the basis of impulse and hunch...In the last analysis, only the experience of a firmly cohesive nuclear self will give us the conviction that we will be able to maintain the sense of our enduring identity, however much we might change...We can describe [this goal]...with the aid of the beautiful symbolic imagery Mr. X employed in his daydream: the analysis should uncover the hidden supply of gasoline that can get him going again on the road of his life. Mr. X, in other words, is helped to discover the presence of a nuclear self..." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"In trying again and again, in analysis after analysis, to determine the genetic roots of the selves of my analysands, I obtained the impression that during early psychic development a process takes place in which some archaic mental contents that had been experienced as belonging to the self becomes obliterated or are assigned to the area of the nonself while others are retained within the self or are added to it. As a result of this process a core self- the 'nuclear self'- is established. This structure is the basis for our sense of being an independent center of initiative and perception, integrated with our most central ambitions and ideals and with our experience that our body and mind from a unit in space and a continuum in time. This cohesive and enduring psychic configuration, in connection with a correlated set of talents and skills that it attracts to itself or that develops in response to the demands of the ambitions and ideals of the nuclear self, forms the central sector of the personality. And I have become convinced that, to some extent at least, a properly conducted analysis of patients suffering from a disturbance in the formation of the self creates a psychological matrix that encourages the reactivation of the original developmental tendency. In other words, the nuclear self of the patient is consolidated, the talents and skills of the analysand that are correlated to the nuclear self are revitalized, while other aspects of the self are discarded or recede." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"In the very center of the clinical attitude I am advocating lies the analyst's recognition that the analysand's defensive activities are not effective. Instead of disapproving on ethical grounds, the therapist should demonstrate to the patient that his behavior does not lead to the result he is craving. The analyst might, in other words, tell the patient at the appropriate moment that his attempt to raise his self-esteem with the aid of his defensive promiscuity is like the attempt of a man with a wide-open gastric fistula to still his ravenous hunger by frantic eating. Put differently, it is the very inefficiency of the defensive manuvers that explains why they are so incessantly pursued." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"A reverberating beneficial cycle is now also established: the strengthened self becomes the organizing center of the skills and talents of the personality, and thus improves the exercise of these functions: the successful exercise of skills and talents, moreover, in turn increases the cohesion and thus the vigor of the self." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

(1) It is beyond dispute that the human self can feel "invigorated" "cohesive" and "powerful" both in activities that are GOOD and in those that are bad or even trivial. On the good side of the ledger, we have Nietzsche's feeling of self-power in the creation of a literary-philosophical masterpiece- Thus Spake Zarathustra. We hope the work becomes eternally beloved: "And like the star that goeth out, so is every work of your virtue: ever is its light on its way and traveling- and when will it cease to be on its way? Thus is the light of your virtue still on its way, even when its work is done. Be it forgotten and dead, still its ray of light liveth and travelleth." (Zarathustra).

On the bad side of the ledger, Hitler subjectively experienced feelings of self-power as he committed various atrocities. On a lesser level, many criminals and other vicious characters have similarly felt self-power and vigor in committing various bad actions, in actions that confirm they view their fellow human beings no differently than man views ants. Further examples abound. An entrepreneur experiences an invigorated self by "convincing" only himself that he has created a "better wheel." A "gossiper" can feel powerful talking endlessly about matters of the slightest import, annoying everyone around him/her with banal webs of words. The mere feeling of a powerful self tells us nothing about the GOODness of that same self.

(2) As we've repeatedly emphasized, the MIND of man left totally or largely alone achieves only a form of "closed perfection." What is needed- always- is for other persons to honestly and critically evaluate what such a man has produced or is producing. During the course of this evaluation, various ERRORs are exposed which stand in need of further perfection.

(3) We divide the human self into human hardware and software. The human HARDWARE consists of (1) DNA and (2) all of the other biological, physical, chemical, psychological, intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional systems that (3) ORGANICALLY and UNIVERSALLY come into being and mature as a result of (4) the instructions contained within the human essential writing (DNA). The "basic set up" of these systems is "fixed" by DNA, "free of charge," and are not the result of a particular culture, education, or profession a man happens to experience. Assuming healthy constitution, everyone has these systems because every member of the human species has DNA (which is 99.5% identical in all members of the species). No one has to "do anything" to possess a perfectly functioning skeleton, heart, or lungs. Every man truly begins life blessed in infinite ways.

(4) Human hardware is not perfected for all environments found within entire total REALITY. No man would survive on any planet but Earth (gaseous Jupiter would be particularly inhospitable for our species) or any other "place" within the cosmos (there being no air and diatomic oxygen to breathe). Even on Earth, no member of our species would survive (strictly with unaided human hardware) in the oceans, sky, or mountain peaks. He would fare similarly poorly when placed unarmed close to a pack of coyotes or lions. So, too, the human body can only SURVIVE within a narrow temperature range between 95-105 F. Outside of this range, either death or severe bodily harm ensues.

Still, for most environments where humans presently reside, human hardware is nearing perfection. Man naturally distinguishes the difference between noise (construction drilling) and perfected music (a Beethoven symphony). Most of us swiftly distinguish between fresh and rotten food. Most men instinctively flee from any situation of perceived physical danger. The human brain instantly "processes" and "makes sense" of thousands of light photons that are striking the eye from thousands of sources at 330,000 kilometers per second! Swift distinctions and identifications are made between various temperatures, creatures, and other events occurring within the borders of REALITY. In a sense, all of man's progress over the eons in creating "civilization" is a testament to the potential, power, and strength of human hardware. On this last point, part of man's hardware consists of the human MIND. MIND potentially possesses infinite freedom of expression and thought, all of which can be used to bring things into REALITY that were not there before (new books, activities, games, foods, music).

(4) Although reasonably perfected as hardware, the MIND of man can input various "software" into the system that corrupts and perverts the entire human self system, including MIND. Other than the requirement of food, water, sleep, and basic hygiene, the hardware does not strictly "demand" any other specific software inputs to continue operating. No man strictly "needs" to read Plato, listen to Madonna, ride a bike, surf the Internet, gamble at a casino, hit on women at a bar/club, etc. The human hardware does not "need" any of these things for SURVIVAL (before 1800, thousands of men lived for thousands of years on the island of Hawaii without any of these things).

But we know that a life devoted to only minimal hardware sustaining functioning would be dreadfully boring and neutral, the total baseline zero state of existence: "Not yet had he learned laughing and beauty." (Zarathustra) We could even say the hardware "dislikes" extended states of boredom, total inaction, and silence: "But more frightful even, and more heart-strangling was it, when it again became silent and still all around, and I alone sat in that malignant silence." (Zarathustra)

And thus the hardware often pushes man to do and experience things that are not strictly required for hardware sustenance. Various forms of pleasure, pain, and feelings of mastery, power, achievement, and disappointment result from the operation of the hardware when these experiences "filter in." These initial "feedback loops" must be evaluated further before they can be judged as GOOD or bad (even the temporary pain involved with vigorous exercise may promote the long-term health of the organism).

(5) The human software inputs and outputs are basically the various experiences man chooses to pursue or create within REALITY or (in some cases) non-REALITY. These experiences would include not only what most would typically consider to be experiences but also various written REALITIES man has encountered and/or produced, whether in books, radio/TV programs, speeches, or conversations with other members of the species.

(6) Human hardware appears to be remarkably resilient and adaptable: "Yea, something invulnerable, unburiable is with me, something that would rend rocks asunder..." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra) Even when it has been dragged (for years) down roads containing little to no GOOD, behavioral modifications can reorient the hardware onto paths that are more likely to result in GOOD, that are more likely to produce human software that others can use that is (rightly) immortally beloved and sublime (example...Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony).

(7) GOOD can only be experienced by individual "real time" human selves; one's "society" or "community" is largely an abstraction of pure form and does not even "strictly" exist as part of LIFE. They are no more "alive" than a hammer is. Societies, communities, and organizations are always organically composed of individual human selves. Only the individual human SELF can experience GOOD as part of LIFE within REALITY; the community, society, or organization (as abstraction) cannot "experience" "think" "know" or "feel" anything.

Beginning with some "thing" that doesn't even exist, man then appoints various "spokespersons" that can speak and provide various meanings on behalf of that which does not even exist! But we will return to this theme at another time.

(8) If GOOD can only be experienced by the individual human SELF, then the individual must strive to strategically orient his unique hardware in a perfected manner. For adults, this reorientation does NOT occur tabula rasa; the hardware has naturally been affected and modified by whatever software inputs the individual has chosen to pursue. The reorientation must begin with a recognition of the effects the software inputs have had on the entire SELF, including the hardware.

This recognition must recognize the various good and bad effects varying software inputs can have. In the case of computers, not any software input will have the same effect on the total computer system. Some inputs can endanger survival; others can totally destroy the functioning of the entire system; others can greatly reduce the speed and responsiveness of the system; still others can improve the functioning of the system in limited ways; and, finally, some inputs can greatly improve the functioning of the entire system for an infinity of time and in an infinity of ways.

(9) At any time, each man can survey the software inputs he has/is pursuing and producing and determine whether or not these inputs are furthering his or her unique pursuit of GOOD or PERFECTION. Although friends and others can assist in this process by providing their perspectives, only the individual self can make a total evaluation of the GOODness of the various software inputs being pursued and produced because only the individual self is in a position to know the TOTAL effect of the input upon ALL of the self's systems. Quite literally any time a software input is ceaselessly and repetitively pursued, man must be extremely cautious and skeptical as to whether this software input is furthering continued optimal functioning of the SELF or being pursued for some less than GOOD reason.

Happiness (Psychology, Part 4; Kohut, Restoration of the Self): Forging an "Unbroken Continuum" of "Joyful Creative Activity"

Springboard: Kohut, Restoration of the Self

Series Posts: http://greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/happiness

"Kistunov went in the morning to his office and began punctually seeing the clients of the bank and persons who had come with petitions. He looked languid and exhausted, and spoke in a faint voice hardly above a whisper, as though he were dying. 'What can I do for you' he asked a lady..." Anton Chekhov, A Defenceless Creature

"We sometimes go astray in ...a direction which does not correspond to our talents. For a time we struggle heroically against wind and tide, really against ourselves; but finally we become weary and we pant. What we accomplish gives us no real pleasure, since we think that we have paid too heavy a price for these successes. We even despair of our productivity, of our future, perhaps in the midst of victory. Finally, finally we turn back- and then the wind swells our sails and bears us into our smooth water. What bliss! How certain of victory we feel! Only now do we know what we are and what we intend, and now we vow fidelity to ourselves, and have a right to do so- as men that know." Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human

"Joy relates to experiences of the total self whereas pleasure relates to experiences of parts and constituents of the self." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

"The idea came to him with the sense of being an inspiration...he woke up from his sleep one night with this idea reborn as an effective motivating force impelling him toward action...[he was] mobilizing all his forces in order to pursue a difficult psychological task...It was only the organizing effect of his goal-setting ideals that, in combination with his specific talents and skills, could provide him what he himself described as a 'constant flow of energy' instead of the former 'bursts which were always disorganizing'..." Kohut, Restoration of the Self

(1) The human self is composed of various potentially integrated well-functioning complex systems, all of which must be orchestrated and deployed by MIND in order to achieve unique singular total human perfection. The rare attainment of unique total human self-perfection- rightly accompanied as it is with JOY- is THE achievement for man: (1) "[W]e may consider an analysis completed when...it has established a functioning self- a psychological sector in which ambitions, skills, and ideals form an unbroken continuum that permits joyful creative activity" (Kohut) & (2) "Since humanity came into being, man hath enjoyed himself too little: that alone, my brethen, is our original sin! And when we learn better to enjoy ourselves, then do we unlearn best to give pain unto others, and to contrive pain." Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra
The total perfection state must necessarily exclude any but the briefest periods of anger as total perfection represents a state of purity and those residing in purified conditions are not angry: "The growth of wisdom may be gauged exactly by the diminution of ill-temper." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human).

The most important systems within the human self are the intellectual, the moral, the physical, the aesthetic, and the emotional. Each of these systems stands in need of ceaseless perfection. A breakdown in any system is a serious matter and should not be ignored: "Not joy but joylessness is the mother of debauchery." Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human. A breakdown in the physical endangers man's very SURVIVAL; a degeneration in the intellectual and moral leaves man vulnerable to almost total entrapment in the negative closed infinite loop (see first Chekhov selection above) (see also Kohut: "his apathy and lack of initiative made him feel only half alive, and he attempted to overcome this sense of inner emptiness with the aid of emotionally highly charged fantasies, in particular, sexual fantasies having a strong sadistic cast...he came to recognize that these were not the expressions of autonomous instinctual strivings..."); a rejection of the aesthetic dimension deprives man of a sense of awe-struck wonder at the infinite perfection of unwritten REALITY; and so on. In any event, the perfection of each self system requires its own separate PRECISION: "First principle: to arrange one's life on the most secure and tangible basis, not as hitherto upon the most distant, undetermined, and cloudy foundation." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human). This is no different than the perfection of a smartphone or TV or orchestra about to perform Mozart's Jupiter symphony; each "system" comprising the smartphone/TV/orchestra must be precisely perfected in order for the smartphone/TV/orchestra to reach integrated total perfection.

(2) We unambiguously stress that no man can talk or write his/her way to total perfection; conduct and states of soul/being within the dimensions of unwritten REALITY must confirm any perfection reached within the written sphere. Further, on almost any human decision ever made, there is literally an infinity of written information that may be relevant to the decision in some way or another. But it is by no means necessary or practicable or even GOOD to accumulate an infinity of written information before making simple (what to order at McDonald's) or even important decisions (the career to pursue). What is necessary is gathering the most accurate, most relevant, and most precise written information one can acquire on any issue and courageously acting on the basis of that incomplete information. More important decisions should be supported by more written information while trivial decisions can be supported by far less.

(3) SURVIVAL within unwritten REALITY requires that written creatures (e.g. man) constantly make decisions in unwritten real-time, moment by moment, second to second. But a string of words is not a "complete" perfected decision. Man is able to "muddle up" reality with various written thoughts and ideas: "He liked to obscure his utterances with bookish words, which he understood in his own way, and many such words he used in a wrong sense." (Chekhov, Three Years) For some, increasingly complex and imprecise written thoughts and ideas actually become reality and perceived protections and insulations against REALITY and the "real time" need for decisions. Despite this inorganic laboring, SURVIVAL within unwritten REALITY perpetually demands that decisions continually be made; they cannot be simply punted down the road forever- either with strings of words or something else- without consequence to the self. And decisions must be made with something less than the infinity of written information that could potentially be relevant to a particular decision.

(4) Although unwritten REALITY's perfection is bereft of happiness (as the unwritten lacks consciousness), still it is characterized by infinite unwritten continuity and unwritten total integration. All physical and chemical laws, equations, and systems operate flawlessly together in literally every moment that unwritten REALITY provides an environment for LIFE to proceed. The appreciation of this fact in its full dimensions is beyond human comprehension.

(5) Within highly intelligent and conscious creatures we characterize as written REALITIES, MIND must somehow orchestrate everything together flawlessly, in the unique ways that make sense for the particular self within which this MIND "resides." Nothing other than MIND can take on such a gargantuan task (the knees, toes, fingers, ears, teeth, liver, muscles, and bones are ill-equipped for this task). Because the achievement of this type of human joy is so rare, it should be quietly honored and revered wherever one finds it: "But to picture oneself the joy of others and to rejoice therein is the highest privilege of the highest animals and again, amongst them, is the property only of the most select specimens- accordingly a rare human thing." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human)

(6) Unlike the perfection of unwritten REALITY which makes no errors ever, man's MIND must proceed in a trial and error process to approach its own perfection. MIND must continually attempt to orchestrate and "put together" the central systems of the self in the correct manner. There will be many, many harsh dead-ends; none of these should cause the shut-down or freezing of MIND for any but the briefest periods: (1) "The chemist cannot avoid occasionally being poisoned or burnt at his experiments. What applies to the chemist is true of the whole of our culture." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human) & (2) "Thyself threwest thou so high- but every thrown stone must fall!" (Zarathustra)

We must stress here that unwritten REALITY's perfection is not at all motionless. The cosmos experiences perfection but it is one of PERFECT MOTION and not a "frozen state" of perfection. Our SUN is never the same from nanosecond to nanosecond. The Sun is never fusing the same hydrogen atoms into helium. New hydrogen atoms are perpetually employed in nuclear fusion and new sunlight, energy, and radiation is perpetually produced in the process. The Earth itself is circling the Sun at the speed of 67,000 miles per hour; our entire solar system orbits the Milky Way Galaxy at approximately 490,000 miler per hour!!!

(7) Happiness and joy may sometimes serve as initial feedback indicators that progress is being made, that one of the trial-and-error constellations is the correct one for this particular self at this particular "juncture" of space and time within the cosmos. But, even here, self-deception prevents our accepting these indicators as totally reliable (the man on the street corner shouting incoherent obscenities may feel joyous and happy that he is activating all of his self systems simultaneously).

(8) A happiness rooted strictly in a combination of words (about the self or anything else) is likely to be self-deceptive: "But the clear, the honest, the transparent- these are for me the wisest silent ones." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra) Any happiness rooted in denying and rejecting REALITY with nothing more than mere written/verbal thoughts and ideas is even more likely to be self-deceptive. The strength, perfection, and ultimate JOY of the self cannot be forged through mere words. The approachement of perfection in the written (say Mozart's writing on paper of the Jupiter symphony) precedes and pushes toward total perfection in the unwritten (the orchestra's performance of the symphony, production of unwritten sound waves emitted to the audience, and the audience's unwritten "reception" of these same unwritten sound waves with the cooperation of the perfection of unwritten REALITY).

Politics (Psychology, Part 3; Freud, Totem and Taboo Resemblances): Precision in Lawmaking.

Springboard: Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo Resemblances

Series Posts: http://greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/politics

"Ages in which one leads men with reward and punishment have a low, still primitive kind of man in view: it is as if they were children." Nietzsche, Will to Power

"[A]ny deep human instinct [requires no]...reinforcement through law. There is no law commanding men to eat and drink, or forbidding them to put their hands in the fire. Men eat and drink and keep their hands out of the fire instinctively, for fear of natural, not legal, penalties which would be entailed by violence done to these instincts. The law only forbids men to do what their instincts incline them to do; what nature itself prohibits and punishes it would be superflous for the law to prohibit and punish. Accordingly we may always safely assume that crimes forbidden by law are crimes which many men have a natural propensity to commit. If there were no such propensity there would be no such crimes, and if no such crimes were committed, what need to forbid them?" Freud, Totem and Taboo Resemblances

"We may say, however, that we deal with a series of restrictions, which [they] impose upon themselves; this and that is forbidden without any apparent reason; nor does it occur to them to question this matter, for they subject themselves to these restrictions as a matter of course...Something like a theory seems to underlie all these prohibitions..." Freud, Totem and Taboo Resemblances

"Taboos are very ancient prohibitions which at one time were forced upon a generation...from without, that is, they probably were forcibly impressed upon them by an earlier generation...The prohibitions maintained themselves from generation to generation, perhaps only as a result of a tradition set up by parental and social authority." Freud, Totem and Taboo Resemblances

(1) Within all of the cosmos, written man-made laws are generally effective only in an infinitesimally minimal  five to six feet zone (from ground up) here on Earth (this corresponding to the human LIFE zone). For practical purposes, this zone amounts to zero percent of the cosmos (the cosmos contains some 500 billion galaxies, each containing billions of planets).

These written laws only constrain man. Unwritten REALITY has no idea what these laws are, can't and doesn't care to learn, and occasionally violates them as part of its open perfected operation. Man cannot enforce its laws on unwritten REALITY (the Earth is not sued when there is an earthquake or when a World Series game is rained out). Spinoza saw this most clearly:

For it is certain that nature...has sovereign right to do anything she can; in other words, her right is co- extensive with her power....[N]ature is not bounded by the laws of human reason, which aims only at man's true benefit and preservation; her limits are infinitely wider, and have reference to the eternal order of nature, wherein man is but a speck. (TPT)

Further, no other living creature is "forced" to obey man made laws. Pugs are not thrown into "jail" for "stealing" a candy bar from a store. Wolves are not prosecuted when they kill men.

Unwritten REALITY lacks any written laws but still never makes any errors and has attained perfection for billions of years: "When one man said that reason was present throughout nature as the cause of order and of all arrangements, he seemed like a sober man in contrast with the random talk of his predecessors." (Aristotle, Metaphysics) There is no gravity statute that is issued to all creatures upon their birth. Unwritten REALITY's unwritten laws simply ARE. THE SAME. EVERYWHERE (gravity, electromagnetic force as the two dominant examples). It does not appear that unwritten REALITY has ever been forced to "amend" or "fine-tune" any of its laws. As a system, unwritten REALITY does not appear to "need" further laws; it has accordingly consistently refused the invitation to "mess with perfection." As always, Plato was here first:

So whenever the craftsman looks at what is always changeless and, using a thing of that kind as his model, reproduces its form and character, then, of necessity, all that he completes is beautiful. (Timaeus)

(2) The number of man made laws is proliferating. Congress alone passed some 2,657 written laws between 1999 and 2010!!! In  many of the advanced developed countries, no one can learn what all of these laws require anyone to do or not do. In some cases, even those voting to approve these laws have "no idea" what the laws actually require. Not even comprehending what the laws require, such politicians surely cannot articulate a minimally coherent explanation as to why the law is absolutely needed to either further human species SURVIVAL or PERFECTION. The utterly banal reality is this: laws are often passed merely to project the appearance that "something is being done" by the government to address some "urgent" problem. 

Many human written laws are so complicated that their interpretation requires years of expensive wasteful litigation. Such litigation rarely ends in any interpretation of the law; rather, both parties usually "give up" and settle because they STILL remain unsure of the law's interpretation even after years of litigation. 

(3) Each man has a complete right to (1) fully and maximally cultivate his internal written REALITY (DNA) within (2) the "free" dimensions of pure perfected unwritten REALITY (SUN and Earth charging no "fee" for their "services") for (3) as long as unwritten REALITY will permit: "transformation of energy into life, and 'life at its highest potency' thus appears as the goal." (Nietzsche, Will to Power). At its most basic level, the only genuine human tragedy and crime is when someone is robbed of this opportunity. The person is robbed because he or she never is able to "see" of what stuff he or she was truly made. And everyone else is robbed for the exact same reason. When an eight year old child is killed by a drunk drinker, the tragedy resides in the fact that the eight year old could have been the next Mozart, or (more likely) a responsible teacher, judge, writer, mother, etc. 

(4) Drunk driving is wrong. It should be illegal because it unknowingly imposes unreasonable risks to the SURVIVAL of totally innocent third parties (the person driving next to the drunk driver is purely innocent and can't swiftly determine what is going on). Stealing from a shop owner is also wrong. It deprives the shop owner of profit he or she is entitled to and has labored to attain. Sexual assault and like crimes are also wrong. They render null human freedom and cause devastating psychological disorders that wreck the victim's opportunity of reaching his/her unique personal PERFECTION.

(5) We could continue with the listing of a few more absolutely critical necessary man-made written laws. Each such law directly promotes either human social survival or PERFECTION. Each is committed to the notion that each individual should only be minimally interfered with in his or her unique journey through unwritten REALITY, in his or her unique effort to "forge" and "create" an interesting self-identity or other "thing" (book, charity, institution, music, scientific discovery) as a result of this journey: "That something longer-lasting than an individual should endure, that a work should endure which has perhaps been created by an individual..." (Nietzsche, Will to Power).

Still, it is not the "job" of politics nor even "society" to make every man's life exciting, perfected or GOOD. It would be incredibly exciting for every citizen to win several million dollars in a lottery; does the political or social system have a duty to bring this state of affairs into REALITY? Moreover, what is exciting, GOOD, or "perfection" for one man often varies from that of his neighbor, often takes many years to achieve, and requires self-infused, self-created, and self-conscious masteries which the state cannot "force" from a "top down" perspective. And thus it would take an infinity of time and other resources (all culminating in failure) for the political or social system to "take on" the duty of making even several thousand men's lives perfected or GOOD or maximally exciting. Having said this, neither politics nor society should "get in the way" of individual men's self-destinies unless absolutely necessary to protect another man in his equally legitimate pursuit of maximal self-perfection and realization.

(6) The current generation of statesman are leaving behind a tremendous body of written laws that succeeding generations will have no choice but to learn and follow. Even if Congress were to close shop for five years and pass no more laws, there would still be way too many written laws "out there." And if these laws are not continually perfected or repealed, men will end up violating laws that probably should never have been passed to begin with. We emphasize again that many laws are being passed today with hardly anyone having any idea what the law requires, why it is essential and non-duplicative, and why it directly furthers the twin species' goals of SURVIVAL and PERFECTION: "There are dreadful people who, instead of solving a problem, complicate it for those who deal with it and make it harder to solve." (Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human). On what basis could we ever deem this GOOD?

(7) Members of the succeeding human generation could end up in prison or bankrupt from the effect of such laws. At that point, such laws would themselves be a human tragedy as they unnecessarily eliminated a morally blameless individual's chances of reaching his or her unique PERFECTION based upon whatever written REALITIES he or she had and whatever environment these written REALITIES were developed.

(8) Given the current state of things, the perfection of politics appears to reside in doing far less, but with increasing PRECISION. The (present) alternative is hardly a pretty picture: "[they spoke and acted] vaguely and with no clearness, but as untrained men behave in fights; for they go round their opponents and strike fine blows, but they do not fight on scientific principles..." (Aristotle, Metaphysics)

Silence & Stillness (Philosophy, Part 2; Plato, Sophist): The Art of Making Silent Precise Distinctions.

Springboard: Plato, Sophist

Series Posts: http://www.greatestgoodforman.blogspot.com/search/label/silence

"Maybe that which is not is woven together with that which is in some way like that- it's quite bizzare...Of course it's strange. Anyway, you can see that the many-headed sophist is still using this interweaving to force us to agree unwillingly that that which is not in a way is...I definitely do see it." Plato, Sophist

"Again, a false belief will be a matter of believing things that are contrary to those which are? Or what?... Yes, contrary....So you're saying that a false belief is believing those which are not...Necessarily...Well, doesn't a false belief also believe that those which completely are in no way are?... Yes...And this is false too?... Yes." Plato, Sophist

"And if he says nothing, it is absurd to seek to given an account of our views to one who cannot give an account of anything...For, if he means nothing, such a man will not be capable of reasoning, either with himself or with another." Aristotle, Metaphysics

"He must talk that Yulia Sergeyevna might not be bored in his company. But what about? About his sister's illness again? And he began to talk about medicine, saying what is usually said. He approved of hygiene..." Chekhov, Three Years

"One group drags everything down to earth from the heavenly region of the invisible, actually clutching rocks and trees with their hands. When they take holds of all these things they insist that only what offers tangible contact is, since they define being as the same as body. And if any of the others say that something without a body is, they absolutely despise him and won't listen to him anymore...These are frightening men you're talking about. I've met quite a lot of them already....The people on the other side...insist violently that true being is certain nonbodily forms that can be thought about....There's a never-ending battle going on constantly between them about this issue." Plato, Sophist

(1) The path to human perfection requires precision on the fundamental REALITIES that are: "And what division is more important than the one between ignorance and knowledge? None." (Plato, Sophist) The path to mere and ordinary humor, fun, adventure, companionship, good looks and health, peace and quiet, and many other things do not require this sort of precision: "Ah, my dear fellow fellow, it's a fine thing to be married!...I shall be home in a minute, worn out and exhausted...A loving wife will welcome me, give me some tea and something to eat, and repay me for my hard work and my love with such a fond and loving look out of her darling black eyes that I shall forget how tired I am, and forget the burglary and the law courts and the appeal division...It's glorious!" (Chekhov, Gone Astray).

(2) The path to precision must involve writing and written REALITY. Science and philosophy are not possible without writing. These things continually "push the envelope" of precision with respect to fundamental REALITIES: "the philosopher always uses reasoning to stay near the form, being." (Sophist) These writings allows us to "see," appreciate, and understand MORE dimensions of unwritten REALITY than we otherwise would: "It is part of the concept of the living that it must grow- that it must extend its power and consequently incorporate alien forces." (Nietzsche, Will to Power) While gravity has always existed everywhere, it is invisible and thus we use writing to explains its effects and properties so that we better understand it. This written knowledge of gravity has allowed us to calculate escape velocity thereby allowing space exploration.

(3) On the grandest level, we can categorize everything there is as either imperfect written REALITY, pure perfected unwritten REALITY, and imperfect mixed written and unwritten REALITY:

(a) Within the entire cosmos excluding Earth, quite literally "everything" is pure perfected unwritten REALITY: "Life is a unique case; one must justify existence and not only life." (Nietzsche, Will to Power). Matter, stars, planets, galaxies, physical/chemical laws, equations, and collisions, space and time, magnetic fields, and so on. There is no writing anywhere that brought any of these into being nor is there any writing that keeps these thing as they are (in a perfected state). The cosmos experiences only PERFECT MOTION. 

Even on Earth, all matter, physical/chemical laws, equations, and collisions, and fundamental forces and fields have long reached a state of total perfection. If we have achieved anything here, it can be characterized as an "innocuous relation to the senses, a more joyous, benevolent, Goethean attitude toward sensuality." (Nietzsche, WP) It is ERROR to claim "only as an aesthetic phenomenon are existence and the world eternally justified" (Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy). There is no need for man to labor to bring about a change in the "eternal nature of things," or to "set right again a world which is out of joint." (Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy) Unwritten REALITY is already doing this.

With respect to silence, we note that the perfection of the entire cosmos, entire total REALITY, is WITHOUT ANY SOUND. There is no indication that an atom makes any music or noise when it is operating in space or here on earth. Sound requires some medium to travel (typically air molecules or water) and there is no such transport mechanism in entire total REALITY. 

(b) Any biologically "alive" creature (found only on Earth) requires a written code (DNA) to produce the various proteins that permit it to have a certain shape, predisposed behaviors, survival attributes, and reproductive capacities to pass on its critical essential writing (DNA) to the next generation. By virtue of this written code, we can categorize all of these creatures as written REALITIES.

(c) These written creatures "live" within unwritten REALITY. They constantly use the "stuff" of unwritten REALITY (e.g. water and sunlight and everything that flows from these things) to survive: "The earth freely offers up her gifts." (Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy) Although this use is (1) total, (2) 24 hours a day, every day continuous, and (3) entirely life-sustaining, men hardly ever offer up any thanks to unwritten REALITY and its infinite perfection. This is perhaps because civilized man generally "considers himself the only reality." (Nietzsche, BT)

(d) A super-select portion of living creatures (including man and bees) "create" stuff (a car, a bee-hive). Man's creations almost always involve a relationship between both written and unwritten REALITY.

(4) What precisely is a man-made thing? What precisely is a "car"? From the perspective of unwritten REALITY, there are no "cars." A "car" is an inorganic "dead" word (created from nothing by man) labeling a collection ofcobbled-together matter within unwritten REALITY. Unwritten REALITY has "no idea" what a "car" is or what it does. If unwritten REALITY had an eye, it would "see" a car simply as a giant combination of many elements moulded together in a specific generally stable configuration and "held" together by billions of constantly occurring physical and chemicals reactions, encounters, and laws.

Man brings "cars" into the dimensions of unwritten REALITY in accordance with written instructions that specify how the various elements of unwritten REALITY are to be combined in the maximally perfected way. Every car factory has hundreds if not thousands of written procedures, instructions, and programs which specify how a car is to be "born." Man further writes certain written instructions (computer programs) within car that car has "no choice" but to follow. The car is not "alive" but is "behaving" in a certain way because of the written instructions it contains.

The range of behaviors of the car is limited (a car can't decide to learn Shakespeare) because its written instructions are similarly limited; these instructions are all written to maximize the car's human function and utility. The "car" thus is a combination of a finite written prototype design, unwritten pure matter as material "building block" stuff, and stable "glue" of unwritten REALITY (four fundamental forces, including electromagnetism and gravity) holding literally "everything together." The car's writing has no ability to correct its behavior as a result of "real-time" "knowledge" and "experience." The car will go over a cliff it the driver permits it.

(As another example, a building is a combination of a finite written architetural design, unwritten pure matter as building block for the various rooms, windows, etc., and stable "glue" of the fundamental forces of unwritten REALITY).

(5) One useful question would be what does written and unwritten REALITY (respectively) produce: "When you bring anything into being that wasn't in being before, we say you're a producer and that the thing you've brought into being is produced." (Sophist) Unwritten REALITY has produced and continually "maintains" all of the elements and physical/chemical equations and laws that facilitate life: "For already she cometh, the glowing one- HER love to the earth cometh! Innocence and creative desire is all solar love!" (Nietzsche, Zarathustra). It further has produced and continually "maintains" whatever is needed to keep its own system fully functioning and perfected. In doing "ALL" of this- which is an infinite task and therefore beyond any single man's comprehension- unwritten REALITY does not employ any "language" or writings. Neither does it produce any writings. And unwritten REALITY does not "reproduce" itself; there is no gravity reproduction apparatus and the SUN does not divide itself into 2 or into 4.

Written REALITY, on the other hand, produces various other written REALITIES. When a bee reproduces, it brings into being a written REALITY (infant bee) that was not there before. Bees do not write books and do not appear to have an alphabet facilitating the production of further written REALITIES.

(6) Man gives "birth" to written REALITIES of various sorts. Men reproduce and produce other men that are written REALITIES. They create written prototype designs for bikes, pots, and pans that other men use to bring these things into the dimensions of unwritten REALITY. And men use speech to talk and write; each such use of speech and writing is the further production of a written REALITY (technically, speech requires the "use" of unwritten REALITY's sound waves and writing involves the use of unwritten REALITY's photons that make reading possible).

(7) Man as written REALITY is imperfect. This is amply confirmed by the watching of any 30-minute news program on any day of the year.  Relying often on inadequate information and knowledge within MIND, man then goes about the world speaking/writing and creating various false written REALITIES. It appears the average man speaks some 7,000 words per day; the average woman some 20,000! Some additional hundreds if not thousands of words are written. The vast amount of the ideas communicated in this speaking and writing is not "strictly" true: "People no longer deliberate: either they adore or they curse." (Rousseau, Social Contract) Still less is most of this speech or writing GOOD or perfected. Most of what is said amounts to an imperfect MIX consisting (1) of (more or less) true but still utterly banal information, (2) highly biased emotionally charged reports of past events,  and (3) pure nothingness, often consisting of vague cobbled-together fragments of ideas, emotions, and words that are so imprecise as to be meaningless (e.g. "this neighborhood [or restaurant] is really nice," "we must manage our relationships better," "he or she is not a fit," "there was no chemistry between us"): "And it's absolutely necessary, it seems, that someone who does not say something says nothing at all. Of course." (Plato, Sophist). 

We turn to Chekhov for illustrative examples of the imperfect speech identified above:

My life has been so full, so varied, so chequered. Above all, I am unhappy. I am a suffering soul...Unhappily I have an intense nature. I looked for happiness-- and what happiness! I longed to set my soul free. Yes. In that I saw my happiness!

How ignoble, repulsive, senseless all our life is! How mean it all is...I am wretched, wretched, wretched! Again, there is an obstacle in my path! Again I feel that my happiness is far, far away!

I yearned for something extraordinary, above the common lot of woman!

Strictly speaking, of course, drinking is very harmful. Listen, it is harmful, isn't it? Is it? Is it?

Choose some nice, common-place girl without any strange and startling points in her character.

Using MIND, man can learn various "real facts" about TOTAL REALITY. With the perfection of written knowledge over the eons (and the increasing number of universities and knowledge-seekers in the world) this amount of knowledge can increase to infinity. And so man has an infinity of "real facts" upon which to ground his speech and writing. But man can venture beyond this GOOD infinity point, go beyond infinite TOTAL REALITY into fiction, and produce writings and speech based purely on falsities, illusion, mirage: (1) "It is a dream. I want to continue dreaming it." & (2) "That idyllic shepherd of modern man is only a counterfeit, the totality of cultural illusions which he counts as nature." (Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy)

(8) Surrounded by total perfection on all sides, the imperfection of MIND thus brings into "birth" various false or otherwise imperfect written REALITIES that would not otherwise exist as part of life. Thankfully, because men are between 5 and 6 feet tall, and books and other written materials are read at the same height/level, the portion of entire TOTAL REALITY "exposed" to human false written REALITIES is extremely miniscule. No such false written realities exist within the oceans (comprising 70 percent of earth); neither do they reside in Earth's molten nickel-iron core; neither do they exist at any appreciable height above 5-6 feet man. And of course these false written REALITIES could never exist in "space."

If no man ever spoke, these false written REALITIES would never "exist" which would be GOOD as most of these false realities create FEAR and/or pervert perfected human decision making: "Those poor in life, the weak, impoverish life; those rich in life, the strong, enrich it." (Nietzsche, WP) If the world's "word count" was zero, the only imperfection that would ever exist would be the imperfect actions of living creatures. Excluding these actions, man would then be continuously and totally surrounded on all sides by the perfection of unwritten REALITY.

(9) Without any speech, man could not comprehend the perfection of the environment surrounding him. Thus, a world in which the total word count was "zero" would have neither science, philosophy, medicine, or any other form of wisdom or knowledge. This would not be GOOD: "A tranquil life is also had in dungeons; is that enough to make them desirable." (Rousseau, Social Contract)

(10) It appears then that the "price" of the production of things like philosophy, science, medicine, and many other written disciplines is the production of various ERRORs produced by man in the activity of creating written REALITY: "Everything that is not in nature has its drawbacks, and civil society more so than all the rest." (Rousseau, Social Contract) Man is thus left only with the "art" of perfecting the ability to discern and distinguish accurate and useful written REALITIES from their opposite: "I have a name for the kind of discrimination that leaves what's better and throws away what's worse....[this] kind of discrimination is cleansing." (Plato,Sophist) It appears that MIND is well-equipped to handle this activity; MIND already perfectly distinguishes between mere noise (say that involved in building construction) and perfected Music (say that produced by Sasha or Mozart). Based on current speech patterns, MIND should begin with an operating presumption that most speech stands in need of much perfection before it becomes GOOD: "It is difficult to live among men because silence is so difficult." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra)

(11) The perfection of this art requires silence. No one can stumble upon this art simply by continuing to speak in the predictable ways he or she has employed for many years. A great grand dome of silence is the path to this most useful art: "Both sat still and said nothing. They used to spend whole evenings like this without speaking, and neither of them was in the least put out by this silence." (Chekhov) Silence allows the replaying of certain experienced written REALITIES, a comparison of these written REALITIES with one's own knowledge and experience of the world, and an evaluation of just how much information, TRUTH, and falsities these written REALITIES contain: "All the secrets of your heart shall be brought to light; and when ye lie in the sun, grubbed up and broken, then will also your falsehood be separated from your youth." (Nietzsche, Zarathustra) This judgment, like almost any human judgment, remains incorrectably imperfect but simultaneously reaching ever greater levels of precision.