This probably will be the shortest blog I’ve ever posted. So you really won’t be boggled down with loads of paragraphs of my abstract musings. I’m reading “The Fountain Head”, I’ve read “Atlas Shrugged” and “Anthem”, some of Ayn Rand’s other books. I can quote a whole lot of lines from her books which I adore a lot (Even though there are a few I don’t quite agree with). But here is one paragraph I can relate to myself.
“There’s so much nonsense about human inconstancy and the transience of all emotions.” Said Wynand. “I’ve always thought that a feeling which changes never existed in the first place. There are books I liked at the age of sixteen. I still like them.”
The significance of those lines doesn’t need pages of description and reasoning, as simple and deep as it explains the word “Clingy” as opposed to “Possessive”, does anyone not see the difference?
4 comments:
I don't know if you've finished reading the book, so don't want to comment too much on Wynad.
Interesting point though. Doesn't how you feel depend on the current information you have on the issue?
I heard somewhere..
On a calm bus, enters a father and his three noisy children. The children make so much noise that the passengers decide to ask that parent to control his kids. The passengers 'felt' that the children are troublesome.
When the other passenegers asked this guy to control his children, that father said "Yeah, the children's mother died in the hospital just now and I am confused as to how I should tell this to them"
Everyone 'felt' only sympathy towards those children.
Don't you see the transience of emotions. So why can't feelings change according to the information one gains? Didn't both the feelings above exist? I think both feelings are valid too.
Its so easy to discuss this, since we are not possessive about that quote.
- (another) crab ;)
As I mentioned those lines have very deep meanings. It has various different connotations. One would be to describe the hypocritical nature of people, when the say something at one situation, and change it in cases of another situation, however it would suit them best. There comes the part of non existence of the opinion in the first place.
A possible other meaning is for example I first go about saying AR Rahman is the world’s greatest Music Composer, some of his movies songs don’t attract that much attention from the public, and there is a ridicule about talent deteriorating or becoming stereotypical. That does make me say “he was great”, nope…atleast not me. His work exists (present) he lives (present) so “he is great” no matter what…
Yet another way to look at this is, acquiring ownership without acknowledgment from what you own. That’s being clingy as opposed to demanding ownership from what you own, which is being possessive. Something like, what’s mine is mine, irrespective of whether the world approves of it or not.
I’m too sure how to relate and where to put in your example of kids in my intepretations, see if you can place it. In my view what the passengers had on the kids initially was an “opinion” but after they knew the situation it was a “feeling” I guess. I have had not so high opinions about people, but that’s when I hardly knew them, those opinions have changed into feelings, at that point onwards the constancy stands.
Its like saying you think Harry Potter books are amazing by looking at the attractive cover!
Btw, of how much trouble can a bunch of kids be…its more fun to see them naughty than silent…wonder what kind of problem the other passengers had. So there is basically no transience :P
This blog is proving be a one with longer comments than actual content of blog :D
Gosh! Complicated stuff... Someone who has more abstract thoughts than mine...
I like your part about Guilt...makes a lot of sense.
Moreover...I wasnt trying to say that those lines in The fountain head is the best way to live life or anything else.
Its just that it explains the "Wierd" me! :)
well, feelings are an interplay between the mind and the heart, there is but a subtle difference in the way both look at it and most often we hardly care to pay heed...the philosophy of inconstancy is disapproving with respect to transience of feelings - it again toggles between the elements of feelings with respect to the current scenario...its like training a network and it gets better with more samples henceforth, ur feelings which of course existed either strenthens or weakens over a period of time..afterall, we live in the realm of existentialism and that should explain all :D!
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