Beyond Philosophy

Real doubt shows us problems outside the reach of purely rational solutions. We want to live for reasons that are not fundamentally rational (in the strictest sense, such that anyone with good logic would recognize and agree with our position). Esta duda cartesiana, metódica o teórica, esta duda filosófica de estufa, no es la duda, no es el escepticismo, no es la incertidumbre de que aquí os hablo, ¡no! Esta otra duda es una duda de pasión, es el eterno conflicto entre la razón y el sentimiento, la ciencia y la vida, la lógica y la biótica. Porque la ciencia destruye el concepto de personalidad, reduciéndolo a un complejo en continuo flujo de momento, es decir, destruye la base misma sentimental de la vida del espíritu, que, sin rendirse se revuelve contra la razón. Y esta duda no puede valerse de moral alguna de provisión, sino que tiene que fundar su moral, como veremos, sobre el conflicto mismo, una moral de batalla, y tiene que fundar sobre sí misma la religión. Y habita una casa q...

Seneca discusses how to approach mature friends in need of some serious help. Adults are hard to reform, as they have more experience and are more likely to persist in whatever habits they have developed than to cultivate new ones. But where there is will and opportunity for change, there is hope. Quod ad duos amicos nostros pertinet, diversa via eundum est; alterius enim vitia emendanda, alterius frangenda sunt. Utar libertate tota: non amo illum nisi offendo. Quid ergo? inquis quadragenarium pupillum cogitas sub tutela tua continere? Respice aetatem eius iam duram et intractabilem: non potest reformari; tenera finguntur. An profecturus sim nescio: malo successum mihi quam fidem deesse. Nec desperaveris etiam diutinos aegros posse sanari, si contra intemperantiam steteris, si multa invitos et facere coegeris et pati. Ne de altero quidem satis fiduciae habeo, excepto eo quod adhuc peccare erubescit; nutriendus est hic pudor, qui quamdiu in animo eius duraverit, aliquis erit bonae s...

Marcus advises himself to avoid obsessing over bad appearances, fantasies, imaginations, dreams. A real problem must be met with action that is harder if we waste energy imagining what we fear. Ὡς εὔκολον ἀπώσασθαι καὶ ἀπαλεῖψαι πᾶσαν φαντασίαν τὴν ὀχληρὰν ἢ ἀνοίκειον καὶ εὐθὺς ἐν πάσῃ γαλήνῃ εἶναι. Calmly dismiss and delete every dream that is irksome or uncouth, and be immediately at peace.

Unamuno dismisses Cartesian skepticism as fake, constructed from doubts with no real power because they are not actual doubts. From Unamuno's perspective, the provisional morality Descartes allows himself in the Discourse on Method  puts any authentic doubt beyond his reach. Initium sapientiae timor Domini , se dijo, queriendo acaso decir timor mortis , o tal vez timor vitae , que es lo mismo. Siempre resulta que el principio de la sabiduría es un temor. Y este escepticismo salvador de que ahora voy a hablaros, ¿puede decirse que sea la duda? Es la duda, sí, pero es mucho más que la duda. La duda es con frecuencia una cosa muy fría, muy poco vitalizadora, y, sobre todo, una cosa algo artificiosa, especialmente desde que Descartes la rebajó al papel de método. El conflicto entre la razón y la vida es algo más que una duda. Porque la duda con facilidad se reduce a ser un elemento cómico. La duda metódica de Descartes es una duda cómica, una duda puramente teórica, provisoria, es de...

Seneca tells Lucilius to avoid despising life too much. As we can desire life more than we should, more than is naturally virtuous, so we can despise her, and desire death, more than we should. We must walk carefully between these overweening emotions, lust and loathing, giving way to neither. That is the path of sages, the narrow road of true philosophy. Video quo spectes: quaeris quid huic epistulae infulserim, quod dictum alicuius animosum, quod praeceptum utile. Ex hac ipsa materia quae in manibus fuit mittetur aliquid. Obiurgat Epicurus non minus eos qui mortem concupiscunt quam eos qui timent, et ait: ridiculum est currere ad mortem taedio vitae, cum genere vitae ut currendum ad mortem esset effeceris. Item alio loco dicit: quid tam ridiculum quam appetere mortem, cum vitam inquietam tibi feceris metu mortis? His adicias et illud eiusdem notae licet, tantam hominum imprudentiam esse, immo dementiam, ut quidam timore mortis cogantur ad mortem. Quidquid horum tractaveris, confir...

Marcus rousts himself from bed to begin the fifth book of Notes. Ὄρθρου, ὅταν δυσόκνως ἐξεγείρῃ, πρόχειρον ἔστω ὅτι ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου ἔργον ἐγείρομαι· ἔτι οὖν δυσκολαίνω, εἰ πορεύομαι ἐπὶ τὸ ποιεῖν ὧν ἕνεκεν γέγονα καὶ ὧν χάριν προῆγμαι εἰς τὸν κόσμον; ἢ ἐπὶ τοῦτο κατεσκεύασμαι, ἵνα κατακείμενος ἐν στρωματίοις ἐμαυτὸν θάλπω; ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἥδιον. πρὸς τὸ ἥδεσθαι οὖν γέγονας, ὅλως δὲ πρὸς πεῖσιν, οὐ πρὸς ἐνέργειαν; οὐ βλέπεις τὰ φυτάρια, τὰ στρουθάρια, τοὺς μύρμηκας, τοὺς ἀράχνας, τὰς μελίσσας τὸ ἴδιον ποιούσας, τὸ καθ’ αὑτὰς συγκοσμούσας κόσμον; ἔπειτα σὺ οὐ θέλεις τὰ ἀνθρωπικὰ ποιεῖν; οὐ τρέχεις ἐπὶ τὸ κατὰ τὴν σὴν φύσιν; ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ ἀναπαύεσθαι. δεῖ· φημὶ κἀγώ· ἔδωκε μέντοι καὶ τούτου μέτρα ἡ φύσις, ἔδωκε μέντοι καὶ τοῦ ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν, καὶ ὅμως σὺ ὑπὲρ τὰ μέτρα, ὑπὲρ τὰ ἀρκοῦντα προχωρεῖς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πράξεσιν οὐκ ἔτι, ἀλλ’ ἐντὸς τοῦ δυνατοῦ. οὐ γὰρ φιλεῖς σεαυτόν, ἐπεί τοι καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἄν σου καὶ τὸ βούλημα ταύτης ἐφίλεις. ἄλλοι δὲ τὰς τέχνας ἑαυτῶν φιλοῦντες συγκατατήκονται τοῖς κατ’ α...

The tragic sentiment of life, after which Unamuno titled his book in Spanish, arises from an insoluble war between the head and heart of humanity. The head is driven by human reason, which cannot prove immortality or make us content. Contentment comes from the heart, which is stubbornly determined to seek immortal life. So they make war together, head & heart, as this is the best way to make peace within themselves (with the head accepting reason's mastery and the heart ceding to our vital will to survive). Ni, pues, el anhelo vital de inmortalidad humana halla confirmación racional, ni tampoco la razón nos da aliciente y consuelo de vida y verdadera finalidad a ésta. Mas he aquí que en el fondo del abismo se encuentran la desesperación sentimental y volitiva y el escepticismo racional frente a frente, y se abrazan como hermanos. Y va a ser de este abrazo, un abrazo trágico, es decir, entrañadamente amoroso, de donde va a brotar manantial de vida, de una vida seria y terrible. ...

Seneca reminds Lucilius of something the latter once wrote about what makes us fear death. We are always dying, always losing time on the way to meet our mortality, but we don't notice until the very end, and that sudden realization is what terrifies us. If we see death constantly, it ceases to frighten. Permitte mihi hoc loco referre versum tuum, si prius admonuero ut te iudices non aliis scripsisse ista sed etiam tibi. Turpe est aliud loqui, aliud sentire: quanto turpius aliud scribere, aliud sentire! Memini te illum locum aliquando tractasse, non repente nos in mortem incidere sed minutatim procedere. Cotidie morimur; cotidie enim demitur aliqua pars vitae, et tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit. Infantiam amisimus, deinde pueritiam, deinde adulescentiam. Usque ad hesternum quidquid transit temporis perit; hunc ipsum quem agimus diem cum morte dividimus. Quemadmodum clepsydram non extremum stilicidium exhaurit sed quidquid ante defluxit, sic ultima hora qua esse desinimus n...

Marcus advises himself to avoid drawing things out. Important work should be done promptly, not left to fester. Ἐπὶ τὴν σύντομον ἀεὶ τρέχε· σύντομος δὲ ἡ κατὰ φύσιν, ὥστε κατὰ τὸ ὑγιέστατον πᾶν λέγειν καὶ πράσσειν. ἀπαλλάσσει γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη πρόθεσις κόπων καὶ στρατείας καὶ πάσης οἰκονομίας καὶ κομψείας. (†) Run always toward brevity. The most natural expression is quick, cut short in the moment so that every word and action achieve the healthiest form available. This sort of approach will free you from toils and plots, as well as every sort of scheme and affectation. --- (†) I have followed the punctuation of Leopold over that of Farquharsson, but I read στρατείας ( plotting, campaigning ) with the latter as opposed to στραγγείας ( delaying , cf. στραγγεύομαι), not because it must be right, but because I find it more interesting .

Unamuno concludes his chapter on reason by identifying the end of reason as total dissolution, the deconstruction of any basis for action. All actions must carry some motive which reason can analyze, distress, and deconstruct, leaving the agent distrustful of motive, and so of its expression. The end of rational analysis thus becomes paralysis, when we see starkly our mortal limitations, a sight often accompanied by emotional despair. What to do with that? The next chapter will say more. La disolución racional termina en disolver la razón misma, en el más absoluto escepticismo, en el fenomenalismo de Hume o en el contingencialismo absoluto de Stuart Mill, éste el más consecuente y lógico de los positivistas. El triunfo supremo de la razón, facultad analítica, esto es, destructiva y disolvente, es poner en duda su propia validez. Cuando hay una úlcera en el estómago, acaba éste por digerirse a sí mismo. Y la razón acaba por destruir la validez inmediata y absoluta del concepto de verdad...

Seneca encourages Lucilius to put away worry by facing his worst fears of the future in the present. What if everything bad you can imagine came true right now, this moment? What would you do? How would you feel? Letting those feelings emerge is the first step towards letting them go. Haec in animo voluta, quae saepe audisti, saepe dixisti; sed an vere audieris, an vere dixeris, effectu proba; hoc enim turpissimum est quod nobis obici solet, verba nos philosophiae, non opera tractare. Quid? tu nunc primum tibi mortem imminere scisti, nunc exilium, nunc dolorem? in haec natus es; quidquid fieri potest quasi futurum cogitemus. Quod facere te moneo scio certe fecisse: nunc admoneo ut animum tuum non mergas in istam sollicitudinem; hebetabitur enim et minus habebit vigoris cum exsurgendum erit. Abduc illum a privata causa ad publicam; dic mortale tibi et fragile corpusculum esse, cui non ex iniuria tantum aut ex potentioribus viribus denuntiabitur dolor: ipsae voluptates in tormenta vertun...

Marcus reflects on the brevity of our mortal lives. Seeing events in proper perspective, as tiny moments in a lifespan dwarfed by the enormity of the universe, allows us to avoid becoming too emotionally committed to them, too angry or sad when they appear averse to us. The things that drive us toward emotional investment and passionate display (life) will eventually push us toward divestment and apathy (death). ὁδός ἄνω κάτω μία καὶ ὡυτή. Ἰδιωτικὸν μέν, ὅμως δὲ ἀνυστικὸν βοήθημα πρὸς θανάτου καταφρόνησιν ἡ ἀναπόλησις τῶν γλίσχρως ἐνδιατριψάντων τῷ ζῆν. τί οὖν αὐτοῖς πλέον ἢ τοῖς ἀώροις; πάντως πού ποτε κεῖνται, Καιδικιανός, Φάβιος, Ἰουλιανός, Λέπιδος ἢ εἴ τις τοιοῦτος, οἳ πολλοὺς ἐξήνεγκαν, εἶτα ἐξηνέχθησαν· ὅλον, μικρόν ἐστι τὸ διάστημα καὶ τοῦτο δι’ ὅσων καὶ μεθ’ οἵων ἐξαντλούμενον καὶ ἐν οἵῳ σωματίῳ; μὴ οὖν ὡς πρᾶγμα· βλέπε γὰρ ὀπίσω τὸ ἀχανὲς τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ τὸ πρόσω ἄλλο ἄπειρον. ἐν δὴ τούτῳ τί διαφέρει ὁ τριήμερος τοῦ τριγερηνίου; It's a crazy thing, but repeating the actions...

Unamuno is wrapping up his assessment of reason. Within rational limits he finds no room for personal immortality, which thus becomes rationally impossible (as Christians recognized as early as Tertullian). No sé por qué tanta gente se escandalizó o hizo que se escandalizaba cuando Brunetière volvió a proclamar la bancarrota de la ciencia. Porque la ciencia, en cuanto sustitutiva de la religión, y la razón en cuanto sustitutiva de la fe, han fracasado siempre. La ciencia podrá satisfacer, y de hecho satisface en una medida creciente, nuestras crecientes necesidades lógicas o mentales, nuestro anhelo de saber y conocer la verdad; pero la ciencia no satisface nuestras necesidades afectivas y volitivas, nuestra hambre de inmortalidad, y lejos de satisfacerla, contradícela. La verdad racional y la vida están en contraposición. ¿Y hay acaso otra verdad que la verdad racional? Debe quedar, pues, sentado, que la razón, la razón humana, dentro de sus límites, no sólo no prueba racionalmente qu...

Seneca advises Lucilius to unmask his fears, to recognize that people all around him are constantly bearing death and pain nobly, easily, even contemptuously, as part of their normal existence. If they can do it, he can, too. Mihi crede, Lucili, adeo mors timenda non est ut beneficio eius nihil anteferendum sit. Securus itaque inimici minas audi; et quamvis conscientia tibi tua fiduciam faciat, tamen, quia multa extra causam valent, et quod aequissimum est spera et ad id te quod est iniquissimum compara. Illud autem ante omnia memento, demere rebus tumultum ac videre quid in quaque re sit: scies nihil esse in istis terribile nisi ipsum timorem. Quod vides accidere pueris, hoc nobis quoque maiusculis pueris evenit: illi quos amant, quibus assueverunt, cum quibus ludunt, si personatos vident, expavescunt: non hominibus tantum sed rebus persona demenda est et reddenda facies sua. Quid mihi gladios et ignes ostendis et turbam carnificum circa te frementem? Tolle istam pompam sub qua lates ...

Marcus talks to himself, exhorting himself to turn bad fortune into good by recognizing how each event in our lives offers play for our virtues. Humanity, for him (and other Stoics), is a matter of responding well to all that nature gives. This means accepting her bad gifts, too, and learning how to use them well, how to make good from them that we might not see if we dismiss them as totally evil. Ὅμοιον εἶναι τῇ ἄκρᾳ, ᾗ διηνεκῶς τὰ κύματα προσρήσσεται· ἡ δὲ ἕστηκε καὶ περὶ αὐτὴν κοιμίζεται τὰ φλεγμήναντα τοῦ ὕδατος. Ἀτυχὴς ἐγώ, ὅτι τοῦτό μοι συνέβη. οὐμενοῦν ἀλλ’ εὐτυχὴς ἐγώ, ὅτι τούτου μοι συμβεβηκότος ἄλυπος διατελῶ, οὔτε ὑπὸ παρόντος θραυόμενος οὔτε ἐπιὸν φοβούμενος. συμβῆναι μὲν γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτο παντὶ ἐδύνατο, ἄλυπος δὲ οὐ πᾶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἂν διετέλεσε. διὰ τί οὖν ἐκεῖνο μᾶλλον ἀτύχημα ἢ τοῦτο εὐτύχημα; λέγεις δὲ ὅλως ἀτύχημα ἀνθρώπου, ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπότευγμα τῆς φύσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; ἀπότευγμα δὲ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἶναι δοκεῖ σοι, ὃ μὴ παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ ἐστι; τί οὖν;...

Unamuno discusses differences between happiness and knowledge, science and wisdom. «¿Sois felices?» pregunta Caín en el poema byroniano a Lucifer, príncipe de los intelectuales, y éste le responde: «Somos poderosos»; y Caín replica: «¿Sois felices?», y entonces el gran Intelectual le dice: «No; ¿lo eres tú?» Y más adelante este mismo Luzbel dice a Adah, hermana y mujer de Caín: «Escoge entre el Amor y la Ciencia, pues no hay otra elección.» Y en este mismo estupendo poema, al decir Caín que el árbol de la ciencia del bien y del mal era un árbol mentiroso, porque «no sabemos nada, y su prometida ciencia fué al precio de la muerte», Luzbel le replica: «Puede ser que la muerte conduzca al más alto conocimiento». Es decir, a la nada. En todos estos pasajes donde he traducido ciencia , dice lord Byron k nowledge , conocimiento; el francés science y el alemán Wissenschaft , al que muchos enfrentan la wisdom — sagesse francesa y Weisheit alemana — la sabiduría. «La ciencia llega, pero ...