Luis Teran (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} lost1nplace) wrote,@ 2006-11-13 19:10:00 |
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Phil 115: Entry 12
p. 485, II: 11.
It's quite obvious that man has a dual nature. What is that dual nature? Montaigne feels our humanity and inhumanity are intertwined, that we are disposed by nature herself to be in perpetual conflict. As Montaigne says, "Watching animals playing together and cuddling each other is nobody's sport: everyone's sport is to watch them tearing each other apart and wrenching off their limbs." (p.485) This has serious implications, one being that perhaps our nature enjoys leaning toward that dark side, the side which drives toward madness and disorder. Freud called this the death drive, Thanatos. When one thinks about it, we as people enjoy making a spectacle out of the violent. If it isn't masses of people watching football every Sunday, it's people watching UFC fights on pay-per-view, or going to monster truck rallies where chaos is all one wants to see, or getting piercings and tattoos... there is somethign to be said about our attraction to pain.
What else can be said about it? Inside us lies a force that clashes with the rational being inside us, a force that pulls us into some sort of escapist mentality. Are we all really that different from those who have borderline personality disorder, and cut themselves, hurting themselves in order to distract from the real problems? All they want is to make the pain go away... and by the sound and looks of things, it might just be something utterly, terribly human.
p. 485, II: 11.
It's quite obvious that man has a dual nature. What is that dual nature? Montaigne feels our humanity and inhumanity are intertwined, that we are disposed by nature herself to be in perpetual conflict. As Montaigne says, "Watching animals playing together and cuddling each other is nobody's sport: everyone's sport is to watch them tearing each other apart and wrenching off their limbs." (p.485) This has serious implications, one being that perhaps our nature enjoys leaning toward that dark side, the side which drives toward madness and disorder. Freud called this the death drive, Thanatos. When one thinks about it, we as people enjoy making a spectacle out of the violent. If it isn't masses of people watching football every Sunday, it's people watching UFC fights on pay-per-view, or going to monster truck rallies where chaos is all one wants to see, or getting piercings and tattoos... there is somethign to be said about our attraction to pain.
What else can be said about it? Inside us lies a force that clashes with the rational being inside us, a force that pulls us into some sort of escapist mentality. Are we all really that different from those who have borderline personality disorder, and cut themselves, hurting themselves in order to distract from the real problems? All they want is to make the pain go away... and by the sound and looks of things, it might just be something utterly, terribly human.
