I’m learning that finishing something is more important than making it perfect.
I wrote an article about that recently
I wrote that article because I started writing this article
And that sentence prefaced what this one would be
But I needed to establish that first claim and think through it – cause I hadn’t
So I wrote that article, which works through the first line of this one
I forget what it’s called, sorry
And now
this one is sort of lost on me
But I’ll do my best
The essence of my concern in this one was what constituted the self
If a married man lusts after another woman, is he an adulterer?
Does the locus of identity lie with the impulses?
my reason for this inquiry is this:
I struggle to grasp what it means for an individual to transform
I struggle to grasp what it means for an individual to embody a static, and therefore distinguishable, identity or locus of being
mm, locus
good word
Here’s a question
What makes you you?
social constructionism is such a buzzkill
but beyond the qualities of the individual which proceed biological inheritance & coding
what isn’t socially constructed?
well duh, genius question ryan
I speak from ignorance
in virtually all domains
so if you’re still reading this the joke’s on you
haa
just kidding please don’t leave
The line is blurry
All a reasonable person can account for is biologically sourced traits and socially constructed traits
But we’ve never been satisfied with this apparently-evident-though perhaps-wholly-incorrect explanation
And consequently,
over the course of homo history, a third classification emerged
the soul
oh he’s talking about the soul again
get some new content!
You already said you speak from ignorance how is this even doing any good?
cause im dumb
and I’m working on undumbing myself
and I have to write
But it makes sense right?
That what is neither biological nor social and cannot even be some janky consummation of the two has to originate somewhere?
So, the Divine.
Abandon the Pope ye who enter here!
yes, let’s take this moment to make fun of Catholics
Making fun of catholics?
Mm, that’s divine comedy if I ever heard it
well, so this has been an interesting conversation so far
I gotta rap up soon cause I have 18 minutes to post this and get my article in for the day
The root of these particular intellectual qualms is my genuine confusion about who I am
by who I mean where
I am unable to identify the part of me that is real
Maybe I am not there at all; this is a possibility I can’t rule out
Perhaps my impulses and fantasies are most fundamental to me
They at least seem to be some manifestation of what is important to me and what would fulfil my drive to live as an individual
this is a general statement
for anyone, your fantasies will teach you about what you want
as well show you how you’re bitter or delusioned, if you’re willing to look and be transparent with yourself
which is tough, because metrics for truth are tough to pin down
especially for young people
I’m rambling
the point is
for a young man who has been molded and taught and released to experience the world
realizing more and more that the “who” he assumes present when he examines his reflection
fluctuates due to a hundred or a thousand or a million or infinite or unknowable variable
Flux. It could even be better for identity to remain in flux indefinitely!
stagnation, complacency – these things don’t do us good by all indications
But like I mentioned before, I think, a metric for truth – a means for accurate consideration
That’s vital for living well – for survival
So, somewhere in the middle I guess
oh, chaos and order
wow im original
no progress made
have a good one
