Aristophanes, in his speech on love, makes reference to human beings as once being intertwined. We had eight limbs and one head with two faces looking out in opposite directions. Each creature had two sets of genitalia. Alas, these creatures were too powerful, too able and so Zeus decided to sever them in two - man and woman. Aristophanes said we are always looking for our missing half to complete ourselves. This according to many is the origin of our current theory of soul-mates, at least in the Western world.
What you may or may not know is that Aristophanes was most famous for his comedies..... I wonder what he would make of us.
8 comments:
One cannot step in the same river. If you missed something, you missed it. Well, I mean, if you are borne without another half, then you don't have it.
Did he say: Stupid lasts forever?
If he said so, I do agree with him.
I found that no matter how hard I tried to study, I didn't become smarter. Once I am stupid, I am stupid. Though I tried to be smart or clever, I am still stupid.
-- Sheba
I believe stupidity has both a positive and negative aspect.
The positive aspect is when "stupidity" is the humble state of learning. The more one learns, the more stupid he ought to feel. Socrates often spoke of this.
The dark side of stupidity is something more like what Camus said "Stupidity has a knack of getting its way." I take that to mean stupidity in its arrogant form, unconscious of itself - ego masked as intelligence.
it is strange, i always think im a little smarter after i learned a new thing/trick. i think it's correct to say that we realize how little we know when we read more. But we do progress through learning.
a phiosopher once said that an extraordinary person cannot be too humble, otherwise is is hyporcricy.
So it's arrogance for stupid people trying to act smart. And it's hyporcricy for smart people trying to act normal or stupid.
How blessed is it to be a normal person! But then again, who can really be the judge of other's intelligence :)
I don't like Aristophanes' theory on human beings. It lets me feel we are monsters and have split personality. Sorry for saying this. I just don't like the image. I agree with him that we are always looking for something. However I would like to say that maybe we are looking for ourselves - the meaning of our beings. At least I feel my being is more important than a soul-mate.
Don't misunderstand me. I totally support soul-mates. Who will reject a good soul-mate?
Mei-ling
What? My soul mate? Oh, I am so busy that I have no time to look for him.If anybody meets my missing half,please tell him to call me.
-Rachel
Very amusing Rachel! I think Aristophanes would appreciate your sense of humor.
Mei-Ling: It's intriguing that rather than seeing this tale as romantic, you see it as monstrous. Perhaps the two aren't so very far apart? I agree that the image of a creature with one head but two faces does sound like some mad Hollywood creation.
What I find most interesting about Aristophanes' idea is that it is so dualistic. Whenever we talk about men and women, we immediately fall into discussing everything as a Descartian dualism. Mars/Venus Water/Wine Love/Hate And the list goes on and on and on. I wonder if this direction, naturalized by habit, is the best direction to take. Perhaps we ought to take a pluralistic approach instead.
- Paul
It is very interesting to know that I see Aristophanes' tale as monstrous. It is like a group of people sit together to discuss something and you found that your point of view is appalling. Can I blame Hollywood for poisoning my mind? Just kidding.
It is nice to see "Descartian dualism" again. I saw it in the "Sophie's World" before. I can understand hate/love, but I don't quite know about water/wine and Mars/Venus. Would you please tell us more?
My last question is about writing on the blog. Do I expose myself to the public when I write my comments on any blog?
Mei-ling
Regarding your first question Mei-Ling, dualisms exist any time you posit two opposing ideas through which you try to comprehend the world. Heaven and Hell is a common dualism used in Christianity to make sense of the universe. In a similar way the distinction we make between male and female is also a dualism.
The answer to your second question about "exposing yourself" is yes, a little. If you search on google for Chung-Deh, you will find this blog. Thereby, someone could read your comments on the blog too. If you type "Mei-Ling" though, you won't find any of your comments. We could make this blog completely private, but it would be troublesome for everyone to use as they would require special passwords.
- Paul
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