The Headless Most Important Questions English Literature Essay
This essay wishes to dig within one of the most of import inquiries asked by adult male and hopefully clear the mists that choke its clear realisation. “ A reappraisal of all values, ” as Nietzsche calls it – nevertheless in a much more contained signifier and upon the values of another. We shall turn Descartes into a common adult male and follow his line of idea to where it takes us. If it deviates into the nothingness, so the roamer shall be brought back to his path. We shall detect that his statement ne’er reaches his full aim, but instead lodges into comfort and remains within the abstract. After adult male is left behind can the inquiry be answered? Is it world we are seeing?
To see the true nature of things ; a inquiry grade? No, it is the slaying of the inquiry grade, the ink trickling off the page. The adult male surrounded by darkness asks himself – am I awake? He looks around, but visible radiation does non look. He inquiries his head once more and once more and yet, an reply fails to get. “ I can non cognize ” , he answers. “ No 1 can cognize. ” But it is a prevarication ; great certainty can come and its secret is contained within the decease of the inquiry grade.
Man gazes through his senses and informants disagreement. A male monarch ‘s tribunal it seems, where clowns and buffoons run rampant around aureate pillars ; colourful masks of lunacy or sorrow or hilarity. Again and once more one is set upon it, and once more and once more one forgets his ain creative activity. “ It is prudent to ne’er swear the senses that can lead on us ” , the adult male says. But does non one call the inexperienced person guilty? The senses do non lie ; they merely offer what one is. Is it non adult male himself who clothes the buffoons and names gold as gold? Is it non Reason that listens to the testimony of the senses and calls the object in its myriad of signifiers? Deceived, it seems, is the head itself by its ain semblance.
The adult male so tries to stretch his manus, experiencing each finger, each musculus and inquiries. “ Am I now stretching my manus? Or am I within my ain bed woolgathering that I am traveling? No ” , he grounds “ If I was now asleep I would non experience myself with such sharpness. But so once more I can woolgather that I am experiencing myself. ” He stands in quiet contemplation. He tries traveling anon. Again he sits. “ One can non cognize the reply ” , he eventually allows. But have we non merely said that the head does non witness world, but semblance? The adult male is neither traveling, nor is he asleep within his bed. He lies within his ain created visible radiation ; the darkness going intolerable. But it is non existent visible radiation, and it is non existent darkness. “ Am I awake? ” the adult male asks. He is simply lying within his little chamber, fumbling, through the darkness of his ain closed oculus palpebras, for the door boss. He has ne’er seen the room ; so he conjures the possible image of the room. He has ne’er seen himself ; so he creates the self-importance. The image he creates has nil to make with existent visible radiation ; and the self-importance has nil to make with himself. So he continues to seek and seek, ne’er cognizing that he is simply within a dream. What happens when one names this one dead and that one alive? He is woolgathering – and when I say this I am woolgathering, excessively. Chuang Tzu called these words the Great Swindle ; for one can non cognize that he is woolgathering until he is awake.
Yet, adult male is still asleep ; ne’er discerning who he is. For that is what sleep expresses ; one is, but one is non cognizant that one is. It merely natural ; for adult male has evolved out of the animate beings. Animals find themselves in a heavy slumber – no animate being is witting of itself. Man ‘s slumber is the great grounds of his roots. Hearken onto the inquiries humanity has challenged: where do I stay? Am I located in my bodily chamber? My rational modules? My psyche? – He is simply toppling through darkness. The awakened do non necessitate to oppugn – he is cognizant of himself. His eyes are unfastened ; he has stepped into visible radiation. Why inquiry where 1 is, when one can see himself? Ego is simply the replacing for the slumberer ; the awakened needs no self-importance – he is already there A adult male who is cognizant of himself has non inferiority complex. Any place of leading – political, spiritual, and societal – is based upon a deep lower status composite. This feeling of deficiency is the cause of people going ambitious ; because if one does non tag his name upon history, in his ain position, he is a failure. They desire this, although even the greatest names in history have bit by bit been forgotten. How many people can we maintain transporting? This aspiration every bit good, intimations to something carnal. Robert Ardrey has determined that all animate beings carry within themselves an inherent aptitude called the “ Territorial Imperative ” . The Canis familiaris that is urinating upon the tree is taging his ain district. Now any Canis familiaris that will come near that tree, will cognize that it is non available. Man works along the same line. Gaze upon all the lines drawn upon the sand – all these states are merely people urinating and taging their district. This is England, this is Africa, this is America – you can smell that it is a different state. Otherwise what is the demand of states? What is this demand for distinction? Behold all the idols adult male has created, all the infantile superstitious notions, and all the commandments from Gods – merely dust within the dark. Glimpse upon history – the two World Wars – they prove adult male ‘s slumber.
Merely a smattering of people have awakened throughout clip. Merely a few had the bravery required to come out of hibernation. Heraclitus affirmed: “ Whatever we see when awake is decease, when asleep, dreams ” . When one is asleep he sees mirages, hallucinations – his ain private kingdom. When awake, what does one see? Heraclitus says, “ Whatever we see when awake is decease. ” Possibly that is why adult male is still asleep, possibly that is why one surrounds himself with the murk of dreams – so that he is non forced to accept the world of decease. But one can non rouse until one has faced decease ; has challenged it standing. And when one sees decease, when he does non get away from it, he will cognize that decease is life. Move into decease, and you move into life – for Heraclitus says that opposites connect and blend ; they are one.
Throughout clip the awakened have tried to wake adult male from his sleep – and they have failed. A Gautama Buddha, a Heraclitus, a Chuang Tzu – once more and once more have they attempted, and once more and once more have they known licking. For we have staked so much onto slumber. It is merely like a adult male who is woolgathering of wealths, he is woolgathering that he is an emperor within a castle of gold – and one enterprises to rouse him. He is simply a mendicant on the street. Merely a hapless adult male will woolgather of wealths ; the rich ne’er dream of being rich – it would be unlogical. The mendicant has invested so much in his dreams, that he will defy any effort to wake him. And even if one tries to coerce him awake ; he will fall asleep instantly afterwards. For when he is awake, he is simply a mendicant – when asleep, he becomes a male monarch.
Man is ever seeking for something. Has he of all time asked himself what is he seeking for? Even if in some obscure minutes, he has an intimation of what he is seeking – it is ever blurry, it is ne’er precise. If one tries to specify his object of chase, he will bit by bit lose his demand to run. The quest can merely take a breath in a province of woolgathering, of sleep – when one is in darkness, one things are non clear, one support on seeking. I have one time heard an anecdote of a great mysterious adult female called Rabia Al- Adawia. Once, during sunset, people have found her seeking on the street. She was an old, frail adult female – her eyesight weak. So the neighbours decided to assist her.
“ What are you seeking for? ” they inquired.
“ That is nonsensical, I am seeking. If you can assist me, so aid. ” she answered.
They started express joying and said, ” Rabia, are you huffy? You call our inquiry insignificant, but how can we assist if we do n’t cognize what to look for? ”
“ Very good, ” Rabia said “ merely to pacify you, I am seeking for my acerate leaf. ”
They started seeking, but shortly they realized that the route was big and the needle such a infinitesimal thing. So they asked,
“ Please state us where you lost your needle – the precise topographic point. For the route is ample and we can travel on seeking forever. ”
“ Again you spout nonsensical. ” Rabia said. “ How is it concerned with my hunt? ”
They all stopped and eyed old adult female. “ You are surely captured by lunacy! ”
“ Very good. ” Rabia answered “ Merely to fulfill you, I have lost it in my house. ”
They stared in silence.
“ Then why are you looking for it here? ” they eventually asked.
“ Because it is light here, and indoors darkness. ”
The Sun was puting and there was still a small light left exterior on the route.
Yes, you keep on seeking – for wealths, power, cognition. But if you look at the rich people, the people in power, the 1s who have knowledge ; they are all still seeking excessively, still asleep. Yes, Rabia is right. We all keep running about, believing we are headless, looking for ourselves – and still we keep looking exterior. Where have we lost our caputs? Where have we lost our being? Stupid small monkeys trapped within our suites, drawn like flies to any small visible radiation ; when whoever has looked indoors has ever found and awakened.
