I have taken the title of this blog from that of the book 'Fools Die' by Puzo. It was a different book compared to his other popular books. This book is his own personal favorite, when you read it, you will see Puzo in a different dimension, as a person who had lot more to say. The book is about the life of Merlin, who try to see magic in life.
When I read the book though I realized what Puzo was trying to tell, some recent events in life around me has made me realize that certain things can't be fixed. Acceptance of things are very difficult, it's still difficult to me. I used to deal with those things with philosophy and spirituality. Most of the times we try to see life with an attitude, when it throw shit at you; but I feel helpless at sometimes and I see life with a measured respectful smile, because thats what it deserves. I think life has to be dealt with the cleverness of a poker player, you should prove yourself to be cleverer for the tricks life is trying to play with you by being prepared and never to be caught off guard. Keep your eyes open, let your wisdom guide you, and judge and learn from every thing around you.
Leave about the fools and how dramatic life can be. Lets talk philosophy. Don't you agree 'Refusal to think is the worst sin'.So I have become a fan of 'Objectivism' of Ayn Rand. She says 'My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.' I agree to that completely. I sound selfish don't I, yes thats the whole point. Read along in her own words quoted from here
- Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
- Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
- Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
- The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.
Be reasonable and accountable for everything. And you will be able to find happiness just for being that way. I hope. I want to be called 'A reasonable honest man' when I die.
4 comments:
interesting thoughts Deepu :) If I may share something too.. Life is not our enemy which is bombarding us with all sorts of problems at us and that we have to fight with life. Whatever we face with the external world is only due to us and our past actions and life presents us with some opportunities to learn something about us, to perhaps to realise something and change. As you know we all have different views of what morality is. We have been trying to understand morality through religion, philosophy, atheism, science, etc.. but still have different ideas. What is moral to one is immoral to another. What is moral in one part of the world is immoral in another. If at all we want to define morality, one thing where all different disciplines will unite and one thing almost all of us will agree is being SELFLESS! However, I appreciate your view and also your wish ... and you have my best wishes :)
Life is not a fight, but people do get victimized by life. 'Everything has a purpose' we often say that as an axiom. But that purpose is only our reaction to the experience. Selfless person would tend to be the victim of it and learn to accept without reasoning and adjust to it. One thing not to be forgotten is that the root of most unselfish acts are selfish - to gain virtue, or to feel good about himself by the standards of a moral code (eg a religion). I am just trying to meet both the ends.
Try reading Fountain Head (fiction) or Virtue of Selfishness (non fiction) by Ayn Rand.
interesting blog. :) I have read and re-read Rand a number of times. Found her interesting and impossible at the same time. Found resonance in her writing and belief. They say if at twenty you don't love Rand, you don't have a heart, and if at thirty you still go by her, you don't have a mind! I don't know how much I agree or disagree, but the fundamental ideas about 'self' and about the 'purpose of one's life' are transcendental..matchless!
I don't agree to her completely, or probably don't want to. Because a part of me is still spiritual. As you said its impossible for a normal human being to be like one of her hero. But we can all follow a rational moral code all through our life, rather than just being a hedonist I thought. I agree with her on her views on sacrifices and self inflicted pain being seen as virtue. Thanks for reading. :)
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