I address two "common-sensical" falsehoods - first about experience,
second about love - and show them to be wrong
First there is the "commonsensical" idea that loving oneself must
precede being loved by another. This falls apart under scrutiny. The
person who has high standards for himself or herself finds it harder to
love himself or herself than does someone whose standards for self are
low; however it is by having such standards and meeting them at least
part-way that makes one lovable to the next person. Thus, the same
quality that makes it harder to love oneself - high standards - also
makes one more lovable to the next person. And the "commonsense" on
this subject stands refuted.
Second is the idea that one has to have one's life in order before he
can do anything good for anyone else. In fact, a person with the
highest variety of emotional states is going to find it hardest to have
a stable existence (if he were even to want such a thing as a stable
existence) - but, because of the variety of emotional states that he
experiences, he has the most wisdom to offer others. Because he or she
experiences a wide range of emotional states, he or she has the most
experience with different feelings that people may experience and with
the resulting outcomes. Whereas a person with stable emotional makeup
will find a stable life easier to come by, but will be far less
knowledgeable of people's feelings and will have little worthwhile
ideas to offer. Furthermore, along with the experience of different
emotional states, it is through experience of different ways of living
that one also gains wisdom; and these likewise correlate negatively
with stable existence. This refutes the commonsense on this subject.
The same quality that leads to instability and hard****p in one's own
life leads likewise to wisdom that one can impart others. Thus a
Coleridge or a Byron or a Blake has more of wisdom to offer than does
someone whose life is predictable; and the person who has much of value
to say is frequently the person whose own life is disheveled.
I love refuting "common sense" in all its manifestations. The monkey
brain is both stupid and cruel, and in fighting it I stand up for all
whom it destroys.
Ilya Shambat.
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