Wednesday, June 27, 2018
My Love/Hate Relationship With Great Thinkers
By Donovan Baldwin
It's a little ironic that I tend to categorize the following thoughts as "thinking out loud".
I have a love/hate relationship with "Great Thinkers". I think (can't get away from that word) that they are great (oops). I love to read their thoughts, and contemplate them with pleasure, or to grab an imaginary weapon and attack them.
Still, that's the point.
They think, thought, and passed those thoughts on to others, such as myself, stimulating more thought, perhaps to be passed on as well. Or, to tell the truth, to be played with, mangled, mutilated, and manipulated to fit my thoughts, my personal philosophy of life and self.
Not to say that MY thoughts will be wonderful, better or worse than theirs, yet, "thought" is one thing that makes us human.
"Thought", and great thinkers, do not generally feed us, fix our cars, or even aid in the birth of (or conception of) our babies. Yet, it is the presence of, and the presentation of, "thought" and "thinking", along with the arts that allows us to claim that we are a bit more than the animals, and, (maybe) better than plants... though less than angels (although there are a few who come close).
So, rambling on to an end, I read Great Thinkers, get mad, argue, agree, and live... with new thoughts I might not have discovered in my own head.
After all, I'm only human.
It's a little ironic that I tend to categorize the following thoughts as "thinking out loud".
I have a love/hate relationship with "Great Thinkers". I think (can't get away from that word) that they are great (oops). I love to read their thoughts, and contemplate them with pleasure, or to grab an imaginary weapon and attack them.
Still, that's the point.
They think, thought, and passed those thoughts on to others, such as myself, stimulating more thought, perhaps to be passed on as well. Or, to tell the truth, to be played with, mangled, mutilated, and manipulated to fit my thoughts, my personal philosophy of life and self.
Not to say that MY thoughts will be wonderful, better or worse than theirs, yet, "thought" is one thing that makes us human.
"Thought", and great thinkers, do not generally feed us, fix our cars, or even aid in the birth of (or conception of) our babies. Yet, it is the presence of, and the presentation of, "thought" and "thinking", along with the arts that allows us to claim that we are a bit more than the animals, and, (maybe) better than plants... though less than angels (although there are a few who come close).
So, rambling on to an end, I read Great Thinkers, get mad, argue, agree, and live... with new thoughts I might not have discovered in my own head.
After all, I'm only human.
Labels: donovan baldwin, great thinkers, life, philosophy, self, thinking out loud
Thursday, January 11, 2018
The Thoughts of Great Thinkers
By: Donovan Baldwin
I have, over my 72 years, read the thoughts of many "great thinkers".
I have found one thing common to many of their "great thoughts".
Often they do not contain "answers" per se. Often, what they do is cause the reader, listener, to look within themselves, and, at the world around them, and...think.
That's why there are more works interpreting the thoughts of great thinkers, than books BY great thinkers.
Maybe they are great thinkers, NOT because they think great thoughts, but, because they realize that there are more questions than answer.
One person cannot have all the answers for everyone, and the task assigned them in the Universe is to encourage us to think for ourselves.
I have found one thing common to many of their "great thoughts".
Often they do not contain "answers" per se. Often, what they do is cause the reader, listener, to look within themselves, and, at the world around them, and...think.
That's why there are more works interpreting the thoughts of great thinkers, than books BY great thinkers.
Maybe they are great thinkers, NOT because they think great thoughts, but, because they realize that there are more questions than answer.
One person cannot have all the answers for everyone, and the task assigned them in the Universe is to encourage us to think for ourselves.
Labels: donovan baldwin, great thinkers, reading, thought, thoughts
