James Wood, whom I've come to consider our age's finest literary critic: * * * The way of nature is entropy and decline - the body grows fat and pained, the mind dull and patched with fenestrations and a cacophony of nonsense. In the face of this, why fight it? If this is nature, to contend with it - to form and ennoble the human form, to sharpen the mind (or build vast stonework seawalls against the onslaught of Time's assaultive decay) is to wrestle with nature itself. We are therefore, as striving beings, unnatural. But then, consider the dog, most especially, king in one respect among all creatures unburdened by consciousness: His capacity for dumb joy. To the answer, "why war with nature?," look to the dog; because there is joy in living. And when it comes time to die, die.
Is Mr. James Wood suggesting that it is a natural for the human body and mind to deteriorate and anyone who strives to keep himself healthy is fighting against nature? Then what is your opinion about Ray Kurzweil who is working to achieve human immortality? It sounds like Philosophy that I don't understand.
No, Gauhar, James Wood is a literary critic - I was piqued by his comedic quote from Jeremy Taylor of baldness as an early reminder of our mortality. The other stuff is mine. It's something I think on - probably as I'm doing a lot of reading of 19th century writers, particularly Flaubert (the rise of the flaneur, the idler, and think a lot on the existentialist quandary - freedom of choice in a world gone haywire; determinism, etc. - with death and decay the greatest determinant. Because there are lots of words available to use (OED has it at close to 200,000); because I loathe language as conveyance, a means of mere commercial transaction or rationalist "utility." There was a time when language itself had sensuality, immanence and meaning - I love the full flower of what words mean, their weight and feel, and believe it's part of what makes us human. Yo.
Hi North; Are you going bald? I usually find men who are going bald, very concerned with that question.
Hahahaha, well, no, I'm not - just grey. Although I do have a strange lunar landing patch, an occipital cranial lacunae of infinitesimal proportions, mind you - starting to recede. Lady Macbeth had it right...."out, damn spot!"
I think we could learn a lot about how to live from a dog... They don't worry so much, are completely honest, and love unconditionally without reservation.