Edwin Abbott’s satirical work Flatland explores the nature of hierarchy, freedom, and reality. The story depicts a two-dimensional universe in which “side differentiation is meant by Nature to indicate color distinction.” As a result, it is a society in which certain seemingly abstract features determine the distribution of assets. This is a sophism that applies to the human world, where specific attributes of a person give a justification for others to regard them in a certain way. The passage emphasizes the absurdity of classes in communities and their meaninglessness in the absence of social context.
However, this is similar to the opinion of the Buddha, described in the origins of the philosophy of Buddhism. Because of the many human aspirations, life is constantly a source of unhappiness. Gautama Buddha’s contribution to resolving life’s issues is centered on this idea. It may or may not be the most outstanding choice. According to that, one should return to moments in one’s life when one was at one’s subjective best because such times gave complete satisfaction. Because a person may be so deeply in love, so satisfied, that they feel they may die at any moment, absolute satisfaction is a kind of victory over death.
People have won the struggle for happiness when they attain that degree of contentment, and death is no longer a threat. However, our philosophical and moral triumph is just temporary. Death is a perpetual adversary because we cannot be satisfied just once, and desire is its ally. The itch of want returns, the struggle resumes, and the fight goes on until death finally ends it.
The consequences described in each of the works read during the course are essential. The grasp of the previously listed terminology and Russell’s reasoning can answer the question of consciousness. Liberation, in this case, stems from one’s capacity to think beyond the temporal conventions of one’s worries and expectations; this concept entails a process of observation that causes individuals to analyze occurrences from a perspective that is not centered on humans.
A person can grow closer to global knowledge at this stage, which includes more than just human issues. As a result of seeing the universe from a different perspective, this person feels more connected to it. Furthermore, away from humanity, this process does not imply a continual residence in one mental state; its meaning is the contrast between the ordinary and the universal. All this ideally fits into that system of values and perception of consciousness, described in the words of the Buddha – from the first enlightened to death.
In Martin’s essay, “A Fast Car and a Good Woman,” an essential part for me was Tolstoy’s perception of the world. Tolstoy is the typical example of a guy whose existential angst erupts from his pages, leaving the reader perplexed as to what it all means in the end. Tolstoy’s predicament was essentially a matter of necessities because he had everything, but he knew that it did not last and was unsatisfying (Martin, 1993). When individuals have what they desire, they always want more, something new, or a better version of what they already have. Tolstoy was overcome with perplexity and then a sensation of lifelessness as if he didn’t know how to live or what to do, and he felt lost and melancholy. But it happened, and he went about his business as usual.
Work Cited
Martin, R. (1993). A fast car and a good woman [E-book].