The Setting
I am an existent equipped with a measure of free will. But I am unsure where I came from. It seems that I was thrown in this universe—a wilderness—without my volition. Meaning is not a given in this wilderness. I could kill myself to escape this thrownness, this meaninglessness, this wilderness. But I realized I am capable of making meaning, so I could choose to continue living and have reasons for it.
The wilderness is deep and wide and life is long. In the wilderness are other human beings like me as well as nonhumans.1
The Quest
I chose to continue living.
My quest is to understand the wilderness (i.e., the universe) and how to be in it.2
My worldview and my quest define my poetics.
Related
- we did not choose to exist
- life is inherently meaningless
- meaningful living is possible despite meaninglessness
- the quest of Thoreau
- my quest unifies my interests
References
Seybold, E. (1951). Thoreau: The Quest and the Classics. Yale University Press.
This note heavily relied on another note: 2022-07-12 seeds.
Footnotes
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The quest arises from the setting. The setting is how the universe appears now; not as one would like it to appear. ↩
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There are three things to be said about this quest and its articulation. First, the quest has to be articulated as minimally as this. It shouldn’t yet contain information on how the quest will be pursued. Second, the goal of the quest is elusive. It will never be achieved, making the quest never-ending. Third, pursuing the quest involves two actions: understanding reality and responding to it. ↩