The Duality of Everything
“Philosophy is a fool’s errand”
As a philosophy brand, that could be a bitter pill to swallow. While I would not agree with that statement in its totality, I can understand where the point would stem from.
With an absurd amount of frequency, duality asserts itself as an inescapable truth of nature. Due to this reality, it’s often painful to exist in the realm of possibility, in the realm of ponderance where marination can drive you mad.
In math, physics and science there exists definitive, quantifiable, observable, and repeatable facts.
Within the spirit of the question “why” or what ought to, one has no such luck.
Lets scratch the surface….
Duality presents itself most evidently on a conceptual level.
Hot vs Cold
Day vs Night
The living and the dead
Good and bad, up and down, heaven and hell
The strong and the weak, the brave and the cowardice, The beautiful, the ugly.
Bitter – sweet..
So on and so forth.
The duality of life exists in everywhere we look, near and far.
When we dig a little deeper, we notice that the same duality is applicable on an ideological level.
Some argue that capitalism is the greatest monetary system humanity has conjured. You work, you buy, trade, own and grow. The value you receive is based on the value that you provide. The free market. Others argue that from each according to their ability to each according to their need. That society should operate as a unit and that the insistence on capitalism creates a culture of greed, dispossessing the most vulnerable. The west is consistently struggling to find the right balance between the free market and social systems.
The stoics teach us to be content with what we have, forget the past, don’t worry about the future thus is the secret to happiness. Flow like the river, what is meant for you will find you. What you resist persists and the harder you chase something, the faster it runs away. Listen to the hustle culture type and they will tell you to wake up at 5 am and do just that, chase. Work as hard as you can, never be content, always keep striving, always keep pushing forward. They will tell you to make goals and make consistent steps towards them daily. Likewise, those who ascribe to the law of attraction do not say what will be, shall be. No, they implore you to envision what you want. Want it with every fiber in your being and work towards it with unshakable faith. This is how you manifest destiny.
The true followers of Christ will tell you that self-sacrifice is the way. So, to will those who trust in good ole karma. The good you put out into the world will either come back tenfold or be rewarding back to you in the kingdom of heaven. Some will tell you that this is the suckers M.O. This is merely a formula to get taken advantage of; it’s a dog-eat-dog world and the toughest survive. You must put yourself first and if you’re happy, that’s all that matters.
Some will tell you to network. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Others will say it’s best to go ghost. Disappear, work on yourself, give no access. People are only backstabbers and time wasters.
Even the most obvious things many of us take for granted, like murder is bad. Can be scrutinized under the lens of subjectivism.
I don’t think this means we should not ponder. To the philosopher “I think, therefore I am” Seeing both sides of the coin is a blessing in itself… or a curse.
Ecudes17
