Dibujo de León Santillán
We shall dedicate time and room to philosophy, but not to its scholarly and profound aspects, nor to the abstract and arid speculations that often characterize it. No, none of that. Our focus will lean towards the everyday implications, offering reflections suitable for daily life.
‘Does philosophy not exist?’ – inquired the Greeks. ‘…Yet, to prove it, you must resort to it’ – the philosophers answered.
We will not delve into a philosophy of ‘heights,’ as we lack suitable wings for it, and, on the other hand, such philosophy is not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo.
It is very difficult to talk about profound subjects, especially in our superficial and materialist age, where the reflexion is not at all an everyday exercise, even though, as Socrates said: ‘A life without reflexion is not worth living.’ Contrarily, our society invests huge efforts in distancing us from reflexion. ‘Reflection’. ‘Mirror yourself’. In essence: ‘observe yourself’. To contemplate ourselves in the mirror of discernment so that its polished surface may gives us back a faithful image of ourselves. If we refuse to contemplate ourselves, it is perhaps because the image that the mirror gives us back may not be very pleasant. However, looking at ourselves as we are is the first step in embellishment.
According to legend, Narcissus delighted in his own image; and there are many who, without being exactly Narcissus, delight in their own reflection without realizing that the mirror in which they contemplate themselves is obscured by the dust of vanity and foolish pride. Let us, therefore, polish the surface of the mirror and dare to look at ourselves in it as we truly are. Let us not cover our flaws with fake gimmicks; instead, let us look without fear or hesitation at our flaws and ugliness. Perhaps in this way, we discover our inner beauty.
About us: proud heirs of centuries of evolution, masterpieces of natural selection, and partners of divinity. Yet, through our actions and thoughts, we do not demonstrate that we are equal to such perfection. On the contrary, there is much that is irrational and absurd in our behaviour. Our brain, an extraordinary organ of inconceivable plasticity, of unsuspicious capacities, only accomplishes, in the most of the instances, poor and limited functions, generally confining itself to the prosaic task of earning our daily sustenance. In other darker instances, the intellect is used to devise the most sophisticated ways of self-destruction.
Our brain also can lead us to the highest spheres of knowledge, but it can also lead us to the most foolish adventures and to the most stupid blunders. The behaviour of the human being is gradually structured on the basis of stimuli, stimuli that are already perceived in intrauterine life.
A thinking being is the product and result of a complex interaction between genetic and empirical factors, in between environment and culture. From this fact it can be easily deduced the importance of the right stimuli for the development of intelligent. In any way, we cannot get a rose bush from a sunflower seed, no matter how well we grow and fertilize it. A sunflower will be always a sunflower no matter what we do. Stimuli are very important, as we mentioned, but what happens when a society is overabundant with negative stimuli?
Obviously, in accordance to what has been said, it will begin the descent into involution.
On the other hand, when the members of a society are in frank decline, they will not be aware of the deterioration or accept that this reality is pointed out to them.
They will rebel trying to cover their own insignificance with high-sounding words such as ‘progress’, ‘comfort’, and ‘freedom’. It is appropriate to clarified that at this point that many of us confuse ‘progress’ with ‘comfort’. Science has given us many ‘comforts’ but we are far away from true progress, inner progress. A constant bombardment of dehumanizing stimuli invades the mind of modern man, and an overdose of information disturbs his spirit. To worsen all this, we must add that our contemporaries spend the most part of their leisure time, or disturbs free time, hypnotized in front of a screen. It is appropriate to ask ourselves: What creative stimuli are provided by mass media? Vulgarities of all kinds and forms corrupt their taste and aesthetic sense, nullifying their discernment and discrimination. Publications with profusion of images (mostly with sexual appeals) but not content are offered to the consumer as reading material. Aggressive music that tends to stimulate the lowest instincts of the individual arrives in a cacophonic avalanche daily and without any restriction to our inattentive ears.
The modern music, with rare exceptions, does not fulfil the mission that every artistic expression should aim for, which is to provide a sweet balm that alleviates the pains of the soul or, at the very least, offer the serene joy of a purely aesthetic delight. Nowadays, it drags the masses into insane debauchery, which is pompously called ‘amusement’ by the foolishness. The sublime chords of authentic music have been transformed into hysterics shrieks and discordant noises.
An alarming insanity seems to possess the performers and participants of the currently musical events.
Something is working wrong among us. It seems that we are losing our way; to be honest, we lost our way a long time ago. We lost our way when we exchanged our perennial spiritual values for the stubble of crass materialism. Modern man leaves no room in his schedule to enjoy the fertile oasis of silent introspection, and he pays a very high price for it: the loss of his inner peace. So much noise, so much haste, have taken us away from ourselves and plunged us into a chaotic imbalance. Existential angst gained ground in our tortured minds. A cursory glance at the convulsed world in which we live confirms the assertion of the above: an apocalyptic catastrophe of values is the dark panorama that presents itself before the gaze of the impartial spectator, and discouragement preys on sensitive and conscious souls.
The corpses of culture are scattered in the frenetic battlefield of modernity, creating a daunting spectacle. Yet, as daunting as the spectacle may be, there is always a glimmer of hope. Not all is lost as long as there is, even if only one, a representative of the guardian hosts of culture willing to give their life for the noble values that dignify and give meaning to humanity.
‘Let us not abandon ourselves to defeat’, says the poet, ‘let us not abandon those who have witnessed the ever-changing spectacle of life, love, sacrifice, selfishness, pain and joy, birth and death. Let us not abandon ourselves, for poetry is still alive and possesses a redemptive force.
The poet withdraws only for moments from humanity. He does not feel like a God or a superman. He feels himself to be only man, but he exalts and reveals his best faculties. Love and reverie are naturally fused by inner elevation, and poetry pours like the sounds of heavenly melody played by invisible hands.
Santillán, León. “Nuestro pasado, nuestro porvenir.” Canon Magazine, https://canon-magazine.com/nuestro-pasado-nuestro-porvenir/
Translated by Falco, Sandra. “Our Past, Our Future” by León Santillán. Canon Magazine, https://canon-magazine.com/en/our-past-our-future/
Writer and journalist. Musician and artist. Ninjutsu Sensei. Director of Canon Magazine, Canon Conservatorio, and Bonsai Center Argentina.
