Re: wisdom again

James J Rovira (jrovira@juno.com)
Tue, 25 May 1999 17:45:14 -0400 (EDT)

Hey, I like Alex's thoughts, and I like the obsevations and comments made
by the girl with the genius brother :).

The point is that natural intelligence does little good apart from other
qualities as well.  I don't consider Seymour or Zooey to have attained
enlightenment because of their inability to cope.  True spiritual adepts
not only have a great deal of intelligence, but also the wisdom to cope
with the banality of the world around them, and are marked by a serenity
(that Seymour and Zooey lacked) originating from detachment (in Eastern
Lit).

You may even dare to call this happiness :)

Jim

On Tue, 25 May 1999 10:44:57 -0400 (EDT) jason varsoke
<jjv@caesun.msd.ray.com> writes:
>On Tue, 25 May 1999, Alex Rumford wrote:
>
>> what's the point in knowledge/ wisdom/ genius etc. if youre not 
>happy 
>> or, as a result of them, cant face up to the reality of life outside 
>
>> book and theory? isnt there a little suggestion that ignorance is 
>> bliss in the stories since few of those blessed with brains are 
>> socially able, or their wisdom leads them to disillusionment? (a 
>kind 
>> of perverted ideal of the end product of wisdom) sure, franny 
>> realises through her brother that we have to accept imperfections, 
>> and do goodwill for the sake of goodwill etc.   but 
>> 1. seymour didnt seem to ever reconcile wisdom and happiness (and he 
>
>> was allegedly the smartest) 
>> 2. zooey (who realised that everyone is the fat lady) is still a bit 
>
>> of a patronising arse despite what he says. he says he cant hold 
>> conversations etc with people, and bessie accuses him of cruelty to 
>> those who aspire to knowledge. 
>> 	so are these people freaks or depressives because of their 
>wisdom, 
>> as opposed to the overwhelmingly happy people we might expect to see 
>
>> victims, or is it the case that the fact of their wisdom has made 
>> them celebrities and outsiders which, in turn, makes them freaks? as 
>
>> a result of their intelligence they have been singled out (see 
>> carpenters when seymour is vehemently defended by his brother) and 
>> thus are societal misfits of a kind. pah! im happy being thick and 
>> sitting in the pub rather than analysing everything and being 
>> regarded as a freaky prodigy.
>
>   Hmmm, I kind of expected this sort of thing out of an American 
>mouth.
>;)
>
>   Maybe it was with JS Mills, or Bentham, who started this
>obsession with Happiness, but I don't really see why happiness is the 
>goal
>of life.  I don't think that's what Salinger is looking for either.
>Enlighenment is not happiness.  Enlightenment is not bliss.
>
>-j
>

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