On April 4, we discussed Schopenhauer's theory on art. He believed the highest form of art was music, because it was most closely associated with the will. Within the musical realm, one style contained the fullest expression of the will, which Schopenhauer believed was baroque.
We discussed the term "genius" and concluded that such persons are above others on some level (music, painting, math, etc). The word originated in ancient Rome with the root "genus", which was the spirit of the family and guided it. These people have the ability to see what is real.
Next we examined the idea of death, which is always there, knocking at the door. In response to death, our will's inclination is to survive and keep going. For centuries, man has been preoccupied with how to escape his mortal fate and we achieve this through sex (which creates life). The two ways in which lifeforms reproduce is either sexual (two individuals) or asexual (one individual). Biologically, it can be concluded that the sexual reproduction is better because of the genetic variability of having two individuals as opposed to the limited genetic code of one.
This called into question: "What drives us?". Generally speaking, in the contemporary world, there are two groups: those whose goal it is to be successful (wealth, prestige, respect) and those whose goal it is to be a parents (marry, raise children, carry on bloodline). In response to death, choosing the goal that involves reproduction seems most logical, but perhaps human drives have been skewed from the basic drive to procreate.
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