W. H. Auden says, “The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in”, which is actually true for most things in life. We either make up our mind about the fairy tale we want to read and immerse ourselves in it to enjoy every page of it. Or don’t at all.
I am wondering tonight what is it like to live life dangerously: to not make calculated decisions, to act on impulses and spur-of-the-moment rationalities. What does it mean to lead a life that throws rational choice theory out of the window? I must try something outrageous, and crazy this week….Though I can’t seem to think of anything at the moment….: ( How more exciting can I get?
I have always believed in agency within structure but I just read this which made me see things in a new light:
According to Durkheim, although the social is external and exists prior, to the individual, it is also embodied in the individual. If the individual does not feel the externality and coerciveness of the social, it only means that he is so well socialized that his individual desires are similar to what the social demanded.
Durkheim pointed out that:
When I perform my duties as brother, husband, or citizen, and carry out the commitments I have entered into, I fulfill obligations which are defined in law and custom which are external to myself and my actions. Even if they conform to my own sentiments and I feel their reality within me, that reality does not cease to be objective, for it is not I who have prescribed those duties; I have received them through education.
Gosh, woe is me!
Work-in-Progress
[Hunting for a good quote]
Monday, October 5, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment