Thinking

“Man is obviously made for thinking. Therein lies all his dignity and his merit; and his whole duty is to think as he ought.”  Blaise Pascal

Yes, you most probably guessed correctly - our concept under discussion is THINKING.  After a period of all-encompassing doubt, Descartes made the following conclusion: Cogito ergo sum – I think therefore I am. The mere possibility of being able to think proved his existence, well, so he concluded. We are indeed thinking beings, but when it comes to concentrated, directed and reflective thinking, we may postulate that thinking is an exercise not loved by too many people. A German expression says: 

Denken ist die schwerste Arbeit die es gibt, Darum ist es bei vielen Menschen so unbeliebt 

[Thinking is the hardest thing to do, that is why so many dislikes it]. 

Thinking might be seen by many as a laborious task, yet it is still our thinking that makes us who we are and what we are. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal said that our goodness comes solely from thinking on goodness; our wickedness from thinking on wickedness. He said that we are the victims of our own contemplation and that we should strive to think well because thinking well is the basic principle of morality. You should be familiar with the adage that says “you are what you eat”; with thinking it is exactly the same. You are what you think. The Swiss philosopher Henri-Frédéric Amiel wrote in his journal that thought is a kind of opium; it can intoxicate us, while still broad awake; it can make transparent the mountains and everything that exists. It is my hope that we all may become intoxicated by the act of thinking correctly, and not only thinking correctly but also exercising the art of thinking well.

Just sit for a moment and think about this,

that thinking isn't hard work at all,

but some think it is, living in thoughtless bliss,

let us hope they will heed this blog's call.

Auguste Rodin's "Le Pensuer" / "The Thinker"