I don't know if I am interpreting this correctly but here is what I think about the duality of man in response to Tai's blog.
Tai makes it known that every man has a dilemma. Duality. A separation of self that happens naturally. In fact it may even start as soon as we begin to develop a detailed personality. People are walking contradictions, not necessarily because we choose to be, but because it is so difficult not to be. The duality of self is what prevents us from obtaining "oneness", which is the problem in both Hamlet and Bhagavad-Gita. What are we to do then? Tai demonstrates Jung's concepts of anima/animus, shadow, and self and how recognition of these internal elements can provide a kind of realization about one's self, but what is the conclusion of understanding anything about one's self? Does it make us wiser or a "better" person? Not really. We observe and repeat and observe and repeat, only sometimes do we actually apply discipline to ourselves. Sacrifice, is the true answer. In class, Doug was talking about not having a choice and being pushed into action/war. Tai also used war and being pushed into action to demonstrate the problem of confronting our various "selfs". But, we all get to choose whether or not we sacrifice our morals for action or inaction. Arjuna made a sacrifice; those soldiers made a sacrifice. The power of devotion is a strong element, but under the wrong guise it could be very harmful. Terrorism for instance is a total devotion to a cause, to an action. Is it okay? No. Is Arjuna making a positive moral choice? No. So what the hell? How do we decide what to do when there is no right answer? Jung might tell us to listen to the self, work with the animus, and conquer the shadow. I believe this to be a way in which people can use their duality of morals/identity to create a better self. I'm just not too sure how many times I will have to do this...infinity maybe?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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