Voices 6: voices of transcending

Annette visits the philo-sopher Linda at her home. She wants to consult her about something that bothers her.

“On the surface,” Annette explains, “everything is fine with me. I have a good job and a group of friends, and I get along with my new boyfriend. But I feel a kind of ennui, boredom. Sometimes I feel I have already seen everything there is to see.”

In the conversation that follows, Annette describes several examples of her experience of ennui. Linda points out a certain pattern in that experience, and they discuss the meaning of this pattern. At the end of the meeting, Annette starts to understand why she has a lot of energy to begin new projects, but quickly afterwards she is no longer interested.

A few days later Annette returns to Linda. “I have been thinking about what we said. I now realize that I am stuck in one narrow ‘theory’ about what life should be like. There is no place in my world for gradual progress, slow development, long-term projects – everything has to be new and exciting. But what can I do? I can’t change myself all of a sudden. I am not a piece of clay. I cannot decide that from now on I will enjoy the routine.”

“Annette, so far we talked about you, about your life, about your ‘theory’ of the world. We could continue to explore all this. There is a lot more to discover, and a lot more to say, and maybe new doors will open up. But I suggest a different direction. Let’s forget your problems and your boredom. Let’s get away from your world and discuss something else.”

“Like what?”

“Any philosophical topic, it doesn’t really matter which one. But this morning I wrote something about transcending - about going beyond ourselves. Do you want to talk about it?”

“But I have never thought about myself in terms of transcending. This topic isn’t connected to any concern I have.”

“Very good, Annette. If we want to do philo-sophy, then we should not be too preoccupied with our personal problems. This is an illnesses of our psychological culture: We are too preoccupied with ourselves, with our little worries, with our anxieties and pains and satisfactions. If we want to grow philo-sophically, then we must also look beyond our personal concerns and personal needs. We must grow beyond ourselves.”

“But, Linda, how is a discussion on transcending going to be significant, if it is so foreign to my life?”

“An encounter with new voices – it doesn’t matter on what topic – opens us beyond the narrow perimeter of our lives. When a new understanding touches our being, it teaches us how to listen beyond our familiar self. The moment of a new understanding, when a flash of realization stirs our entire being, is a precious moment: It is the experience of expanding beyond our narrow boundaries, of being more than ourselves. It teaches us how to be in touch with a greater reality.”

“So is this what philo-sophy tries to do?”

“Yes,” Linda says. “This is, for me, the heart of philo-sophy: To open in myself a new space, broader than my usual perimeter of life. If I learn how to listen to the voices of reality, beyond the usual patterns of thought and behavior, a new world will open up for me, a new dimension of meaning and understanding. To philo-sophize is to explore that different dimension.”

“So why discuss traditional philosophical texts?”

“Traditional texts by good philosophers help us to learn the languages of new voices. Discussing them is like an exercise in listening and understanding. Of course, this kind of discussion is very theoretical, but it prepares us for the real dialogue, for the living encounter. So let us start today’s language class: languages of transcendence.”