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Remember Blaise Pascal's divertissement (meaning: diversion, systematic distraction, etc)? He was alive in the 1600s, and he was making the same exact case we a
by 50 7y ago
Remember Blaise Pascal's divertissement (meaning: diversion, systematic distraction, etc)? He was alive in the 1600s, and he was making the same exact case we are making today! So I wouldn't be too quick to imply the ol' days were the better days.
I argue the better days are when we become piercingly aware that we have been alienated from our true selves and consequently err in the opposite direction of worldliness and more in the direction of peace, silence, and solitude as a means to live the good life. As naive as all the above may sound.
- chinesempire 7y agoPascal included work in the divertissement He wasn't talking about having fun he was talking about self distraction to avoid thinking about life He thought that distractions, like working, served the purpose of not thinking about the misery of life, such as the ultimate fear of death. Pascal never said that ol' times were better, he said that women and men, left alone with their thought cannot handle it. According to Pascal, People only live in the future, imagining a life that does not exist yet, while they avoid to think about their past and present actions as causes of their actual condition. It's more or less what happens today with the disposable nature of social networks content. He wasn't making the same exact case, Pascal is one of the best philosophers in history.
- 1996 7y agoThat's interesting and original but rarely said here. Only other mention of Pascal divertissement I could find: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9450559 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9450559