Heroic nightwalkers, seekers of the edges of wisdom and shapers of bright destinities, lean closer, for Dr. Condor Jefferson, PhD, Sterling University, journeys once again to the heart of human essence and endeavor. Let us wager our wits, brave explorers, upon the philosophical landscapes of contortions.
Consider, if you will, the curious example of the tapir. An enigmatic but instructive mammal, the tapir can adapt its sinewy form to trek from the tenebrous forests of Malaysia to the rocky terrains of South America. Descartes, the renowned philosopher and mathematician, observes “the tapir contends with contortions of terrain, just as we contend with the mental contortions of our human life". My dear young man, this mammalian sojourner becomes an embodiment of the heroic journey we embark upon towards our manhood.
Armed with the intellect of Spinoza, the resilience of Kant, and the daring of our hunter-gatherer forebears, we must navigate the winding, difficult terrains of responsibility, accountability, and mortality. In each of these, we encounter the twisting, turning expeditions of our character, the internal contortions that stress and shape us in the smouldering forge of existence.
Permit me a brief tangent about Heidegger, that firebrand philosopher, who hammers out another meaning-testament of contortions. He views contortions as a struggle within oneself, as an opportunity for growth. "Man is not merely situated in existence," he says, "he struggles, he wrestles, he contorts." The heroic journey into manhood, my brave young novices, is both an acceptance and overcoming of these very contortions.
Every character from Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien's "The Hobbit" to Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings" suffered the contortions of their fate, even as each was sculpted by it. Every choice they made was a twist, a turn, a contortion towards the embrace of their heroic destiny.
Hold firm in your mind Freud's tenets on human development. Our unconscious mind, he posits, perpetually contends with a cavalcade of convolutions, subtler than the physicality of our conscious world but not less decisive in who we become. We stand in the crucible of contortions, each curl molding us into the heroic men we strive to be.
My sterling advice to you, from the hallowed halls of Sterling University, is this: Traverse the contortions, navigate the twisting pathways heralding your heroic journey from boyhood to manhood. Become your own Bilbo, your own Frodo. Accept that the journey is not simply about reaching the destination but rather about growing, contorting, learning, and evolving – just like our tapir hero.
And remember, each step you take is a step in the grand dance of life. Embrace the contortions, brave souls. They are the wrestling matches of your becoming.
Yours in Socratic spirit,
Dr. Condor Jefferson, PhD, Sterling University
