Origin of Life (Pt2) (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, January 01, 2010, 15:33 (5236 days ago) @ xeno6696

I had the temerity to disagree with Nietzsche, as quoted by Matt: A man should only try to master one virtue. -Matt thinks I have taken him "a little too directly at his meaning", and N. is really saying that "Man's greatest weakness is in concentrating in shallow waters." Matt goes on: "A human being is by nature very bad at multitasking."-As has often been the case, I think we're at cross purposes. By "virtue" I understood something ethical, but you talk of a waiter concentrating on being the best waiter, instead of wishing he was something else. I would still say that multitasking is essential both for self-development and for social purposes, and I would therefore phrase the whole approach rather differently: e.g. it's better to do one thing very well than lots of things badly; we should always seek to achieve perfection, even if we will inevitably fall short; one should concentrate on the things that matter; the key to success is discipline. However, your thought is now clear to me, and in any case I never imagined for one moment that your pursuit of truth would lead to a neglect of what I call virtues!