As I writer, I take the same approach as a philosopher. I try to ask: why? My quest is to unearth our deepest wonders, our most concerning vagaries. I want to bask in beauty. I want to feel tragedy. I want to smile at success.
Simply: I want to know
As such, I place my characters within the context of deep, personal crises. Philosophers, I think, can sometimes place their work on the top shelf. Thus, it remains out of reach.
Fiction, however, is inclusive: it brings everyone together in order to learn what it means to be human.
This is why I write. My only hope is that I'm good enough at it.
I like this post....definitely some good, solid reasons to write.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kerry! I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteThis is precisely why a novel or a play or a poem will always have more truth in it than a work of philosophy. Philosophy may be able to articulate the whole, or express it in systematic language, but it can never convey the flavor of true life.
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