Experience

Rather pensive about this ‘experience” thing in life in general, at work in some specificity, about relationships with curiosity, and in thought philosophically. Intriguing that this is one word, we use so very often, without any real thought. The sad part is that, each of those instances create another experience, and takes us a step (deeper, higher, lower??) further on the ‘experience’ pathway.

Quoting Immanuel Kant..

Experience is no doubt the first product of our understanding, while employed in fashioning the raw material of our sensations. It is therefore our first instruction, and in its progress so rich in new lessons that the chain of all future generations will never be in want of new information that may be gathered on that field.

Nevertheless, experience is by no means the only field to which our understanding can be confined. Experience tells us what is, but not that it must be necessarily as it is, and not otherwise. It therefore never gives us any really general truths, and our reason, which is particularly anxious for that class of knowledge, is roused by it rather than satisfied.

General truths, which at the same time bear the character of an inward necessity, must be independent of experience,—clear and certain by themselves. They are therefore called knowledge a priori, while what is simply taken from experience is said to be, in ordinary parlance, known a posteriori or empirically only.

So my question is, can we ‘nurture’ experiences, or we are all just part of a chain of events, leaving different experiences, that just shape what we are? Does that mean, I have a series of bad experiences, and subtly, am shaped to be a wretched soul, who never to start with wanted either to have a bad experience or worst case, become a wretched soul?

Still thinking, and will post my point of view in another blog post.

Comments

Arjun said…
..wretched soul..... somehow I've heard this tale before.. the living out of experiences.. no doubt they shape us John.. but we can also shape them...