The Wisdom Letter #117
5 quotes from Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
✹ For today's Wisdom Letter, we have carefully curated five bite-sized quotes from the American writer and anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960).
Quote № 01:
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “Dust Tracks on a Road”
Quote № 02:
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Quote № 03:
“Love, I find is like singing. Everybody can do enough to satisfy themselves, though it may not impress the neighbors as being very much.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “Dust Tracks on a Road”
Quote № 04:
“Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Quote № 05:
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It is beyond me.”
— Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
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✺ Today’s Questions
Three philosophical questions to foster your curiosity:
Question № 01:
To what extent does the pursuit of knowledge enhance the quality of life, and can the quest for understanding ever be fully satisfied within the limitations of human cognition?
Question № 02:
What ethical boundaries should guide scientific research, and how do we balance the pursuit of knowledge with the potential risks to human welfare, environmental integrity, or societal stability?
Question № 03:
How should we understand systemic discrimination, and what are the most effective ways to address deeply embedded forms of bias that operate within institutions and social structures?
✺ Bite-sized Concept
For today’s concept, let’s take a quick look at Totalitarianism:
Totalitarianism is a form of government characterized by absolute control over all aspects of society, including both public and private life. In totalitarian regimes, a single leader or party enforces strict ideological conformity, often using propaganda, mass surveillance, and repression of opposition. Such systems dominate political, economic, and social spheres through state-controlled media and coercive measures, aiming to maintain complete power over the population.
To deepen your understanding, here’s a question to think about:
How does the concentration of absolute power in a totalitarian regime affect the boundaries between public and private life, and what philosophical implications arise when the state seeks to control not only political and social behavior but also personal beliefs and ideologies?
That wraps up today’s concept; we’ll dive into another one next time.
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I love all ZNH's quotes present here, especially the last.
I find the need to beg your Question № 03:
"How should we understand systemic discrimination, and what are the most effective ways to address deeply embedded forms of bias that operate within institutions and social structures?"
First, there are built-in assumptions: 1) that "systemic discrimination" exists (which it may, or perhaps may not) and 2) that we all share an understanding of what the term "systemic discrimination" means; and 3) that it does harm (one would assume so, but is it true? I don't know). A deeply-embedded form of bias may or may not form "systemic discrimination"; and discrimination that operates within an institution may cause all who participate in it to recoil in revulsion and yet be compelled to persist it.
We have seen dramatic shifts in social perceptions of race, gender, ability, nationality, and more over the past half-century, including some pendulum swings. The perception of positivity in race relations has declined over the past decade, alarmingly; which coincides with the concept of "systemic discrimination" coming to the fore. Thus, I need to ask - what do you mean (what do _we_ mean) by "systemic discrimination", and in what forms does it exist; and does it do good or harm by existing (or by not existing)?
When one believes that one is systemically discriminated against, or for, is that helpful? What does it do to one's self-image to believe that one is either pushed down beyond one's own control, or pulled up beyond one's own capacity for self-improvement? If one feels denied of one's rights, or that one has been given what one should instead have earned, does that create positive or negative feelings towards oneself and others?
While we as individuals and as a society should come to grips with our internal proclivities, stereotypes, and assumptions, at the same time we need to avoid replacing outdated ones with new ones that are potentially equally harmful.