An aging philosopher sat down in the sunset of his career and wrote a book on the philosophy of death. He was 77, which seems like an appropriate time to write such a book.
However, it wasn’t until this philosopher was in his late 90’s that his experience began to inform his philosophy. It changed his perspective. He now had a relationship with death. As a result, his 97-year-old self was able to say that he was wrong at 77.
Lack of relationship creates the vagueness for us to build entire arguments that rupture under the pressure of experience. We could look for these opportunities to be ruptured, to stress-test the ideologies we have adopted and upgrade them.
It is a place of growth, emergence, becoming. It’s where we learn to show up as the best versions of ourselves (so far) and find the courage to innovate. It’s not fun; it’s necessary. Great leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, and parents seem to know that. At 97 our courageous philosopher Herbert Fingarette was still doing it. HERE is his story, captured right before he died.
Jan 25, 2021