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Cabrera
Stacy Cabrera
Critical Theory
Mailloux
10 May 2013
Personal Statement: The Cosmic Explorer
Much of my personal belief system about the world stems from my experience as a student of literature, and I have become increasingly fascinated with the way in which we engage in a tripartite relation: Author to Book, Book to Reader, and, through that, ultimately Author to Reader. And yet, in studying theories of interpretation, I often find that taking a one-sided approach to any methodology without much engagement with other strategies, or with persons of unique perspective—as many interpretive theories do—does ourselves an experiential disservice. Rather, we ought to seek to assume as many standpoints, even those which are contradictory, as our interactions with others (both living and literary) afford us a possibility of experience which we may never achieve in our own limited, physical existence.
Literature is an important factor in the experience of the individual, and the individual’s quest to promote the fusion of his own horizon with the viewpoints of others. This holds because of literature’s ability to be itself a physical remnant of the expression of a past experience, while at the same time promoting a present aesthetic experience for each new reader that encounters it. This unique experience acts as a point which provides “the tools and means of the World Spirit for achieving its goal, to elevate it to consciousness and to actualize it” (Hegel 28). This is particularly important if one takes, as I am wont to do, the position that literature provides for us not only metaphysical or epistemological knowledge and experience, but also important moral value.
This is not limited to just our interpretation of literature. We are ‘always already’ interpreting our world; thus, it seems we ought to aim to be what I call the cosmic explorer: open-minded, empathetic, embracing the world’s many contradictions as best as possible, in order to learn as much about the multifariousness of all experience. As long as history continues, the historical existence for each and every individual will be a continuous struggle with maintaining a personal viewpoint, as it is constantly challenged by the emergence of new and dynamically-changing externalities, experiences with both literature and the world, and more and more empathic connection with others—thus, the fusion of one’s horizon of understanding never ceases, but continues to develop so long as one is living.
Therefore, man cannot ever truly be complacent in his knowledge, but must rather struggle to confront, overcome, and constantly develop it. Understanding must be perpetually covered and uncovered, must constantly be bombarded with contradiction, must live with the tension of time and space and historical contingency, and must—in constant, cyclical fashion—approach the unattainable. While this may seem such a futile exercise, it is an incredibly optimistic and noble goal. We should aspire to be cosmic explorers, to search the depths of our limitations, to push the boundaries of knowledge, to seek to expand ourselves and our empathy towards all Otherness, to utilize the multifaceted views and strategies for experience, because:
Patriotism is not enough. But neither is anything else. Science is not enough, religion is not enough, art is not enough, politics and economics are not enough, nor is love, nor is duty, nor is action however disinterested, nor, however sublime, is contemplation. Nothing short of everything will really do. (Huxley 160)