The philosopher extricates the concept from the thinking.

The poet extricates the emotion
from the feeling.

Decency is to power
as honesty to knowledge.

The truth is cruel.
Justice is a lie.

The modern fact
                      is extended.
The modern act
                      is intentional;

the modern subject,
                      extentionless;
the modern object,
                      unintended.

The modern image
                      is a concept
backed like
                      an emotion.

The modern mind
                      is cracked.
The modern heart
                      is broken.

Let us see people again
and hear how they feel.
Let us do things, and let
us say what we think.

Intention

Don't act in desperation
nor disavow the deed.

Whatever the outcome,
it will not be yours to claim,
nor will you learn
from your mistake.

Let everything you do express
a promise or a hope.

Find the point of rest
and wait
for the universe
to come around.

What must happen in the mind when we write?
First, a fact must be imagined, or a motion.
Our concepts still the image, hold it firm.
Our emotions move its focus, draw us in.
The words come after to name the parts,
then sentences to make the pictures,
arranged in paragraphs to give them life.

Lived Experience

To lose one's way.
To have a body.
To be a person.
To become oneself.

People who think well are good at using concepts.
Are people who feel well good at using emotions?

We try to discourage them
from going down
the roads we have known
and succeed only
in giving them the courage
to go further.

There is no honest time to leave a summer masquerade,
but if you catch a woman's eye then why not go that way?

(With apologies to Leonard Cohen.)

Your wisdom can no more justify your philosophy than your love, your poetry.

Philosophy is as much an art as poetry.
Poetry is as articulate as philosophy.

Some Applications

of "poetry" and "philosophy"

To be good (in this world) your emotions must be strong. Their strength comes from lifting, from pain. You must feel the weight (of the world) through them.

To find truth (with our history) our concepts must be sharp. We whet them in contemplation, hone them in conversation. We must think on the edge (of history) with them.

What Is Philosophy?

Cf. "What Is Poetry?"

Philosophy is an art. It is the art of writing down how (not what) you think.

Philosophy makes you think better. It makes you better able to think, better at thinking.

Concepts are how (not what) we think. Philosophy makes your concepts more precise.

Precision in thinking is clarity. Philosophy is clear.

Philosophy is conceptual notation, the art of writing concepts down.

Philosophy makes you think better by getting you to notice your concepts.

What Is Poetry?

Poetry is an art. It is the art of writing down how (not what) you feel.

Poetry makes you feel better. It makes you better able to feel, better at feeling.

Emotions are how (now what) we feel. Poetry makes your emotions more precise.

Precision in feeling is intensity. Poetry is intense.

Poetry is emotional notation, the art of writing emotions down.

Poetry makes you feel better by getting you to notice your emotions.

Cf. "What Is Philosophy?"

The Present

The world appears
immediately
in intuition.

Institutions are
the immediate
surface of history.

Our concepts determine the structure of our intuitions; they tell us what to make of the appearance of the world, what to think of appearances immediately. Intuitions are conceptual; they occasion the presence of things in experience.

Our emotions determine the texture of our institutions; they tell us what to make of the surfaces of history, who to feel for immediately. Institutions are emotional; they occasion the presence of people in experience.

The Arts

Painting is the art of seeing.
Music is the art of hearing...

Science is the art of knowing.
Politics is the art of ruling.
Poetry is the art of feeling.
Philosophy is the art of thinking.

It is okay to specialize.
It is okay to live artlessly.

A clearing is
to a tension

as a thought
to a feeling,

as a light
to a touch.

How do you have to live in order to discover a deep truth about the human condition?
Or is there some way to do it that doesn't require a change of lifestyle?