Human in Wonderland

Lewis Carol once says that Children book that was enjoyed by children only was not good enough book. Some have said this statement was come about when he thought about Alice in Wonderland in making. Alice in Wonderland for me is the masterpiece which show the deepest wonder of humanity. Moving cards, the Cheshire cat, the rushing white rabbit, they are pretty amazing! The conversation with the cat has a valuable hidden meaning about "end" and "means." Let me quote the conversation,

"Would you told me please, which way I ought to go from here? That depend on a good deal on where  you want to get to, said the Cat. I do not much care where-said Alice. Then it does not matter which way you go, said the Cat.-So long as I get somewhere. Alice added as an explanation. Oh you are sure to do that, said the Cat, If you only walk long enough."  

Let us return to main point, Human are created to wonder. But sadly, many have thrown away this spark as they grow old. Wonder has been replaced with knowledge. We can see how the modern philosopher has brought about the extreme, to push the wonder out to the corner of what matters in life. Philosophy since Plato, put much emphasis in wonder. Aristotle his disciple make a very famous dictum, "all philosophy begins in wonder". Can we say that modernism having try to replace philosophy to something else? To start from wonder and end in a fixed manner. Philosophy, should best start from wonder and create another wonder if philosophy want to hinder the wonder for taking any place, it is not philo-sophy but fixed-sophy. Ironically, the spirit of fixed-sophy thrive now, just like what thinker like Isaac Beeckman, the teacher of Descartes who proposed hundreds years ago that philosophy should always proceed from wonder to not wonder! This idea at best, make people a technician rather than thinker eventually. He also continue to say that theology should do the reverse, to proceed from not wonder to wonder. This is the reverse thinking, novel as it is, it create confusion in the very essence of the term, and function. It makes Philosophy come to play the role of Theology and Theology to play the role of philosophy. Descartes followed Isaac footsteps whereby his philosophy try to argue that knowledge dispels wonder and this should be the end goal of every human use of reason.

In one section of book, Peter Losonczi and Micheal Funk Decard, tell the current state of wonder whereby they mention that the notion of wonder has missing out from modern literature. Take for instance 600 pages book of Cambridge history of seventeenth century philosophy, "wonder" has only appear in two occasions! Little have think thorough the idea of wonder for real. Does this incidents start to bring wonder why wonder has not appear more frequently in literature that supposedly amplifying wonder? I wondering about it now more than ever. No doubt, we can agree that there are lot mysteries in human lives. Some of them are in better state of understanding some of them are remain in the same state of blurriness. Partly it is because we are so limited in our knowledge. 

Even as human being with all the scientific progress ahead, we cannot even define who we are, a being who do questioning in the first place. We are utterly confused. If we are not clear with who we are as the closest thing to us, how can we clear with anything else outside of us? Pardon me for having raised several questions. My mind cannot but riveting toward the wonder that comes out when we are discussing things about wonder in case, if you are wondering. We are not in wonderland as Alice but we should be and will be if only we resurrecting again the attitude of a child, innocently asking, What is this? Why this and not that? And many variations more. Wonder open the new dimension, new possibility and new alternative world. If our answer are much more available than our questions, there is something wrong. This give us a signal that we are  not taking serious life as we should be. Not surprising, we are disoriented easily for our short answer give only shallow depiction of reality. 

Today we have series of new coming super-hero movie. One here that really captivating me was "Wonder-Woman". Have this hero name raised an awareness of wonder? Why not Wonder-man? Is there ware any feminist or egalitarian agenda behind the title? Maybe not, maybe yes. But at least, the reason why we like to watch movie like wonder-woman, is because there is a spark of wonder in us. I think, it is not coincidence the word wonder was being paired to the very idea of super-hero for the notion of wonder by itself is very powerful. There are no great invention that has so benefited human being without the blast of wonder in human mind. Art, architecture, literature, technology and we can named on and on, all are the products of wonder. May I suggests that in the journey of life, we should never dim the wonder in our soul. If we shut down the question in our life, when the troubles and misery comes we are more easy to end ourselves for literally, there are no questions left. 

On the other side of the coin, if we have the unrest wonder in our heart and mind, we will be more willing to life because if anything has fail and torn apart of us, we still have a quest and bit glimpse of meaning that is to say, a quest to find the answer of all the tragedy within. Wonder will transport us to wonderland when we start to feel we are no longer able to live in the world that is so terribly structured. Actually wonder can be our best life-packs or also emergency life-guard. Gabriel Marcel a French philosopher has written a book call Homo Viator, fascinating work to explore. This is us. We are the homo viator, man on a quest, man on a journey, we are always a pilgrim. Not just in the realm of visible being but also invisible thought process. Moreover, in this midst of journey hope is necessary element of our survival in life. In writing he says that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. When hope is lacking the soul dries up the withers..."

Herein, I Cannot agree more with him but, if we want to ponder deeper, hope as an activity and action can only be happened and being projected when we have a sense of wonder that maybe that, it is possible to be hopeful at this moment albeit things are not match with our packed expectations as it always happened. Wonder is the first ingredients for hope! For some, wonder is the beginning. For the other, one cannot avail to say wonder is the goal. Let me close with the quote by Goethe a distinct German writer, "the highest to which man can attain is wonder if the prime phenomenon makes him wonder. Let him be content; nothing higher can it give him, and nothing further should he seek, for behind it; here is the limit."