>>305045Many thanks for the reflections and outside perspective. Your main point seems
to be that everyone is a product of his circumstances, which I agree with. But I
don't see that it precludes me from bettering myself. I was thinking today about
the saying of Antisthenes that he would rather go mad than feel pleasure. I
suppose I latched onto that way of thinking as an ideal to get through hard
times, but when things settle down I feel somehow lost. Consistency is what I'm
lacking, and discipline. Lying about and relaxing simply doesn't do me good in
the long run - my body goes - my mind goes - and there's a price to pay sooner
or later. In fact, I think it does not even make me happy.
On the point of character, it seems you have got an advantage on me, because I
haven't read Schopenhauer. When I used the term, I understood it merely to mean
strength of spirit. I know a lot of people here like Schopenhauer, but I get the
feeling I'm on a different train. At any rate, I'll watch out for that concept
whenever I get around to reading him.