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Quote by Roger Scruton

“Art is fundamentally serious; it cannot rest content with the gratification of fantasy, nor can it dwell on what fascinates us while avoiding altogether the question of its meaning. As Freud put it in another context, art provides the oath from fantasy back to reality. By creating a representation of something unreal, it persuades us to consider again those aspects of reality which, in the urgency of everyday existence, we have such strong motives for avoiding.”

Quote by Roger Scruton

Book:The Aesthetic Understanding: Essays in the Philosophy of Art and Culture
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The Aesthetic Understanding: Essays in the Philosophy of Art and Culture

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Roger Scruton
Roger Scruton

Roger Scruton, born on February 27, 1944, is a renowned British philosopher. His research areas include aesthetics, political philosophy, and moral philosophy, which have had a profound impact on the philosophical world. more

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“There is a common instinct that fantasy, even when gratified, does not contribute to, but is in fact more likely to detract from, personal satisfaction. I here offer a semi-philosophical reason for thinking that this instinct might have sound. It seems to me that the fantasy-ridden soul will tend to have a diminished sense of the objectivity of his world, and a diminished sense of his own agency within it. The habit of pursuing the realized unreal seems to conflict with the habit, which we all, I believe, have reason to acquire, of pursuing what is real. There is no expenditure of effort involved in the gratification of fantasy, and hence the fantasist is engaged in no transformation of his world. On the contrary his desires invade and permeate his world, which ceases to have any independent meaning. The nature of the fantasy object is dictated by the passion which seeks to realize it; and the world therefore has no power either to control or resist the passion. Normal passions are founded on the sense of the independent reality of their object. They do not invade, but on the contrary, are disciplined by, the world. The change as understanding changes, and come, in time, to bear the imprint both of the subject’s agency and of the world’s reality. Thus it is with the greatest of human benefits- love between equals. In love, all my fantasy is destroyed just so soon as it is erected, by the deeper desire to understand and respond to a being whose essence resides in his independence, in his freedom from me. It seems to be no accident that people have repeatedly described sexual fantasy as ‘loveless’.”

LoveRealityDesireFantasy
Book:The Aesthetic Understanding: Essays in the Philosophy of Art and Culture
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“When a relationship or a friendship ends, don't let it get the best of you. They played a role in your story, & it's okay if their chapter still echoes within you. Embracing the reality that not every relationship is designed for perpetuity is an act of self-empowerment, allowing you to move forward without lingering in the quagmire of 'whys' & 'what ifs.Their meaning in your life is valid, even if it's just a memory now. It's okay if that person still occupies a space in your thoughts. The understanding that not every relationship is destined to last a lifetime is a powerful mantra, freeing you from the shackles of past uncertainties.”

LoveRealityRelationshipsFriendshipUncertainties In Life
Author:Carson Anekeya
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