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Thought

Calling Everything By Its Right Name

Thought is born of failure.

When Action Satisfies,
There Is No Residue To Hold The Attention;
To Think Is To Confess A Lack Of Adjustment
Which We Must Stop To Consider.

Only When The Human Organism
Fails To Achieve An Adequate Response To Its Situation
Is There Material For The Processes Of Thought,
And The Greater The Failure
The More Searching They Become...

Confucius Is The First Clear Example Of A Man In This Situation.

Concerned At The Disintegration Of Primitive Chinese Civilization,
He Sought To Restore Order By Relying On The Power Of Ideas
To Organize Behavior.

He Was Aware Of What He Was Trying To Do;

Society Was To Be Set Right
By Calling Everything
By Its Right Name.

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Second Thoughts - David Handy - 1/17/06