In [philosophic] contemplation, on the contrary, we start from the not-Self, and

Question

In [philosophic] contemplation, on the contrary, we start from the not-Self, and through its greatness the boundaries of Self are enlarged; through the infinity of the universe the mind which contemplates it achieves some share in infinity.

For this reason greatness of soul is not fostered by those philosophies which assimilate the universe to Man. Knowledge is a form of union of Self and not-Self; like all union, it is impaired by dominion, and therefore by any attempt to force the universe into conformity with what we find in ourselves. There is a widespread philosophical tendency towards the view which tells us that Man is the measure of all things, that truth is man-made, that space and time and the world of universals are properties of the mind, and that, if there be anything not created by the mind, it is unknowable and of no account for us. This view, if our previous discussions were correct, is untrue; but in addition to being untrue, it has the effect of robbing philosophic contemplation of all that gives it value, since it fetters contemplation to Self. What it calls knowledge is not a union with the not-Self, but a set of prejudices, habits, and desires, making an impenetrable veil between us and the world beyond. The man who finds pleasure in such a theory of knowledge is like the man who never leaves the domestic circle for fear his word might not be law.

The true philosophic contemplation, on the contrary, finds its satisfaction in every enlargement of the not-Self, in everything that magnifies the objects contemplated, and thereby the subject contemplating. Everything, in contemplation, that is personal or private, everything that depends upon habit, self-interest, or desire, distorts the object, and hence impairs the union which the intellect seeks. By thus making a barrier between subject and object, such personal and private things become a prison to the intellect. The free intellect will see as God might see, without a here and now, without hopes and fears, without the trammels of customary beliefs and traditional prejudices, calmly, dispassionately, in the sole and exclusive desire of knowledge -- knowledge as impersonal, as purely contemplative, as it is possible for man to attain. Hence also the free intellect will value more the abstract and universal knowledge into which the accidents of private history do not enter, than the knowledge brought by the senses, and dependent, as such knowledge must be, upon an exclusive and personal point of view and a body whose sense-organs distort as much as they reveal.

The mind which has become accustomed to the freedom and impartiality of philosophic contemplation will preserve something of the same freedom and impartiality in the world of action and emotion. It will view its purposes and desires as parts of the whole, with the absence of insistence that results from seeing them as infinitesimal fragments in a world of which all the rest is unaffected by any one man's deeds. The impartiality which, in contemplation, is the unalloyed desire for truth, is the very same quality of mind which, in action, is justice, and in emotion is that universal love which can be given to all, and not only to those who are judged useful or admirable. Thus contemplation enlarges not only the objects of our thoughts, but also the objects of our actions and our affections: it makes us citizens of the universe, not only of one walled city at war with all the rest. In this citizenship of the universe consists man's true freedom, and his liberation from the thraldom of narrow hopes and fears.

I have to answer the following questions for english homework. With an explanation.

1) Which one of the following topics related to the value of philosphic contemplation is NOT addresssed in the passage?

a) Enriching one's imagination

b) expanding one's conception of the world beyond one's self

c) diminishing the influences which close the mind to speculation

d) enlarging one's perspective on the human race

I chose D because I did not see human race metioned. The whole time the author is speaking about the self vs not self or the person vs the world external to the individual. Could you help me understand why D is the answer? I think I was having trouble with this question because I can not understand why my teacher summarized the fourth paragraph as "Man's true freedom as seeing self as part of a larger whole". Could you also help me understand that?

Explanation / Answer

Its correct answer is surely option D that is "Enlarging one`s perspective on the human race". It is because philoshpic contemplation not only enlarges the objects of our action and affections but our thoughts also. Its true that the passage mostly deals with a conflict between one self and the universe as a whole. It doesn't deal with human race and the concept of enlarging its perspective. The passage is about how our thoughts and actions govern us, and how one can attain eternal freedom from conservative ideas, hopes and fears. So its not about human race as a whole, it is more about how we lead our life towards liberation. Hence, option 'D' is correct.

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