Search for:
Cart 0
perm_identity Sign In
  • Home
  • Jungian
  • Dreams
  • Healing
  • Soulful Living
  • Courses
  • Lectures
  • Certificate Programs
  • Summits
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Faculty
  • Contact

Sign In

Registered Users

If you have a Jung Platform account, sign in below to access your orders and purchased content.

Lost your password?

Not a member yet? Sign Up
  • email [email protected]
  • Blog
  • Ambassadors
  • About Us
  • Faculty
  • FAQ
  • Contact
0
Jung Platform
  • Jungian
  • Dreams
  • Soulful Living
  • Courses
  • Lectures
  • Summits
  • Certification
perm_identity Sign In

Not All Aphorisms are Equal

HomeBlogJungianNot All Aphorisms are Equal
Dennis P. Slattery
Author
Dennis P. Slattery
Category
Jungian, Healing
Read Time
3 min
Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival: Gawain and Orgeluse

This article is Part 8 in a series about Myth and Culture by Dennis P. Slattery

Aphorisms are pithy pronouncements that often carry wisdom in a nutshell. I have always loved good ones, those that make me pause, perhaps find humor lurking around the edges of them, and that tease me to consider their implications.

Aphorism is an interesting word with a long and extensive etymology. I recently learned on-line from the Miriam-Webster Dictionary that it was originally used by Hippocrates, a Greek physician in ancient Greece (460-370 BCE). His word was “aphorismos”, an earlier form of our aphorism, meaning a definition or a concise statement. Hippocrates is often referred to as “the father of modern medicine” and many of us know of the “Hippocratic oath” which, pithily stated, insists: “Do no harm.” This aphorism is still a bedrock of modern medicine today. As the term morphed, it was adopted by the physical sciences primarily, but over time it was appropriated more broadly in a variety of fields until today it is a general term to suggest some truth or observation that carries persuasive cargo.

In my current readings on a writing project I am engaged in, I came across David Loy’s fine little book, The World is Made of Stories, which is a treasure trove of aphorisms by writers on a variety of topics. Most of them home in on the nature and complexity of stories themselves from many historical periods and traditions worldwide; but so many additional fields of interest are also included.

I want to share a few of my favorites from this book because one of the features of many aphorisms is their cunning combination of wit with wisdom. But there is no guarantee that all of us will respond in the same way to a particular example. And that is to the good.

  • “Our truth consists of illusions that we have forgotten are illusions.” Friedrich Nietzsche.
  • “We are between stories.” Thomas Berry.
  • “All my stories are true. Some happened and some did not, but they are all true.” Letter to a Buddhist Jew. 
  • “How do wars start? Politicians lie to journalists, then believe what they read in the newspapers.” Karl Kraus.
  • “Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.” Mark Twain.
  • “As long as you do not know how to die and come to life again, you are but a poor guest on this dark earth.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
  • “You must be emptied of that with which you are full, so you may be filled with that whereof you are empty.” Saint Augustine.
  • “Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.” Simone Weil.
  • “Literature is the imaginal in script.” Northrop Frye.
  • “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
  • “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory over forgetting.” Milan Kundera.

There are dozens more like these. The ones I chose had a particular kind of arresting force on me as I contemplated them. I do not think that aphorisms are to be accepted or rejected; they go deeper than that. The good ones push me off my comfort chair to consider another point of view. It may be close or far from my own; the farther away they are, the more contemplative in voice I need to consider them. That in itself is a good thing.

Listen to Dennis P. Slattery’s course, Mythic Figures and Personal Resonances, to learn how myths can be inspirational guides that point us to our own psychic life.

    Stay inspired.
    Get our magical updates.


    Share
    Dennis P. Slattery
    Dennis P. Slattery

    Dennis Patrick Slattery Ph.D.,  has been teaching for more than 50 years, the last 26 of which has been in the Mythological Studies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, where he is currently Emeritus Faculty.

    More Posts by Dennis P. Slattery
    Newer Healing the Severed Psyche
    Older Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival: Gawain and Orgeluse

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Blog Topics
    • Jungian
    • Dreams
    • Healing
    • Soulful Living
    • Updates
    Featured Courses & Lectures
    • Introduction to Individuation $97.00
    • Spirituality and Money Spirituality and Money $17.50
    • Dream Guidance: Book Launch Conversation Free!
    • Retire Your Family Karma $147.00
    • Growing up with narcissistic parents Growing Up with a Narcissistic Parent $42.00
    • Suicide: A Contemplative Approach Suicide: A Contemplative Approach $20.00
    • Relationship as Spiritual Path Relationship as a Spiritual Path $147.00
    • Exploring the Creative Self $125.00 $99.00

    Jung Platform - Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives

    Jung Platform is an online education space that offers multiple depth psychological and spiritual perspectives. Our courses and lectures explore the journey of life with the help of highly regarded teachers. We’re passionate about providing practical life-enhancing tools and the opportunity to connect with others on this path. So you can live your life colorfully.

    • location_on
      870 E Cedar Terrace Dr. Sandy. UT. 84094
    • email
      [email protected]

    Store
    • Jungian
    • Dreams
    • Healing
    • Soulful Living
    • Lectures
    • Courses
    • Summits
    Account
    • My Account
    • Orders
    • Downloads
    • Cart
    Company
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Faculty
    • Contact
    • Jungian Terms
    • Ambassadors
    Customer Service
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

      Stay inspired.
      Get our magical updates.


      Secure Payment
      Pay by PayPalPay by Visa Credit Card Pay by Mastercard
      Join our Community
      © 2022 Jung Platform. All rights reserved.
      Learn more about this program

      Register for a free information event on May 27, 9 am PT / 12 pm ET

      Your first name
      Your email address
      FREE DREAMS SUMMIT
      Your first name
      Your email address
      FREE JUNGIAN SUMMIT
      Your first name
      Your email address
      This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
      Privacy & Cookies Policy

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled
      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
      Non-necessary
      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
      SAVE & ACCEPT

      Conference Options

      Online conference

      Add to Cart

      Online conference + certificate of attendance (+$10)

      Add to Cart

      Online conference + CE credits certificate (+$25)

      Add to Cart