The Porcupine Conundrum

I have found time on my hands that has enabled me to return to reading and the urge to explore new avenues in books has conquered me as I now delve into a philosophical abyss.

I stumbled upon some works of Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher of the 19th century on the Kindle store. A crabby, pessimistic old man but oh so wise! I have started reading his collection of essays, The Wisdom of Life.  

The Wisdom of Life directed me to appendices of his work which contains some gems of thought such as the porcupine anecdote.

We all are like porcupines, on a cold winter's day, trying to huddle among our fellow porcupines for warmth. However, on coming too close, the porcupines get pricked by the others' quills, leading them to disperse again and bringing them back when there is a need for warmth.

Similarly, as we humans attempt to get close to other humans, our friends, families and lovers, we often get hurt leading us to "keep our distance" for a while until the need for solace overpowers us again and we gambol around like this indefinitely. 

Source: craigdutch2.wordpress.com

Sure, the analogy has a touch of pessimism, but to make an observation of that nature is remarkable. Unfortunately Schopenhauer didn't propose a solution to this. All he said was  "A man who has some heat in himself prefers to remain outside, where he will neither prick other people nor get pricked himself."

Perhaps this is fable is all we need to understand to remain content in life; how to generate our own warmth so that we can maintain our interactions minimizing the pain that arises from these interactions and without having to "tolerate the cold" on getting too far. However, doing this can make us wary of attachment. Cautious behaviour often breaks relationships. Even so, we need to explore our individuality to create our own space, by and for ourselves only, to have a sense of security that gives us the light and warmth that we need to save us from the inescapable pain of getting too close, and either hurt or get hurt by a fellow porcupine. 

All said and material desires aside, we are still heady humans longing for passion and strong emotions in our relationships and will continue to sway in this dance of intimacy. I thank thee, Schopenhauer, for this recent enlightenment.