Comedy, Tragedy, or Insanity. A Hidden Trinity Perhaps?
10/30/2022 11:08 PM MST
philosophy
One may think that the logical trinity should be comedy, tragedy, and sanity. However, that’s not any fun! So instead, I propose that insanity be the third element of the trinity. I won’t bother to argue that tragedy or comedy are wrong as I believe there’s enough evidence for them.
However, because I have a theory that qualities naturally have three prime aspects (a trinity) that’s why I suggested that sanity seems like a logical fit for the missing element. Why, firstly because tragedy and comedy are polar opposites of one another. So it seems natural that sanity should lie between the severity of emotional concept. However, I have a feeling this is paradoxically wrong.
Sanity is essentially a judgment by oneself to oneself or to others. However, sanity is a questionable mental property. Many times it could be emotionally based, and not logical impediment. People may have deep emotional pain, and they seek an outlet or some stimulus from the environment to quell it. Sadly though, this usually never comes to those who need it.
This is where faith comes in. People need to believe truly and recognize the Universe is extremely powerful and that we’re insignificant in the scope of it. This seems paradoxical, but it actually makes sense. One could argue that the Universe is simply physics or chemistry and that the mind is like a vat of chemicals. However, unlike a vat of chemicals there is the element of perception. Call this the soul if you may; there doesn’t seem to be a better word for it.
Recognize the truth of your own perceptions; they have to come from somewhere. Perhaps this is only the mind and body. However, our thoughts also come from the environment, as seeing or hearing or smelling different things can cause us to think a certain way or remember certain memories. And if one is creative, one could imagine that thoughts are coming to us from the Universe somehow. Call this crazy if you will, but those that do it will say that others are missing out!
Why address it in this manner? Because I wanted to make it distinct from comedy and tragedy in the sense that sanity isn’t a consistent emotional concept for delivering a story. One could of course have an absurd or insane story, but it doesn’t feel like it ought to lie between comedy and tragedy. You could even argue that absurdism is a form of chaos or entropy and any trinity could have one or many additional absurd qualities. However, this is absurd!
The trinity therefore shouldn’t be comedy, tragedy, and insanity. It should be comedy, tragedy, and sterility. However, sterility and sanity certainly aren’t the same thing… at least I hope not! Why sterility? This makes sense because it is the concept of emotional neutrality, boredom, or apathy. As things become less funny, they become more boring. Similarly as things become less tragic they also become less boring. So they are converging on the third element: sterility.