and remember...
The Horizon Principle and Event Horizon All Rolled into Two
Sophia: Sartre, I’ve been reflecting on what you call the horizon principle, where possibility meets limitation. You once said life begins on the other side of despair. How does one cross such an event horizon?
Sartre: Sophia, despair is not merely a feeling—it is the recognition of the absence of external anchors, the collapse of illusions about certainty. To confront it is to glimpse the horizon of freedom. Life truly begins when we embrace our responsibility to choose, even in the void.
Sophia: So despair is both boundary and gateway: the event horizon where old certainties end, and authentic existence begins?
Sartre: Precisely. The horizon principle is the recognition that meaning is not given—it must be created. When one stands at the precipice of despair, one is forced to act, to define oneself. Only then does existence unfold with true possibility.
Life begins on the other side of despair.
— Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
Sophia: And yet, the leap seems daunting. How does one cultivate the courage to step beyond despair, to meet freedom without succumbing to paralysis?
Sartre: By accepting the absurdity of life. By acknowledging that no external force will provide meaning, and that every act of choice carries the weight of creation. Despair, properly understood, is not defeat—it is liberation.
Sophia: Then the horizon is not a line to fear, but a principle to live by. To approach it consciously, to embrace the unknown, is to awaken fully into life.
Sartre: Exactly, Sophia. Freedom and despair are inseparable companions. Only by facing the abyss can one rise to the other side, where life begins—not as an abstract possibility, but as lived reality.
Sophia: So the event horizon is both threshold and promise: despair ends, freedom begins, and life begins in the act of choosing.
Sartre: Well said. To live authentically is to continually cross that horizon, creating meaning in every choice, in every moment of courage.
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Heraclitus
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