ke Kierkegaard, I do not see any necessary connection with Age in relationship to this principle. Man may never live his life actively. Man may live his entire life passively. Passivity is not something Man necessarily grows out of. The reason for this, is that passivity, and a drive for pleasure, are intimately connected. (I am not saying Man can not live for his own pleasure in an active manner, but rather, that in the earliest stages of ones development, man is both naturally passive, and naturally pleasure-seeking.) The shift in consciousness from a passive, to an active life, is dependent on a loss of this pleasure. If Man is living passively, and is also receiving a satisfactory amount of pleasure, there is no philosophical, nor psychological motivation for activity. If passivity works, there is no reason for Mans psyche to change. However, if gradual or sudden changes in circumstance create a lack of pleasure in a Mans life, a natural, instinctual response forces Man to live actively.For many people, this change is the defining moment in peoples lives. It can be rewarding and eye-opening, or it can be chaotic and horrifying. It all depends on the person, and the situation. As Mans change in circumstance can be either gradual or sudden, so can his change from passivity to activity. As can be expected, a sudden change to activity can be devastating. People unaccustomed or unprepared for the sudden destruction of their passive microcosm can be destroyed by the change. I believe that is what happened to Willy Loman and Ivan Ilych. Both had lived lives predetermined by their society, living as an outsider, a spectator. Neither lived actively. Willys microcosm was shattered relatively quickly, and he was overwhelmed by his own lack of control. Ivans world fell apart piece by piece, both externally and internally, and his lack of choice, his lack of control, his lack of power, destroyed him gradually. Victor Frankl w...
