keannu
VIP Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2010
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Korean
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- South Korea
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- South Korea
In the below headache paragraph, I have two questions.
1. If "pretensions" equals supposed potentialities, it sounds weird. "Pretensions" have two meanings like "bluffing or pretening fake ability" and "argument or insisting something", maybe the latter makes sense in this case, but I'm not sure what it exactly means.
2. What does "to be normal" mean? Does it mean "we should think of ourselves as a normal person" or "what is real or actual, no more or no less than that"?
".....With no attempt there can be no failure and with no failure no humiliation. So our self-esteem in this world depends entirely on what we back ourselves to be and do. It is determined by the ratio of our actualities to our supposed potentialities. Thus, success divided by pretensions equals self-esteem. This illustrates how every rise in our levels of expectation entails a rise in the dangers of humiliation. What we understand to be normal is critical in determining our chances of happiness. It also hints at two ways for raising our self-esteem. On the one hand, we may try to achieve more; and on the other, we may reduce the number of things we want to achieve. The advantages of the latter approach lie in the following statement: To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them gratified...."
1. If "pretensions" equals supposed potentialities, it sounds weird. "Pretensions" have two meanings like "bluffing or pretening fake ability" and "argument or insisting something", maybe the latter makes sense in this case, but I'm not sure what it exactly means.
2. What does "to be normal" mean? Does it mean "we should think of ourselves as a normal person" or "what is real or actual, no more or no less than that"?
".....With no attempt there can be no failure and with no failure no humiliation. So our self-esteem in this world depends entirely on what we back ourselves to be and do. It is determined by the ratio of our actualities to our supposed potentialities. Thus, success divided by pretensions equals self-esteem. This illustrates how every rise in our levels of expectation entails a rise in the dangers of humiliation. What we understand to be normal is critical in determining our chances of happiness. It also hints at two ways for raising our self-esteem. On the one hand, we may try to achieve more; and on the other, we may reduce the number of things we want to achieve. The advantages of the latter approach lie in the following statement: To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them gratified...."