인간을 만나면 (인간 뿐 아니라 모든 생명 존재를 만나면) 그 안에서 경이와 애정을 보았던 월트 휘트먼

나는 인간을 만나면

그들의 싫어하는 점이 먼저 눈에 띈다는 점에서

루트비히 비트켄슈타인과 닮았고,

인간을 만나면 (인간 뿐 아니라 모든 생명 존재를 만나면)

그 안에서 경이와 애정을 보았던 

월트 휘트먼과는 정 반대되는 성정을 갖고 있다고 할 수 있다.

 

...

"Walt Whitman had a warm, expansive feeling towards the vast majority of men and women. His queer catalogues seemed to him interesting because each item came before his imagination as an object of delight. The sort of joy which most people feel only in those who are exceptionally beautiful or splendid Walt Whitman felt in almost everybody. Out of this universal liking grew optimism, a belief in democracy, and a conviction that it is easy for men to live together in peace and amity. His philosophy and politics were based upon his instinctive attitude towards ordinary men and women."

— Bertrand Russell, Why Men Fight (1917) Ch.1: The Principle of Growth, p. 33

Image: Walter "Walt" Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. Whitman's sexual orientation is generally assumed to be homosexual or bisexual, on the basis of his poetry, though this assumption has been disputed. Whitman was deeply influenced by deism. He denied any one faith was more important than another, and embraced all religions equally.

"God is a mean-spirited, pugnacious bully bent on revenge against His children for failing to live up to his impossible standards."
― Walt Whitman

"I like the scientific spirit - the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine - it always keeps the way beyond open." ― Walt Whitman