High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1932: Chapter 153: ”Truth, Philosophy and My World View” (Part 2)

”...From the standpoint of the philosophy of magic, it is not easy to give a clear definition to the concept of ’truth.’ This is because the word ’truth’ has different meanings, depending on whether it involves an empirical fact, a theorem of magic, or a new theoretical interpretation of magic.”

”As for the concept of ’truth,’ I cannot imagine any clear connotation... Future magic explorations can weaken the influence of traditional classical magic theory by encouraging broader causal thinking and providing a higher-dimensional perspective. I firmly believe that all detailed magic research should be built on a passionate belief similar to religious sentiment, a belief in the intelligibility of reason or the world itself.”

”That deep-seated belief, that the cognizable world is a manifestation of super-rationality, is my understanding of ’truth.’ In a popular expression, it could be called ’Pan-Magic Philosophy’... I can only view ’classical magic cognition’ from the perspective of the history of magic and the psychology of magic; beyond that, I have no relation to it.”

”... I strongly yearn for a simple and orderly life. And I often find myself intolerant of my fellow’s excessive efforts. I believe that simple distinctions based on bloodlines and tribes are unreasonable, ultimately based on violence. I also believe that a simple life, whether physically or mentally, is beneficial to every existence.”

”I do not believe at all that there exists the kind of philosophical freedom among wizards... Every wizard’s actions are not only constrained by external compulsion but also need to adapt to internal necessity. Big Wizard Arthur Schopenhauer said, ’A wizard can do what he wants but cannot want what he wants’... I always feel that the trivial goals pursued with magic—gold, power, honor, and a long life—are all despicable.”

”... I only seek to be satisfied with the eternal mysteries of truth, content with perceiving the miraculous structure of the existing world, glimpsing its nuances, and making sincere efforts to comprehend the part of reason displayed in nature; if I can truly do so, even if I comprehend only a very small part, I shall be content.”

”In ’Prison Notebooks,’ Big Wizard Antonio Gramsci wrote, ’The old world is dying, but the new world has not yet been born’... He is full of confidence in the new world, just as I am full of confidence in the future of this world. And incomparable confidence is precisely the essence of reaching a higher tier in the magical world.”

”I once heard someone say—a life is like a row of dominoes, with each passing day, the dominoes fall one by one, and we shall eventually reach that long-fixed future. Explained with Dimension Theory, it means that the timeline will always converge at the ends of the past and the future, where the end of the past is 0, the end of the future is 1, and between 0 and 1, there are countless possibilities. It is like a huge, undulating olive. Knowing this, we will have the greatest tolerance for the countless possibilities in the process.”

”Whether in this process, you have been a commoner, a trickster, a wizard, or a demon.”

”The above is my philosophical reflection on truth and my understanding of the world.”

”On the evening of September 12, 2009, at the First University.①”

...

...

Two young wizards stood at the edge of the grass, attentively reading the article.

The morning sun was not intense, but it had a refreshing radiance, falling on their shoulders, on that thin newspaper, diffusing the color of an unripe orange, emanating a focused and pure atmosphere.

For a long time.

Xiao Xiao put down the newspaper in his hand, stretched lazily, and took a deep breath: ”As expected from our dean... truly an ordinary yet extraordinary article.”

Xin Fat Man chewed a meat bun as he squeezed over, speaking indistinctly: ”I know it without you saying; the whole piece is shadowed with the philosophy of magic, more tedious than his class content... The only understanding I got after reading is that ’that matter’ is true.”

’That matter’ refers to the extra edition of the Beta Town Post claiming that Old Yao is a demon. Though the school’s emergency ’public relations’ prevented anyone from openly discussing this topic, it didn’t stop the students from using various euphemisms to subtly exchange their views.

This is also the most chaotic topic in Jiuyou Academy in the past two days.

Many newly joined first-year students at Jiuyou Academy were like headless flies, running all over the place because of this matter, so much so that no one talked about the opening ceremony that ended last Friday, as if it had happened long ago.

Therefore, when saying the last sentence, the tone of the Fat Wizard carried a distinct resentment, so much so that the aroma of the meat bun was significantly dissipated, becoming faint.

Xiao Xiao turned to look at him, adjusting his glasses.

”It’s true, and it’s not true.” Absolution’s diviner once again used the diviners’ common Yin Yang rhetoric to comfort: ”Just as the article mentioned in the end, we should have the greatest tolerance for ’the countless possibilities in the process.’”

”This phrase can be used anywhere.” Xin Fat Man muttered, but both his hands weren’t idle, quickly peeling a tea egg and stuffing it into his mouth, making his voice even more muddled: ”On the Black Prison Battlefield, the school’s wizards didn’t seem to show much tolerance for those ’possibilities.’”

This seemed a bit argumentative.

Zheng Qing did not mind the whispering discussion between his two companions.

He was holding the newspaper alone—after Xiao Xiao let go, the entire front page fell into the hands of the young cost student—he read the last few paragraphs carefully, always feeling that the content Professor Yao wrote was very familiar.

So he read while slowly searching through his not-so-abundant experiences in his mind.

Quickly, the warlock recalled the origin of these words—a few months ago, when he lay on a hospital bed at the school, feeling depressed, Mr. Wu had visited him and said similar words in the ward.

At that time, the gentleman also said another sentence, which at this moment, the young cost student, holding the newspaper, involuntarily recited: ”Any judgment, when leaving aside the variable of time, the greatest variable, will run farther and farther in the wrong direction.”

In his ears, the whispered argument between his two companions abruptly stopped.

Xin Fat Man gulped down a big mouthful of soybean milk, squinting thoughtfully.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, looked at Zheng Qing in surprise: ”The fact that you can understand to this extent shows you really comprehended Old Yao’s article... All he wants to do is create a pure ’wizard’ free from lowly interests, just like what the article described: those vulgar goals pursued with magic—gold, power, honor, and a long life—are all despicable.”