"Learning appears as a way of staying young, perhaps of staying alive, and also as a way of growing up, perhaps facing death."
British Author, Philosopher
1923 - 2003
Commentary
Life-long learning is a powerful habit to develop. Learning something new keeps us in touch with our youth and helps us to stay active and alive. What have you learned in the last week? The past month? Who has taught you something new about yourself or your art?
We experience the world through our senses — hearing, seeing, tasting, touching and smelling. And what we experience teaches us much if we are paying attention and alert to the possibilities. Did you smell the wind today? Did you hear the approaching storm? Do you taste the rain on your face?
From the time we are born until we die, our purpose is to learn, to grow, and to change. Most learning does not occur in school and we don't stop learning once we graduate. Cultivate a learning attitude. Unfortunately, many people do not learn from their mistakes. They are not willing to change and grow. To be a great artist or writer, you must be constantly learning about the world in which we inhabit.
And when we face death, it will teach us much that we have forgotten. Do not be afraid of death. Understand that it is a gift. It is a door through which we pass, a gate that leads to another world.
Biography
Wollheim was the son of actress and a theatrical agent. He participated as a soldier in World War II and for a short time was a prisoner of war. After the war, he studied philosophy, politics and economics. He taught at the University College in London, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Minnesota, the University of California at Berkeley as well as other universities.
Wollheim married Anne Powell in 1950 and had twin sons. He married his second wife, Mary Day Lanier, in 1967 and she gave birth to a daughter.
Richard Wollheim is known for his philosophical work on mind and emotions as related to the visual arts. He was president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 1992 until 2003
Wollheim wrote and published 14 books including a biography of Freud (1971), a novel entitled, A Family Romance (1969) and several philosophical books including Painting as Art, Art and Its Objects, The Thread of Life, On the Emotions, The Mind and Its Depths and The Germs: A Memoir of Childhood.
