Youth values the process of life while adults cling to its objective forms
Evidence
Whereas adults because of their weakening vitality, concentrate their attention more and more on the objective contents of life, which in the present meaning could as well be designated as its forms, youth is more concerned with the process of life. Youth only wishes to express its power and its surplus of power, regardless of the objects involved. Thus cultural movement toward life and its expression alone, which disdains almost everything formal, objectifies the meaning of youthful life. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 854
Categorization
- XREF: This life-versus-form distinction maps onto the blasé attitude: adults’ fixation on objective forms parallels the urbanite’s numbing through categorization — relevant to the essay linking Simmel to Lofland. — connects to: Adventure as a form of experience belongs essentially to youth, not old age — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 484; Young military personnel aged 18-25 show higher optimism bias and willingness to take risks than older personnel. — Measuring Optimism Bias among Military Personnel; Life experiences often shape contrasting definitions of success. — Hamlin Garland Munseys, A Daughter of the Middle Border, 1637 (+6 more)
Related
- Adventure as a form of experience belongs essentially to youth, not old age (similarity 0.83)
- Ego-withdrawal is normal in youth but becomes pathological when the ego rigidifies (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Adulthood strips childhood things of their accumulated meaning
#corroborates(0.60) — Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family, 1980 - Life experiences often shape contrasting definitions of success.
#expands(0.50) — Hamlin Garland Munseys, A Daughter of the Middle Border, 1637