Friday, 29 June 2007
Pure Reason as a Means to Truth
An awareness that subordinates itself to pure reason must end in absolute nihilism, ie total scepticism about language itself. This is because if one managed to follow reason through to its end, which is to say to its root, one would arrive at the inescapable point where the first step of reason is itself a leap of faith; a leap of faith in which one decides to accept language as inherently corresponding to truth or meaning, and hence a means of divining truth. In fact, there are two main leaps of faith being made here; that truth exists, and that the symbolic world of language corresponds to it. The slave to reason would be forced into the mentioned position of absolute nihilism, as by their own terms of strict rationalism, the entire edifice of their thought depends on an impermissible starting point. They would have nothing to base a faith in language's being imbued with a meaning with which life is also imbued, and so language would have to be abandoned before it begins.
Thursday, 28 June 2007
God & Mammon/ Reality & Unreality
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon." Luke 16:13
If we substite God for Reality & Mammon for Unreality the same is true. And an extension of this would be Reality & the State. Unless one is happy with a schizophrenic universe, one can't serve truth, ie consciousness unmodified by delusion, with belief in the collective delusion of the national ego or nation state.
If we substite God for Reality & Mammon for Unreality the same is true. And an extension of this would be Reality & the State. Unless one is happy with a schizophrenic universe, one can't serve truth, ie consciousness unmodified by delusion, with belief in the collective delusion of the national ego or nation state.
Bill Hicks on the Culture of Inanity
Where Bill reveals the spiritual reality of the brave new world.
And just for the sake of it, more Bill.
And just for the sake of it, more Bill.
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
The Straight Man At It Again
The it he was at being engagement in the art of dialogue. One of our reporters was in a watering-hole recently drowning his considerable but in this context irrelevant sorrows when he happened to notice that seated at the table beside him was the illustrious thinker who earlier appeared here in vibrant discussion with Plato regarding being held prisoner within a funny sort of cave(if new to this blog, you better read the linked piece so as to make any sense of this one). He was sat beside a man of active demeanour who, like Plato in the earlier dialogue, made most of the conversational running. Our reporter wisely recorded the words of wisdom that emanated from the duo, and later was astonished to discover that the straight man repeated his earlier Platonic utterances word for word. He thought this may have interesting implications regarding the cyclical nature of time, though with time becoming subtly altered in its later cycle. However, being a bit of a dog-eared sort of person, he failed to pursue this train of thought with any real conviction. What follows is a faithful transcription of the recorded dialogue:
'I bought a new suit the other day.'
'I see.'
'Imagine a big fat fella with a limp in jail trying to squeeze into this suit.'
'An odd picture and an odd sort of prisoner.'
'Imagine these fellas holding other fellas' heads really tight from birth to death. They'd only see what's straight in front of them.'
'How could they see anything else if they were prevented from moving their heads all their lives?'
'They wouldn't be happy.'
'Of course not.'
'They'd like the other fellas to let go their heads.'
'Inevitably.'
'They would think, "These fellas holding our heads are half-mad."'
'They would be bound to think so.'
'They'd be tempted to shout at these fellas to let go their heads.'
'Yes, inevitably.'
'Anyway, a real dog is more real than an imaginary dog.'
'Much more real.'
'You're sure?'
'Yes.'
'You wouldn't like it if you were being kicked up the hole.'
'Certainly not at first.'
'You'd be annoyed.'
'Of course.'
'Your annoyance would come after the experience of pain.'
'That must come last.'
'If someone was looking on at this scene, he'd think to himself, "I'd prefer to be the one giving the kicking than the one getting the kicking.'
'That is the conclusion he would obviously reach.'
'And he'd be right.'
'Very much so.'
'He'd think to himself, "I'd hate to be of a class of people who were always getting kicked up the hole."'
'Yes, he would prefer anything to a life like theirs.'
'He'd be a wise man to come to that conclusion.'
'Certainly.'
'People would be impressed with his wisdom if he explained to them his reasoning.'
'They certainly would.'
At this point, our reporter had to go to the toilet, and when he returned the two men had left.
'I bought a new suit the other day.'
'I see.'
'Imagine a big fat fella with a limp in jail trying to squeeze into this suit.'
'An odd picture and an odd sort of prisoner.'
'Imagine these fellas holding other fellas' heads really tight from birth to death. They'd only see what's straight in front of them.'
'How could they see anything else if they were prevented from moving their heads all their lives?'
'They wouldn't be happy.'
'Of course not.'
'They'd like the other fellas to let go their heads.'
'Inevitably.'
'They would think, "These fellas holding our heads are half-mad."'
'They would be bound to think so.'
'They'd be tempted to shout at these fellas to let go their heads.'
'Yes, inevitably.'
'Anyway, a real dog is more real than an imaginary dog.'
'Much more real.'
'You're sure?'
'Yes.'
'You wouldn't like it if you were being kicked up the hole.'
'Certainly not at first.'
'You'd be annoyed.'
'Of course.'
'Your annoyance would come after the experience of pain.'
'That must come last.'
'If someone was looking on at this scene, he'd think to himself, "I'd prefer to be the one giving the kicking than the one getting the kicking.'
'That is the conclusion he would obviously reach.'
'And he'd be right.'
'Very much so.'
'He'd think to himself, "I'd hate to be of a class of people who were always getting kicked up the hole."'
'Yes, he would prefer anything to a life like theirs.'
'He'd be a wise man to come to that conclusion.'
'Certainly.'
'People would be impressed with his wisdom if he explained to them his reasoning.'
'They certainly would.'
At this point, our reporter had to go to the toilet, and when he returned the two men had left.
Spiritual Warfare?
'O nobly born, let not thy mind be distracted.'
That line, I think, from the Buddhist book, the Dhammapada.
Conversely, the unspoken dictum of modern mainstream culture could probably be described-
'O ignobly born, let thy mind always be distracted.'
The second philosophy representing the Tempter of Buddhism who(or which) desires man to be drawn into delusional states of being...not too difficult to find the equivalents within other religious/philosophical creeds, while the first being a philosophy of being in which consciousness is to experience itself without imposition of delusion from within or without.
That line, I think, from the Buddhist book, the Dhammapada.
Conversely, the unspoken dictum of modern mainstream culture could probably be described-
'O ignobly born, let thy mind always be distracted.'
The second philosophy representing the Tempter of Buddhism who(or which) desires man to be drawn into delusional states of being...not too difficult to find the equivalents within other religious/philosophical creeds, while the first being a philosophy of being in which consciousness is to experience itself without imposition of delusion from within or without.
Monday, 25 June 2007
Elton John- The Art of
The work of this artist lifts the veil from the falsehood of the bourgeois projection of self; a self that masquerades as at ease with itself and life, fulfilled by the nobility of work and the refinements of culture. Elton's art destroys this illusion with shocking violence and emotional detachment. He screams for a return to the primitive or savage, though, and with a display of almost inhuman honesty, he defiantly refuses to offer the olive branch that this savage is at heart noble.
Beautiful Writing
As a fascinating prologue to the main action, I came across the piece below when checking on what I think proved to be a miss-spelling of the phrase In abstentia(absentia), when called upon by the friendly blogger thing to come up with a title for the hotbed of intellectual delectation that is this here blog. Clouds silver linings etc so I stumbled upon said piece below which displays the wonder of words placed in succession in the sometimes successful, sometimes vain attempt to serve the purposes of the author whio lies behinds such symbol manipulation.
'Father Jerome's PSYCHOSOCIOLOGICAL DICTIONARY of KEYWORDS/PHRASES used in his QUALIA III Monograph.
"'in abstentia' - the realities of legitimation"
The GENERAL CONTEXT of such use is:
'in abstentia' - the realities of legitimation: In order to understand that the social effects of the common or learned (i.e., taught, as by pedagogic communications) illusions (maya), which are sociologically implied in the system of relations between the educational system (the School) and the structure of class relations, are not illusory, it is necessary to go back to the principle which governs this system of relations. Legitimation of the established order, by the School, presupposes social recognition of the legitimacy of the School, a recognition resting in turn on misrecognition of the delegation of authority which establishes that legitimacy, or, more precisely, on misrecognition of the social conditions of a harmony between structures and habitus sufficiently perfect to engender misrecognition of the habitus as a product reproducing what produces it and correlative recognition of the structure of the order thus reproduced. Thus, the educational system objectively tends, by concealing the objective truth of its functioning, to produce the ideological justification of the order it reproduces by its functioning.'
This is a particularly fine display of intellectual writing in which the meaning, if it exists, is hidden within an impenetrable maze of verbiage, thus preserving the mystery of The Word from the academically unwashed. The final sentence is actually quite an excellent one in terms of the clear display of meaning & indeed is a meaning worth displaying. Perhaps the preceding lines did actually lead to this fine conclusion but I admit to being utterly in the dark as to whether this is the case or not. Which, of course, is to the credit of the author- the lines of Jesus coming to mind: "so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand.'"
'Father Jerome's PSYCHOSOCIOLOGICAL DICTIONARY of KEYWORDS/PHRASES used in his QUALIA III Monograph.
"'in abstentia' - the realities of legitimation"
The GENERAL CONTEXT of such use is:
'in abstentia' - the realities of legitimation: In order to understand that the social effects of the common or learned (i.e., taught, as by pedagogic communications) illusions (maya), which are sociologically implied in the system of relations between the educational system (the School) and the structure of class relations, are not illusory, it is necessary to go back to the principle which governs this system of relations. Legitimation of the established order, by the School, presupposes social recognition of the legitimacy of the School, a recognition resting in turn on misrecognition of the delegation of authority which establishes that legitimacy, or, more precisely, on misrecognition of the social conditions of a harmony between structures and habitus sufficiently perfect to engender misrecognition of the habitus as a product reproducing what produces it and correlative recognition of the structure of the order thus reproduced. Thus, the educational system objectively tends, by concealing the objective truth of its functioning, to produce the ideological justification of the order it reproduces by its functioning.'
This is a particularly fine display of intellectual writing in which the meaning, if it exists, is hidden within an impenetrable maze of verbiage, thus preserving the mystery of The Word from the academically unwashed. The final sentence is actually quite an excellent one in terms of the clear display of meaning & indeed is a meaning worth displaying. Perhaps the preceding lines did actually lead to this fine conclusion but I admit to being utterly in the dark as to whether this is the case or not. Which, of course, is to the credit of the author- the lines of Jesus coming to mind: "so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand.'"
Friday, 22 June 2007
El Greco on Michelangelo
"A good man but he can't paint."
Michelangelo's paintings with their epically proportioned beings strike me as clumsy and without natural grace- his oversized figures puzzled as to why they are have been rendered in paint & forced into these rather awkward, immense operatic scenarios. His drawings are a very different matter and far more appropriate to his genius than his unfortunate essays with paint, as shown by this magnificent crucifixion, even if the Christ is of somwhat unlikely historical accuracy, comprised as he is of Michelangelo's trademark impressive physicality. A full panorama of such bulky & unhappily coloured in titans all heroically dominating space doesn't do it for me, however. Incidentally, El Greco's departure from Rome to Spain was said to have been precipitated by his suggestions to the then Pope, with whom he was on good terms, that the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel might benefit from being painted over by his good self. However seriously such a suggestion may have been made, there is no doubt El Greco one of the most naturally gifted artists to have lived, & a strong argument could be made for his being the greatest visionary painter of Western Europe, as shown in this great Agony in the Garden.
Or here in the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, Greco shows how to paint an enormous scene with perfect grace.
Michelangelo's paintings with their epically proportioned beings strike me as clumsy and without natural grace- his oversized figures puzzled as to why they are have been rendered in paint & forced into these rather awkward, immense operatic scenarios. His drawings are a very different matter and far more appropriate to his genius than his unfortunate essays with paint, as shown by this magnificent crucifixion, even if the Christ is of somwhat unlikely historical accuracy, comprised as he is of Michelangelo's trademark impressive physicality. A full panorama of such bulky & unhappily coloured in titans all heroically dominating space doesn't do it for me, however. Incidentally, El Greco's departure from Rome to Spain was said to have been precipitated by his suggestions to the then Pope, with whom he was on good terms, that the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel might benefit from being painted over by his good self. However seriously such a suggestion may have been made, there is no doubt El Greco one of the most naturally gifted artists to have lived, & a strong argument could be made for his being the greatest visionary painter of Western Europe, as shown in this great Agony in the Garden.
Or here in the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, Greco shows how to paint an enormous scene with perfect grace.
Renaissance Artist Autobiography Blog Post
I've begun the Renaissance artist, Benvenuto Cellini's autobiography, as all of us do at one time or another, and was welcomed by the opening line:
"I first began writing this Life of mine in my own hand...but it took up too much of my time and seemed utterly pointless."
Undimmed by the pointlessness of his task, he ploughed ahead with great gusto declaring, "No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are really great achievements ought to write the story of his own life."
Only a chapter or so in, but it's enjoyable & unwittingly amusing as a result of the, in today's terms at least, odd enthusiastic character of Cellini. One early incident; his father sees a salamander lizard running around in the fire and : 'Suddenly realizing what it was, he called my sister & myself & showed it to us. And then he gave me such a violent box on the ears that I screamed & burst into tears. At this he calmed me as kindly as he could & said: "My dear little boy, I didn't hit you because you had done wrong. I only did it so you will never forget that this lizard you saw is a salamander, and as far as we know for certain has never been seen before."
"I first began writing this Life of mine in my own hand...but it took up too much of my time and seemed utterly pointless."
Undimmed by the pointlessness of his task, he ploughed ahead with great gusto declaring, "No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are really great achievements ought to write the story of his own life."
Only a chapter or so in, but it's enjoyable & unwittingly amusing as a result of the, in today's terms at least, odd enthusiastic character of Cellini. One early incident; his father sees a salamander lizard running around in the fire and : 'Suddenly realizing what it was, he called my sister & myself & showed it to us. And then he gave me such a violent box on the ears that I screamed & burst into tears. At this he calmed me as kindly as he could & said: "My dear little boy, I didn't hit you because you had done wrong. I only did it so you will never forget that this lizard you saw is a salamander, and as far as we know for certain has never been seen before."
The Field of Vision
This is something of a companion piece to The Thing in Itself in the Light of a Mirror piece which set the intellectual world alight recently.
As I stand in a certain spot looking in a certain direction, I do not occupy a definitive point of perception which excludes the reality of all other possible points of perception. Instead I occupy a continuously shifting position within the visual field, which is comprised of an infinity of points of perception all existing simultaneously. Reality here is the totality of this field of vision as opposed to the distinct reality of the individual points.
The same can be said of time. We occupy a continuously shifting position within this field, again with all the individual points of time existing simultaneously. This may sound stranger than the field of vision, but to take a look at the alternative which is that the only point of reality in time is the present moment which is continuously advancing thus sending all previous time into oblivion or unreality. Time from this perspective is a knife-edge of reality surrounded by unreality in both directions, which seems a very artificial picture of the real.
As I stand in a certain spot looking in a certain direction, I do not occupy a definitive point of perception which excludes the reality of all other possible points of perception. Instead I occupy a continuously shifting position within the visual field, which is comprised of an infinity of points of perception all existing simultaneously. Reality here is the totality of this field of vision as opposed to the distinct reality of the individual points.
The same can be said of time. We occupy a continuously shifting position within this field, again with all the individual points of time existing simultaneously. This may sound stranger than the field of vision, but to take a look at the alternative which is that the only point of reality in time is the present moment which is continuously advancing thus sending all previous time into oblivion or unreality. Time from this perspective is a knife-edge of reality surrounded by unreality in both directions, which seems a very artificial picture of the real.
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Useful Advice
You remember that wonderful chart hit of a few years ago, "I Get Knocked Down," by Chumbawumba?
Some of the lyrics were as follows:
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
A later verse on in the song's pathway thru time, the identical passage of events is repeated in which the central protagonist is repeatedly beaten to the floor only to rise again, whereupon he is quickly sent back to floor from which he just arose. Up he gets again only to be met by the same predictable outcome.
Tragically later on in the song we see he is still being beaten to the floor, rising, sent crashing, etc. Why he should be the target for such abuse is unknown, though since noone steps in to his aid at any time during this shocking tale of cyclical physical aggression perhaps he is not without blame.
Anyway, my advice to this indefatigable young man is- Stay down.
Some of the lyrics were as follows:
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
I get knocked down but I get up again
You're never going to keep me down
A later verse on in the song's pathway thru time, the identical passage of events is repeated in which the central protagonist is repeatedly beaten to the floor only to rise again, whereupon he is quickly sent back to floor from which he just arose. Up he gets again only to be met by the same predictable outcome.
Tragically later on in the song we see he is still being beaten to the floor, rising, sent crashing, etc. Why he should be the target for such abuse is unknown, though since noone steps in to his aid at any time during this shocking tale of cyclical physical aggression perhaps he is not without blame.
Anyway, my advice to this indefatigable young man is- Stay down.
Too Much Time on One's Hands
It has been argued by no less a person than Neil Forsyth that bloggers have alot & even perhaps too much time on their hands. This is nonsensical, I thought. I've never seen Time nor has anyone else, and even if one could, one would hardly expect to see this strange pseudo dimension nestling atop one's hands. However, then I realised that Time if it exists anywhere exists within the object of a timepiece such as a clock or watch. And where does a watch reside except on one's hand or hands. And Time being a creation of the mind that separates existence into this and that, is an artificial construct & so it could be said that having this perpetual reminder of the existence of an artificial dimension wrapped around one's person is indeed to have too much time on one's hands.
Important Edit to Role of the Passerby in Literature & Film
You (whoever the hell you are) will be familiar with the controversy over the description of the passerby being kind of an hermaphrodite in that important essay. I rebuffed the relevant criticism with all the pride of a true artist. However, in the light of mature reflection, Susan might have had a point and so I have decided to alter said essay, ie The Role of the Passerby in Literature & Film. And so it is my honour to direct your attention to the modified state of being that is said piece.
Great Philosophical Sayings No.2
Agree with mad bastards rather than looking for proof.
Courtesy of Gearoid
Courtesy of Gearoid
"Every Aristocratic Culture is Intolerant"
Said Nietzsche. To take aristocratic in the sense of what is elevated in man, and what is elevated in man being man in his true or more real sense, where does this leave the current culture of liberalism of the West? A liberalism towards things such as the tabloid culture in its various forms, and its inevitable degading of man's sense of self and life.
To try and pull myself back to the point, a culture needs to be strong enough to say no to the right, or wrong, things. The idea of saying no to smoking while yes to super-casinos, for example, tells us that the powers that be are either completely confused beings, ill-suited to leading their cultures in beneficial directions, or else they are intentionally screwing with people's minds in the inconsistent directions people's sensibilities are being pulled.
I'll possibly do a bit of work on this later but one bug-bear; how can one take seriously a culture that permits a valueless substance such as chewing-gum to basically defigure all of its footpaths? Are we getting some great cultural boon in exchange for this uglifying of our streets?
To try and pull myself back to the point, a culture needs to be strong enough to say no to the right, or wrong, things. The idea of saying no to smoking while yes to super-casinos, for example, tells us that the powers that be are either completely confused beings, ill-suited to leading their cultures in beneficial directions, or else they are intentionally screwing with people's minds in the inconsistent directions people's sensibilities are being pulled.
I'll possibly do a bit of work on this later but one bug-bear; how can one take seriously a culture that permits a valueless substance such as chewing-gum to basically defigure all of its footpaths? Are we getting some great cultural boon in exchange for this uglifying of our streets?
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
The Not So Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
I've decided to do a sort of re-mix on the earlier piece which, just in case, you'd better read first to make sense of this one.... but with a somewhat different character in place of our hero. I again will omit the philosopher's rambling and leave us with the responses of the other.
The Not So Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
'I don't see that at all.'
'This sounds ridiculous.'
'Could you repeat that. I can't make head nor tail of it.'
'I don't know what you're asking me.'
‘Shadows?'
'Wait a minute, my good man. You'll have to go back over all of that again.'
'Speak up will you.'
'No, I still can't understand a word of it.'
'No, I couldn't agree with that.'
'Go back over that last bit. You lost me... No, before that bit about the fire.'
'How do you make that out?'
'You're making even less sense now.'
'You can't be serious. He'd be off over the hill.'
'He'd be gone I tell you.'
'No, no. He'd vanish as fast as he could and that would be the last you'd see of him.'
'Bullshit.'
"Go way and get a job for god sake."
The Not So Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
'I don't see that at all.'
'This sounds ridiculous.'
'Could you repeat that. I can't make head nor tail of it.'
'I don't know what you're asking me.'
‘Shadows?'
'Wait a minute, my good man. You'll have to go back over all of that again.'
'Speak up will you.'
'No, I still can't understand a word of it.'
'No, I couldn't agree with that.'
'Go back over that last bit. You lost me... No, before that bit about the fire.'
'How do you make that out?'
'You're making even less sense now.'
'You can't be serious. He'd be off over the hill.'
'He'd be gone I tell you.'
'No, no. He'd vanish as fast as he could and that would be the last you'd see of him.'
'Bullshit.'
"Go way and get a job for god sake."
Falling Down
What keeps the Earth from falling down? Something about the Sun & gravity, you say? Sounds iffy to me. Well, what keeps the Sun from falling down?
The Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
A little explaining first; I was reading Plato's Cave Anology a few days ago, or possibly its proper title- 'Illusion & Reality'...either way, we know what i'm talking about, and brilliant as it is, and it struck me to write the following where all that is given is the utterances of the sidekick in the mentioned dialogue, and the philosopher's utterances ommitted. So without further ado
The Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
'I see.'
'An odd picture and an odd sort of prisoner.'
'How could they see anything else if they were prevented from moving their heads all their lives?'
'Of course not.'
'Inevitably.'
'They would be bound to think so.'
'Yes, inevitably.'
'Much more real.'
'Yes.'
'Certainly not at first.'
'Of course.'
'That must come last.'
'That is the conclusion he would obviously reach.'
'Very much so.'
'Yes, he would prefer anything to a life like theirs.'
'Certainly.'
'They certainly would.'
That is no more and no less than the straight-man says in the dialogue. My knowledge of Plato doesn't stretch far beyond the above but I would be very disappointed if, in delving deeper into Plato's writings, this fascinating character fails to reappear in all his colourful glory.
More on this theme here
The Straight Man & the Platonic Dialogue
'I see.'
'An odd picture and an odd sort of prisoner.'
'How could they see anything else if they were prevented from moving their heads all their lives?'
'Of course not.'
'Inevitably.'
'They would be bound to think so.'
'Yes, inevitably.'
'Much more real.'
'Yes.'
'Certainly not at first.'
'Of course.'
'That must come last.'
'That is the conclusion he would obviously reach.'
'Very much so.'
'Yes, he would prefer anything to a life like theirs.'
'Certainly.'
'They certainly would.'
That is no more and no less than the straight-man says in the dialogue. My knowledge of Plato doesn't stretch far beyond the above but I would be very disappointed if, in delving deeper into Plato's writings, this fascinating character fails to reappear in all his colourful glory.
More on this theme here
Plagiarism?
In the interests of High Art, and of satisfying my intellectually starved enormous fan-base, I will reproduce the odd piece previously posted elsewhere, where- a mystery. Some might argue this is an exercise in plagiarism, but as the poet said: I wrote the fucking stuff in the first place.
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The Role of the Passerby in Literature & Film
Firstly let us establish that the passerby is a kind of hermaphrodite in that the theoretical passerby contains the sexual organs of both genders. When the passerby leaves the shadow world of the theoretical and enters the dimension of the actual, the decision is made in the interests of all to become exclusively male or female and to conceal if not end this hermaphroditical nature. The role of this passerby, having passed from the world of the shadows to the world of the living, is simple; he or she passes by. In literature, which exists in the dimension of language, this could be rendered as follows:
"John sat on a dismal bench opposite the graceless car-park. All three (John, the bench & the car-park) had seen better days and this wasn't one of them. He lit a cigarette in a futile attempt to lend some pleasure to his broken existence. After inhaling however, he let out a groan and clenched his crooked tobacco stained teeth. It felt as though a malevolent spirit was twisting his innards with a pliers, and the sensation was deeply unpleasant.
A passerby passed by. John, immersed in physical and spirtual pain, failed to notice."
In the filmic art, the above could be rendered visually with the option of representing the imagined or perhaps even real malevolent spirit by means of computer generated special-effects.
For reasons that I hope are now obvious it should be understood that the passerby is an important tool in the lending of an air of authenticity to the work of the artist, and should not be underestimated.
"John sat on a dismal bench opposite the graceless car-park. All three (John, the bench & the car-park) had seen better days and this wasn't one of them. He lit a cigarette in a futile attempt to lend some pleasure to his broken existence. After inhaling however, he let out a groan and clenched his crooked tobacco stained teeth. It felt as though a malevolent spirit was twisting his innards with a pliers, and the sensation was deeply unpleasant.
A passerby passed by. John, immersed in physical and spirtual pain, failed to notice."
In the filmic art, the above could be rendered visually with the option of representing the imagined or perhaps even real malevolent spirit by means of computer generated special-effects.
For reasons that I hope are now obvious it should be understood that the passerby is an important tool in the lending of an air of authenticity to the work of the artist, and should not be underestimated.
Monday, 18 June 2007
The Action & its Doer
Does the ethical standard of an action depend on who's doing the acting? I wonder if, for example, we took the case of the invasion of Iraq but instead of the US and British regimes, we were to substitute China as the aggressor- how would this attack be viewed by the West? Likewise if we substituted the invasion of Afghanistan with Chinese forces, and again the desire to attack Iran by Chinese forces with the same offered justifications. The same Abu Ghraib abuses but again substitute Chinese for Americans with the same claims that this wasn't officially sanctioned. Also, extraordinary rendition of foreign citizens to secret torture-friendly prisons by Chinese forces with the same claims that this is a war against a dreadful enemy requiring such behaviour. Would these actions be viewed the same by supporters of the current imperialist Western expansionism? Being presumptuous enough to say no, they would be viewed differently- why? Are we in Cecil Rhodes territory, ie the Anglo-Saxon is innately superior and his invisible motives to be trusted?
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Time
Do we advance away from the present into the future or does the present recede from us becoming the past?
Frank's Farm
"A lot of good men died so you could have this farm, Frank."
"I know, sure I killed them."
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
"No bother."
"Good men though, Frank."
"Oh good men all right."
"Twould be hard to fine better."
"True, true."
"Dead now."
"Oh dead fair enough."
"None deader. Tell me, what did you do it for, Frank?"
"The farm."
"Oh yeah, sure of course. Stupid question."
"No bother."
"I know, sure I killed them."
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
"No bother."
"Good men though, Frank."
"Oh good men all right."
"Twould be hard to fine better."
"True, true."
"Dead now."
"Oh dead fair enough."
"None deader. Tell me, what did you do it for, Frank?"
"The farm."
"Oh yeah, sure of course. Stupid question."
"No bother."
The Thing in Itself in the Light of a Mirror
Everybody talks about the objective fact or thing in itself all the time; the thing that exists distinctly from and independent of perception. In response, I would like to consider two people looking at a mirror in which each sees the other's reflection. Both looking at the same object which reflects two entirely separate visual realities simultaneously. We could add two more people gazing at the mirror and we have two more entirely separate visual realities in the one object. Or an infinite number of possible points of perspective, each resulting in a distinct visual reality in the entity of the mirror. So which is the mirror in itself? Are there an infinite number of mirrors and separate realities existing simultaneously or is there one mirror which is a "thing in itself"? If we are to believe in the thing in itself as an objectice reality then we seem to be forced to separate this thing's existence from the visual field, and likewise we would seem to have to separate our perception from any contact with reality. Reality retreating from all known experience of it into some kind of idealised realm beyond our perception. Which would seem to be forming a philosophy to justify a pre-conception, ie that external reality is an objective fact. This possibly explains the desire behind Plato's bizarre world of ideal forms; an escape route from undesired and unsettling implications arising from perception.
Saturday, 16 June 2007
A Realist
A realist: Someone who insists that people behave as though a false version of reality were reality. The realist looks with condescension and contempt towards what he considers an idealist, or someone who would like people to behave as though reality were indeed reality. If ever the realist were infected by notions of living according to real reality, he prides himself on having overcome such notions, generally claiming to have done so in his late adolescence when he decided to live in what he describes as "the real world," ie the collective world of those who behave as though a false version of reality were reality.
The realist is convinced that since the lunatic asylum is the commonly agreed reality, then one must participate in its mind-games with a devout pride in one's mature attitude to life. An unwillingness to enter the mind games of the lunatic asylum is viewed as a childish avoidance of reality. A subversive might argue that the sanity of a human being will be at the very least tainted by playing the mind-games of the lunatic asylum, and may very likely end in such a person becoming convinced that the mind-games of the asylum, and indeed the asylum itself, are reality in its purest forms. A person in whom such delusions are extremely advanced may describe himself as "a politician" involved in "running the country." This particular class of mental defective, due to his having successfully coalesced his being with absolute belief in the lunatic asylum and an impressive degree of mastery of its reasoning, is often supported by lesser inmates of the asylum who find solace in the identity of their selves with this more advanced lunatic. A group of these higher lunatics may in turn identify their imagined selves with a collective imagined self called "a party."
And from there we are led in the direction of the much greater collective imagined self called a state or nation. Many unfortunate beings sublimate their sense of themselves within this imaginary entity- the State, and this psychological self-immolation before an imagined entity is sanctified under the description patriotism. This surrender of self to an imaginary entity would seem to be both an effort to satisfy an unfulfilled will to power through the apparent achievements of the State, and a misguided effort at self-transcendence. The politicians and their parties can be said to be a breed of parasite which lives off this mental projection of a collective deluded mind.
The realist is convinced that since the lunatic asylum is the commonly agreed reality, then one must participate in its mind-games with a devout pride in one's mature attitude to life. An unwillingness to enter the mind games of the lunatic asylum is viewed as a childish avoidance of reality. A subversive might argue that the sanity of a human being will be at the very least tainted by playing the mind-games of the lunatic asylum, and may very likely end in such a person becoming convinced that the mind-games of the asylum, and indeed the asylum itself, are reality in its purest forms. A person in whom such delusions are extremely advanced may describe himself as "a politician" involved in "running the country." This particular class of mental defective, due to his having successfully coalesced his being with absolute belief in the lunatic asylum and an impressive degree of mastery of its reasoning, is often supported by lesser inmates of the asylum who find solace in the identity of their selves with this more advanced lunatic. A group of these higher lunatics may in turn identify their imagined selves with a collective imagined self called "a party."
And from there we are led in the direction of the much greater collective imagined self called a state or nation. Many unfortunate beings sublimate their sense of themselves within this imaginary entity- the State, and this psychological self-immolation before an imagined entity is sanctified under the description patriotism. This surrender of self to an imaginary entity would seem to be both an effort to satisfy an unfulfilled will to power through the apparent achievements of the State, and a misguided effort at self-transcendence. The politicians and their parties can be said to be a breed of parasite which lives off this mental projection of a collective deluded mind.
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