The greatest damage that American fundamentalism has done to the entire world of philosophical thought is the unquestioned assumption that seriously believing in something is the same thing as taking it literally.
I have formed a conjecture of my own about Avatar that would blow apart what everyone else is saying about it, but I won't feel comfortable advancing it until I've actually seen the film.
The greatest damage that American fundamentalism has done to the entire world of philosophical thought is the unquestioned assumption that seriously believing in something is the same thing as taking it literally.
That is a very interesting point, and I'd love to hear you saying more about it. Have you read Under The Banner Of Heaven ?
A well-thought out piece. I'm not completely clear, though, on where the line between "useful art" and "corporate hucksterism" lies. Perhaps it's also blurred like all the other lines.
I guess I'm picturing Avery or Felicia's mental state as the starting point here and thinking the end point you would like is more like Ozy or Millie (or, perhaps, the unflappable Llewellyn the 19th.) Is that reasonable shorthand, or am I simplifying too much?
There's also something there in the value of Trying Too Hard, although not in the buy, buy, buy sense, but it's not coming out well at the moment. Perhaps something useful about being able to take the lessons (and the stuff one bought) and use it to build the more authentic self.
Let's just say that I wouldn't mind more people internalizing The Big Book Of Ancient Semi-Coherent Wisdom.
But yes - that's reasonable simplification. And the Trying Too Hard stage's value is entirely determined by what you learn from it - it's not valuable to have gone through it if you didn't learn anything from doing so. There is no one right thing to have learned from it, either.
Agreed. Between it and Calvin and Hobbes, I think one could establish a reasonable philosophy of life and avoid many of the obvious pitfalls of self-image.
I suspect we always learn something from the Trying Too Hard stage - most of the time, however, I do not think it is one of the big lessons we can learn from it.
Anyway, I think I've figured out the question that was rattling around in my head. It sounds something like this: How can anyone tell someone has achieved the Ozymandias or Millicent state? With the piece you've just written, it sounds like the strong presence of soulless commercialism makes it almost Nintendo Hard for someone to convince you they're on the sense of self path instead of Trying Too Hard.
Is there even a common definition that we can all reasonably agree on to use as a benchmark for the Ozy or Millie state, or are we all relying on our own subjective interpretations of someone else's statements and context that they may not even be able to control?
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I have formed a conjecture of my own about Avatar that would blow apart what everyone else is saying about it, but I won't feel comfortable advancing it until I've actually seen the film.
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That is a very interesting point, and I'd love to hear you saying more about it. Have you read Under The Banner Of Heaven ?
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I guess I'm picturing Avery or Felicia's mental state as the starting point here and thinking the end point you would like is more like Ozy or Millie (or, perhaps, the unflappable Llewellyn the 19th.) Is that reasonable shorthand, or am I simplifying too much?
There's also something there in the value of Trying Too Hard, although not in the buy, buy, buy sense, but it's not coming out well at the moment. Perhaps something useful about being able to take the lessons (and the stuff one bought) and use it to build the more authentic self.
Reply
But yes - that's reasonable simplification. And the Trying Too Hard stage's value is entirely determined by what you learn from it - it's not valuable to have gone through it if you didn't learn anything from doing so. There is no one right thing to have learned from it, either.
Reply
I suspect we always learn something from the Trying Too Hard stage - most of the time, however, I do not think it is one of the big lessons we can learn from it.
Anyway, I think I've figured out the question that was rattling around in my head. It sounds something like this: How can anyone tell someone has achieved the Ozymandias or Millicent state? With the piece you've just written, it sounds like the strong presence of soulless commercialism makes it almost Nintendo Hard for someone to convince you they're on the sense of self path instead of Trying Too Hard.
Is there even a common definition that we can all reasonably agree on to use as a benchmark for the Ozy or Millie state, or are we all relying on our own subjective interpretations of someone else's statements and context that they may not even be able to control?
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
(The comment has been removed)
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