Heidegger

>> Rene:
>> > Well i’ll wait here, till you, rational beings, are able to respond.
>> >
>> > but let it be said that unability to do so, shows. - that is another
> side
>> > of the name-less: that also denial and stubborn Eigensinn have no
>> > place to hide from it. So as long as nobody responds you are all,
>> > except Jud maybe, striking yourselves out. I would advise to take that
>> > seriously, but you are free (eh!) to do so. Cosi fan tutte!
>>
>> BobS:
>> > rene,
>> > In these frantic days of precision slaughtering refugee women and
>> > babies, how can any topic else have standing? instead of obsessively
>> > playing the desparate suffering of the victims of his gangster gov’t, as
> he
>> > ought, the pianoplayer is sounding false notes of mozartian whimsy.

michaelP:
>> Well, precisely sex and music (when they’re good, that is) are the best
>> antidotes to your “precision slaughtering refugee women and babies”, etc,
>> when no real philosophy is allowed to show itself in the righteous barrage
>> of opinions and outrage.

BobS:
> so the pt of art and phil is escape from reality?

No, Bob, not at all: I said that art and sex are antidotes (hygeinic,
necessary for being healthy enough to face stuff) not an escape, and that
such antidoting is useful in the *absence* of actual philosophical discourse
on the horror (or whatever occupies currency, currently), and that righteous
opinionating and reportage by themselves do not constitute philosophical
discourse (and this is a philosophy discussion list, n’est pas?).

michaelP:
>>This is a question (that of the relationship
>> between philosophical discourse and so-called current events where such
>> discourse is not covered by or dominated by mere opinion and journalistic
>> reportage but seeks to move beyond such perspectivalisms…) I have raised
> a
>> number of times, to almost utter silence: I’m not really bothered, but it
>> seems to me that vocal list members would prefer to engage and express
> their
>> banal outrage (etc) rather than embrace the slightest inkling of
>> philosophical reflection regarding such (horrendous) events. It’s
> Heidegger
>> Absconditus, it seems to me.

BobS:
> true, heid did try to purge reality, mitsein, from his thinking. you find
> that a thing to emulate?

Again, Bob, not at all, what I said was: this list, insofar as it *merely*
expresses outrage and opinion re current events, approximates the absconding
of Heideggerian thinking as I understand it. I wanna see some Heideggerian
thinking of current horrors and pleasures. I think you’ve missed an
opportunity to engage with my quest by moving into a softly attacking mode.

michaelP:
>> One could do a lot worse than reflect on the nature of some of the terms
>> being bandied about (without thought), e.g., stealing land, victim, racism
> &
>> race, indigenous people, slaughter, war, etc, rather than continue in
>> thoughtless position-swapping.

BobS:
> i agree philosophy has to find its universe in the stupendous mitsein of its
> time which you above contemptuously term journalism, so which is it?

Philosophy is never journalism (and however stupendously prevalent
world-wide idle chatter has become, philosophy, in thinking the current,
should not itself repeat the ubiquitousness of journalism) but repetition of
well-worn views on this and that, etc, can well approximate journalism (even
tabloidal haemorrhaging). I am using the term ‘journalism’ to mean
unthinking reportage, expression of impressions (without properly thinking
{in Heideggerian terms, that is; I don’t mean the absence of cogitation})
and so on. Such are fine if only a prelude to the real philosophical
symphony or fugue, but by themselves they are just cries of outrage or
support of whatever, or anger or righteous indignation, etc, and however
interesting they might be, they are not philosophy.

Gimme (philosophical) shelter! {from what one reads in the papers, watches
on the chattering box, captures in the stuttering gossip of the net, etc,
every shagging day}.

regards

michaelP

>> Give me the joyful pianoplayer rather than the righteous plaintiff anyday.
>>
>> regards
>>
>> michaelP

Posted on Sunday, August 6th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
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