Some Thoughts
The other day someone asked me how my
book was coming and we ended up getting into a conversation about
Objectivism and the philosophy of art. It was all very elevated and,
just remembering it, I can barely keep my pinky finger from shooting
out and seizing its privileged place above it's fellow fingers.
 |
| What a mysterious and imposing 'wordle' this turned out to be. |
Clearly, I'm joking (I hope that's
clear, or else my sense of humor is severely out of whack.) I could
(I did) characterize the conversation we had that way, but it wasn't
a conversation about putting things under the correct headings in a
college coursebook, or helping each other feel superior because we
both knew who Ayn Rand was or could debate the artistic elements and
merit of photography. It was two guys talking about stuff guys think
about and care about. If we'd been doing any of that other stuff, the
conversation wouldn't have been about art, it would have been
secretly about us.
And this is one
reason I love Aristotle. There is a certain lingual barrier to be
overcome when reading Aristotle that could make him seem needlessly
cumbersome or esoteric. He didn't speak English, as you know, so
there's translation involved if you don't speak ancient Greek –
which I don't. But he isn't being esoteric. He is just a guy talking
about stuff that guys think about and care about. He just happens to
be incredibly brilliant at just being a guy.
I
talked about this in another update when I talked about common-sense,
reading more Aristotle has just been confirming it.
And
I really do think it's important that we develop the habit of
applying this “common-sense” (which includes our minds as well as
our emotions and senses) to all the things we read and watch and so
on. Actually, I don't even think it's doing something extra to
reflect on and reason about what you've been watching or playing or
reading, no matter what the subject matter is.
When
you take something in with your senses, and respond to it with your
emotions, you're mind is already wrestling with the ideas and
realities it contains. The question is whether you finish the job by
reflecting on it, or leave it half done.
Progress
Report
Reading
Aristotle and enjoying it, as you may have guessed.
I
glanced at my notes too, but the attempt to get a comprehensive view
of them in order to take the next step hurt my brain. It was a busy
weekend that included watching a 3 year old and an 19 month old
over night. So, nothing more sleep won't cure. I'll be tackling my notes over the rest of the week.
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment