The Language Animal Spectrum
Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.
— Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
Submissive and Fractured Representations of Yesterday's Youth
The Language Animal Spectrum
Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.
— Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
The titled responsion pulls together the imagery of dancing bears with the language animals that we know we are.
Unrealistic and unrealized opportunities circumvent the true potential that lies right in front of us. This preoccupation with the imagined world of projected emotive responses will damage our species for generations to come. At least, that is the perverse threat from above. Does in front of us mean into the future? This proximal and distal relationship is an exercise in probabilities bounded with the neurotransmitters that unite our sense of self — an identity crisis worth living!
As a species, are we like children? Naive, temperamental, and idealistic? As we imagine this child-like stage of human development, I wonder whether or not we will become wiser in our older years. Hmm?
Naturally, an aging population should become wiser. As the median age of our living population increases, the democratic process should become more socialist as the need for more socially supportive services becomes more of a priority. The emphasis on should as a watchword to ethics is, for me, a very useful heuristic. I realize that this utopia has a Marxist similarity without the intermission of revolution somewhere between the first and the final act.
Imagine a polemic (of sorts) where an individual stands up and advocates for increased government spending on healthcare and housing. It seems to me that this type of spending is being politicized. Rather than presenting a plan of support that the population has to "buy into," the misery and suffering of others are highlighted as a shortfall in government programs and spending.
Who is the ideal provider for the self? You, that's who! When we give up our welfare and well-being and put our faith in the state, we limit our autonomy and ability to respond to what makes a life worth living. IMHO.
Of course, I am testing out the libertarian sensibility on the current situation of political theory. Is there some wisdom emergent in this forme of thought? This position is a perspective worthy of investigation, and yet the position is quite barbarous to the opposition.
Circling back to a position that is quite obviously liberal, anyone politically motivated by freedom in and of itself should realize the inherent contradiction that the allocation of community and social resources through a top-down command center is less than ideal.
And yet, I consider myself left-leaning if I had to offer a constructive position within my community. The reason being is that the left requires a galvanizing and bottom-up organization.
Objective Subjectivity
The distinguishing characteristics of mind are of a subjective sort; we know them only from the contents of our own consciousness.
— Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
The titled responsion is somewhat of a union between the object and the subject but don't take my word for it. What are your thoughts?
Again this theme of proximal and distal surfaces in a stream-like neurological cocktail. Do you see what I am saying? Of course not, but we can measure it, and for this, Professor Wilhelm Wundt, we are forever grateful for the measurements you gave your profession.
At planksip, we offer an objective ontological framework for subjectivity. One of the ways that we accomplish this is through the planksip PASF filter and the work we are doing through literary analysis.
Youthful Persistence Sustains
All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.
— Marie Curie (1867-1934)
The titled responsion simplifies the overused sustainability truism and reclaims Mother Nature's child in youthful abundance.
I would love to introduce imagined child versions of Marie Curie and E.O. Wilson to each other and watch the two play in wonderous natural discovery. I imagine the two genuinely sharing the discovery of nature, with the promise of their prominence to come.
Better yet, I imagine Marie Curie as a grandmother to little Edward Wilson. For hours Edward would disappear into the woods, forgetful of time and becoming one with nature. It's not just the sights of nature that signal a celebratory biochemical release for Grandma Curie; it's the childlike joy and wonder in and of itself that Wilson represents. Transcendent and anchored in nature, the ethology of self-discovery is all around us.
This is why the idea of biodiversity collapse is so disturbing. As a child-like species, we are headed towards a destruction of sorts, which is a contradiction by definition. If you recall, the recall function is in and of itself an act of remembrance, a Platonic description of consciousness.
... And My Commission
After the final no there comes a yes and on that yes the future of the world hangs.
— Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
The titled responsion is a reference that every salesperson is aware of, keep pushing, and finally, you can reverse a no into a yes!
For me, belief is key. One thing that I have been accused of in my life is of being a salesman. Adding a level of integrity to the profession is up to me, yet I am beholden by the cultural current of short-term gain for profit.
This makes me think about the function of a salesman. Salespeople act as a between what is produced and consumed. As I have said many times on planksip, we want to change what consumption means, so I have my job cut out for me. I have to simultaneously sell you what planksip is producing and change your desire and need for consuming content on a philosophy media outlet.
If this is the first time you have come across the name Wallace Stevens I want to let you know that he is one of my favorite poets. What you do with this information is up to you. You could consult the Google Oracle and see what she (the Google Oracle) says about Wallace Stevens's life and work.
The Emperor of Ice Cream is a poem by Wallace Stevens and one of his favorites.
The Emperor of Ice-Cream
Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
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Daniel Sanderson