Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 11:08:59 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HAB:] Can philosophy truly evolve in HyperNet City?


Malgosia notes that

M> When the Spoon Collective was originally created, a
crucial aspect of its life was our own passionate
involvement in the lists we created or took over.  

G: While that involvement has been passive (and
apparently absent) during the 7+ years that I've been
a subscriber. I think it's good that a list owner be
*actively* interested in the area that s/he is
"involved" with (or sponsoring). 

M> As  vehicles for bringing into mutual contact and
confrontation thinking people from all over the
computerized world - people from astoundingly
different walks of life and with astoundingly
different ways of thinking,.... 

G: That's an inspiring statement! People interested in
the anthropology (or whatever) of the Internet might
highly admire that aspiration for the astounding. 

M> ...but with a shared passion for more accurate
perception and deeper understanding....

G> But the often-remarkable archive also exhibits
difficulties of the *medium* to foster accurate
perception (in terms of conscientious reading) and
deeper understanding (in terms of extended focus or
conscientious communication). 

M> ...- these lists seemed to us to present a
stupendous potential for evolving new modes of thought
and new modes of life.  

G: So, we might hope for the citizen cyborg after all:
collective intelligence of the global brain in
Hypernet City or E-Metro. That's the ethos of
idealization that *I* face—participate in, anticipate,
fear, imagine—in short, *live with*—as clinician, as
philosopher. So, I carry that on, *will* live on with
that in my own projects, as well as in what
contribution I may make to *evolving* (verb)
philosophy *at least* with studied respect for what
Habermas really exemplifies of what philosophy can, if
not should, be. So, *that* is *my* interest in the
Habermas group at Yahoo!

I want to say something about Yahoo! as Internet
presence. Advertising-sponsored freedom of media is as
old as the newspaper. We may ignore the ads that
support the New York Times, without thinking anything
less about the Times. Besides, it's *not* as if
advertising-free discussion lists foster a high level
of discourse! If you're uncomfortable about
subscribing to the Yahoo! list because it's in the
market, then that's an issue worth pursuing in that
market! Bringing high levels of consciousness to the
market is probably more progressive than loving
marginality—otherwise as if talking in the margins
harbors some virtuous purity or potential of thought
that talking in a café loses. 

M> And it is essential to note that when we were
motivated by a thirst for new modes of thought and
life, it was for _ourselves_ that we wanted them.  Our
project was not about providing a public or academic
or political service, ....

G: But my interest in the Yahoo! group IS about
providing a public service. 

M> ...rather, it was about changing life - the life we
think and live - right at the present moment.

G: So typical of being young—or marginality by design.


M> Over the years, however, our relationship with our
lists gradually changed, and we now find our
collective endeavor basically reduced to an
indifferent performance of a
not-excessively-bothersome piece of labor.  

G: So typical of conceptions that were *basically*
about being young—or the destiny of deliberate
marginality. 

M> .... If our goal had been less the stability of
existing lists and more the preservation of our own
passion, we probably could have done better.  

G: So the issue is: How might one conceive their
passion so that it gains longevity? THIS goes to the
heart of my interest in focusing on the *well-being*
of the lifeworld, which I want to detail in December,
via the Yahoo! list. 

M>  In any case, we find ourselves a bunch of burnt
out and apathetic bureaucrats.

G: Then, it's surely wise to move on. 

But it would be a great disservice to the academic
community to let SpoonAnnouncements die. I hope that
someone will create a moderated alternative and send
an announcement of it to all humanities and human
science departments possible (a major chore, of
course, but a good sense of public service will be
rewarded in heaven with lots of sex and great
cuisine). I would be glad to help with that publicity.

M>  We very much hope that no matter what develops,
the Spoon archives, which, in large part, constitute
an eminently useful and fascinating resource, can
continue to be housed in their present location.  

G: I urge all subscribers to send an email to the
Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
expressing your desire that the Spoon archives remain
available at their present location:

iath-AT-virginia.edu

Then subscribe to the Yahoo! list. Again, that's: 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/habermas/

If you don't already subscribe, you may easily do so
by sending an email to:

habermas-subscribe-AT-yahoogroups.com

If you have any questions about subscribing, let me
know:

habermas-owner-AT-yahoogroups.com

Gary








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