Subject: Re: Mystify me!
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 11:33:41 -0500


This is a multi-part message in MIME format.


If I felt you had read and tried to understand my posts Steve, I would feel compelled to respond to this misunderstanding of my motives, beliefs and attitudes.
mal
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: steve.devos-AT-krokodile.com
  To: lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
  Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 3:55 PM
  Subject: Re: Mystify me!


  Mal
  Such a cynical intellect...  but it feels like you are betraying a truth. Perhaps that's why the need for some god or other is so strong in you... 

  regards
  sdv

  Matthew Asher Levy wrote:

Julie,Maybe philosophy just prevents us from doing something more dangerous withour intellects?mal----- Original Message -----From: Steve Devos <steve.devos-AT-tiscali.co.uk>To: <lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 3:01 PMSubject: Re: Mystify me!
JulieThe reason I believe that even the most arcane and ifficult philosophy is
important
is for two reasons - both of point towards why your heartfelt quote, which
is often
necessary in that it reminds us of the importance of addressing everyday
life -
which recently intruded into the G8 countries in an horrible way.The first reason is that alone of the western discourses philsophy took on
the
burden of the appalling acts of Auschwitz, Belson and other places and
decided it
was guilty. None of the other discourses-science, the military,
politicians,
historians and so on all walk forward into the abyss knowing that they are
innocent.
Philosophy uniquely accepted the social/political crimes of the century
and said yes
this is a problem for philosophy and felt guilty. (Rightly or wrongly is
not the
issue and of course I mean western philosophy...)The second reason relates to the importance that the invention of (new)
concepts has
for us as we wander down the increasingly chaotic and unstable streets of
our PM
everyday life (both of which are new and outrageuosly difficult concepts
to
understand). I say this not because I am hopelessly lost in a halcyon
dream of
earlier days but rather because post the first reason I think that iot is
necessary
to continue the philosophical process of analysing and struggling with the
miseries
and slavery of a society that has extended its dominion over the whole
planet - that
is to say the 'control society', the 'development society', the 'society
of the
spectecle', in which we live...This note may appear superfically to be indifferent to mothers and
children but I'd
take my direction in this instance from Irigaray and Kristeva (whose work
on
strangers and love seems very appropriate at the moment)... who argues for
'enriched
and enhanced secular values' as necessary above all else if we are to
achieve a
humane society.regardssdv
Perhaps I am unscholarly and hopelessly old-fashioned.  But when
philosophy and
politics becomes numb to mothers and children and families, then what
good does
it do anyone?I am struck by Hugh's comments:  a saying of names, a performance of
rituals.
Indeed.  May our rituals and sayings and grief not echo into silence.
May
Sisyphus overcome.

HTML VERSION:

----- Original Message -----

From: steve.devos-AT-krokodile.com

To: lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu

Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 3:55 PM

Subject: Re: Mystify me!

Mal
Such a cynical intellect...  but it feels like you are betraying a truth. Perhaps that's why the need for some god or other is so strong in you...  

regards
sdv

Matthew Asher Levy wrote:

Julie,
Maybe philosophy just prevents us from doing something more dangerous with
our intellects?
mal
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Devos <steve.devos-AT-tiscali.co.uk>
To: <lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 3:01 PM
Subject: Re: Mystify me!

Julie

The reason I believe that even the most arcane and ifficult philosophy is

important

is for two reasons - both of point towards why your heartfelt quote, which

is often

necessary in that it reminds us of the importance of addressing everyday

life -

which recently intruded into the G8 countries in an horrible way.

The first reason is that alone of the western discourses philsophy took on

the

burden of the appalling acts of Auschwitz, Belson and other places and

decided it

was guilty. None of the other discourses-science, the military,

politicians,

historians and so on all walk forward into the abyss knowing that they are

innocent.

Philosophy uniquely accepted the social/political crimes of the century

and said yes

this is a problem for philosophy and felt guilty. (Rightly or wrongly is

not the

issue and of course I mean western philosophy...)

The second reason relates to the importance that the invention of (new)

concepts has

for us as we wander down the increasingly chaotic and unstable streets of

our PM

everyday life (both of which are new and outrageuosly difficult concepts

to

understand). I say this not because I am hopelessly lost in a halcyon

dream of

earlier days but rather because post the first reason I think that iot is

necessary

to continue the philosophical process of analysing and struggling with the

miseries

and slavery of a society that has extended its dominion over the whole

planet - that

is to say the 'control society', the 'development society', the 'society

of the

spectecle', in which we live...

This note may appear superfically to be indifferent to mothers and

children but I'd

take my direction in this instance from Irigaray and Kristeva (whose work

on

strangers and love seems very appropriate at the moment)... who argues for

'enriched

and enhanced secular values' as necessary above all else if we are to

achieve a

humane society.

regards
sdv

Perhaps I am unscholarly and hopelessly old-fashioned.  But when

philosophy and

politics becomes numb to mothers and children and families, then what

good does

it do anyone?

I am struck by Hugh's comments:  a saying of names, a performance of

rituals.

Indeed.  May our rituals and sayings and grief not echo into silence.

May

Sisyphus overcome.