Olena’s favorites
Recently commented on
Rousseau and Jell-o.
There was some interesting discussion today about the presentation of the self, to the self — the reference "I" and the possible detrimental value of this action within our daily lives. Rousseau apparently thought that this method of representation was taught to us over time by theatre and that it's both ridiculous and unnatural for humans to go about being images as we are. To have a self and to do the things that this particular self does certainly does require one to become an image which can actually be limiting:
— { Rousseau }
It may be better to just do, as the animals just do, without too much reflection about whether that doing is in accordance with a particular image of one's self or not.
I find that agreeable, but I'm unable to agree all the way. For instance, to declare our own behavior unnatural seems strange. People have been making representations for thousands of years even before "civilization", so is it really not of our nature to do so? And where does nature "end"? If she created us, and we create in turn, are our (re)creations not of nature? Is it naive to make the assertion we and our creations never cease to be nature, actually?
In addition, especially at this time I don't think it's wise at all for the person to only do and not reflect; in fact it's a mark of unintelligence and can be dangerous if we, all at once, begin to only do. It would really require a "good" inert nature (as Rousseau suggests we have — but do we really embody that?).
Pertinently, lately "my self" feels like just a "body" of jell-o being transfigured around through more jell-o so that it appears as it's particular formation in various points of space-time. Maybe it's because of a physics-based perspective — if you start imagining everything in atoms then your body is little more than a different formation of the things in the same air around you, and so what used to be "places" and "times" have become all the same, all one jell-o, under different guises as appropriate for our perception and comprehension. It's very strange. Actually it's kind of embarrassing to admit... but I wonder if anyone else feels like jell-o as well.
"If she destined man to be healthy, I venture to declare that a state of reflection is a state contrary to nature, and that a thinking man is a depraved animal."
— { Rousseau }
It may be better to just do, as the animals just do, without too much reflection about whether that doing is in accordance with a particular image of one's self or not.
I find that agreeable, but I'm unable to agree all the way. For instance, to declare our own behavior unnatural seems strange. People have been making representations for thousands of years even before "civilization", so is it really not of our nature to do so? And where does nature "end"? If she created us, and we create in turn, are our (re)creations not of nature? Is it naive to make the assertion we and our creations never cease to be nature, actually?
In addition, especially at this time I don't think it's wise at all for the person to only do and not reflect; in fact it's a mark of unintelligence and can be dangerous if we, all at once, begin to only do. It would really require a "good" inert nature (as Rousseau suggests we have — but do we really embody that?).
Pertinently, lately "my self" feels like just a "body" of jell-o being transfigured around through more jell-o so that it appears as it's particular formation in various points of space-time. Maybe it's because of a physics-based perspective — if you start imagining everything in atoms then your body is little more than a different formation of the things in the same air around you, and so what used to be "places" and "times" have become all the same, all one jell-o, under different guises as appropriate for our perception and comprehension. It's very strange. Actually it's kind of embarrassing to admit... but I wonder if anyone else feels like jell-o as well.
7 comments
| Promote (3) |
|
Add to favorites
|
| Create synapse |
|
