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Fuck 'Exploring Inner Space' - A Response.
Originally posted in the comments of sjef's post "Fuck 'exploring inner space'. " It was a bit long and in the hopes it doesn't get buried, I thought I'd repost it here.
Original Post
Wow. Okay. First off I haven’t been able to go through all of the comments, so please excuse me if I go on to say something redundant. I both agree and disagree with a lot of this, and even what I disagree with I largely understand.
On Inner Space: Without falling into ‘know thyself’ clichés, inner space is an important aspect of human existence and must be properly cultivated in order to improve upon the world in which we live. This isn’t to say a focus and understanding of the outer world isn’t important, or even necessary, just that you can’t have one without the other. The Inner is essentially the outer on a smaller and more personal scale. While this statement may sound in conflict with itself. It is really true. A fine division between the inner and outer world is next to impossible, and it is the tension between the two – a sort of Hegelian dialectic – which will open up new possibilities. Obviously different people will give more focus to one or the other, but once one is forsaken in favour of the other is dangerous, and in my mind would (and has) lead headlong into a kind of Sophism.
I don’t consider excessive drug-induced exploration, or playing tons of video games exploring inner space. While anything can be useful to certain point, abuse of one thing, or method leads to an inevitable sort of apathetic holding pattern. This can be said of rigorous scientific method as much as it can of Learyesque use of psychedelics.
I think it is unfortunately true that people in many cases don’t maximize their potential (re: confront and understand their inner world), in an effort to improve the lot of humanity as a whole. Why is such a tricky question. The problems of malaise stemming from creature comforts and ingrained cultural apathy (a focus on consumption and style), is definitely part of it. I would also lay the blame partially on it on the Scientistic mentality. When rationality as a tool for explanation is placed on such a high pedestal as we have done, it is very easy for the world/universe to become disenchanted and viewed as simply a system of mathematical chaos. Disenchantment leads to laziness and a kind of nihilism. If you’re disenchanted by the universe as a whole, why not find comfort in food, or cars, or big TVs? As an aside I’m not advocating for religion by saying this, it’s just a thought.
Another kind of nihilism can come from seeing the whole situation as pointless, as looking at the small efforts as not enough. The smallest of beginnings can always lead to much larger things and have a tendency to take place at the most fecund time. Think of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus.
There is a lot of ‘rad doodles and poems’ that are pretty pointless, and the internet has helped accelerate the dissemination (and appreciation) of them. While I’m not making the direct connections here, I do believe this also has to do with disenchantment to a degree. There is some status attached to being a ‘poet’ or able to draw, or in a band. But just doing these things doesn’t make them meaningful. It also doesn’t mean they are meaningless. Personally, I struggle with this – even though I know it to be silly – with my artistic life, which encompassed even my higher education. I truly believe in a project (in progress) that can continue to help me better understand myself, as well as influence the condition of others, and maybe – a long way down the road – assist on a grander scale of enacting the cultural shift that many of us are clamoring for. Having said that I don’t see it as an abstract pastime (many do), and I think that view could further contribute to nihilism and disillusionment (with which sometimes I struggle). I see at as a mission. Something difficult yes, but possible. And while sometimes it’s hard to maintain resolve in the face of our culture, I will continue to push ahead. I think this is something many people in the collective do with their respective projects.
I agree as well that a many people pursue a higher education because that is what they are ‘supposed’ to do next. If we weren’t as affluent in the west as we are, this wouldn’t even be an option. The sheer amount of ‘educated’ (as in degree holding) people, has in a lot of ways cheapened what that kind of education was supposed to be about to begin with. Especially for those who took it really seriously. Where I live, having a university degree is not going to necessarily guarantee you financial stability, or even success. Just as further education may not push you up the ranks. I think part of the problem here along with disillusionment is a lack of meaningful options with regards to what people can do with their lives. There are options of course, but they either seen as unapproachable or people are too disinterested to tackle them.
There is much that can be discussed regarding the failure of the post WWII era to fully bring about the better world, and cultural revolution that was promised. There are some interesting ideas concerning this, some of which are drawn from and related to, a post I’m going to make in the near future to the total library. Which will also include ideas of the inner/outer dichotomy, as well as some interesting ideas as to what contributing causes of these cultural shifts (or lack of) may be.
This ended up being pretty long. I thought about making it its own post but I think its better left here. Some of it may seem a tad disjointed but it’s a complex and multi-faceted set of issues.
Interesting aside: From dmitridb: “a psychedelic videogame which focuses on a creative plot that tricks people into working towards one thing and then ending up not attaining that thing and instead learning the lesson of their follies which they are enacting at that very moment.” The show ‘Lost’ is sort of like this (I know, I know), and I hear people constantly complaining about how their questions are never answered, and giving up because it will never go anywhere…while in fact they are in many ways missing the purpose and point.
Original Post
Wow. Okay. First off I haven’t been able to go through all of the comments, so please excuse me if I go on to say something redundant. I both agree and disagree with a lot of this, and even what I disagree with I largely understand.
On Inner Space: Without falling into ‘know thyself’ clichés, inner space is an important aspect of human existence and must be properly cultivated in order to improve upon the world in which we live. This isn’t to say a focus and understanding of the outer world isn’t important, or even necessary, just that you can’t have one without the other. The Inner is essentially the outer on a smaller and more personal scale. While this statement may sound in conflict with itself. It is really true. A fine division between the inner and outer world is next to impossible, and it is the tension between the two – a sort of Hegelian dialectic – which will open up new possibilities. Obviously different people will give more focus to one or the other, but once one is forsaken in favour of the other is dangerous, and in my mind would (and has) lead headlong into a kind of Sophism.
I don’t consider excessive drug-induced exploration, or playing tons of video games exploring inner space. While anything can be useful to certain point, abuse of one thing, or method leads to an inevitable sort of apathetic holding pattern. This can be said of rigorous scientific method as much as it can of Learyesque use of psychedelics.
I think it is unfortunately true that people in many cases don’t maximize their potential (re: confront and understand their inner world), in an effort to improve the lot of humanity as a whole. Why is such a tricky question. The problems of malaise stemming from creature comforts and ingrained cultural apathy (a focus on consumption and style), is definitely part of it. I would also lay the blame partially on it on the Scientistic mentality. When rationality as a tool for explanation is placed on such a high pedestal as we have done, it is very easy for the world/universe to become disenchanted and viewed as simply a system of mathematical chaos. Disenchantment leads to laziness and a kind of nihilism. If you’re disenchanted by the universe as a whole, why not find comfort in food, or cars, or big TVs? As an aside I’m not advocating for religion by saying this, it’s just a thought.
Another kind of nihilism can come from seeing the whole situation as pointless, as looking at the small efforts as not enough. The smallest of beginnings can always lead to much larger things and have a tendency to take place at the most fecund time. Think of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus.
There is a lot of ‘rad doodles and poems’ that are pretty pointless, and the internet has helped accelerate the dissemination (and appreciation) of them. While I’m not making the direct connections here, I do believe this also has to do with disenchantment to a degree. There is some status attached to being a ‘poet’ or able to draw, or in a band. But just doing these things doesn’t make them meaningful. It also doesn’t mean they are meaningless. Personally, I struggle with this – even though I know it to be silly – with my artistic life, which encompassed even my higher education. I truly believe in a project (in progress) that can continue to help me better understand myself, as well as influence the condition of others, and maybe – a long way down the road – assist on a grander scale of enacting the cultural shift that many of us are clamoring for. Having said that I don’t see it as an abstract pastime (many do), and I think that view could further contribute to nihilism and disillusionment (with which sometimes I struggle). I see at as a mission. Something difficult yes, but possible. And while sometimes it’s hard to maintain resolve in the face of our culture, I will continue to push ahead. I think this is something many people in the collective do with their respective projects.
I agree as well that a many people pursue a higher education because that is what they are ‘supposed’ to do next. If we weren’t as affluent in the west as we are, this wouldn’t even be an option. The sheer amount of ‘educated’ (as in degree holding) people, has in a lot of ways cheapened what that kind of education was supposed to be about to begin with. Especially for those who took it really seriously. Where I live, having a university degree is not going to necessarily guarantee you financial stability, or even success. Just as further education may not push you up the ranks. I think part of the problem here along with disillusionment is a lack of meaningful options with regards to what people can do with their lives. There are options of course, but they either seen as unapproachable or people are too disinterested to tackle them.
There is much that can be discussed regarding the failure of the post WWII era to fully bring about the better world, and cultural revolution that was promised. There are some interesting ideas concerning this, some of which are drawn from and related to, a post I’m going to make in the near future to the total library. Which will also include ideas of the inner/outer dichotomy, as well as some interesting ideas as to what contributing causes of these cultural shifts (or lack of) may be.
This ended up being pretty long. I thought about making it its own post but I think its better left here. Some of it may seem a tad disjointed but it’s a complex and multi-faceted set of issues.
Interesting aside: From dmitridb: “a psychedelic videogame which focuses on a creative plot that tricks people into working towards one thing and then ending up not attaining that thing and instead learning the lesson of their follies which they are enacting at that very moment.” The show ‘Lost’ is sort of like this (I know, I know), and I hear people constantly complaining about how their questions are never answered, and giving up because it will never go anywhere…while in fact they are in many ways missing the purpose and point.
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