(no subject)
Freedom is to be found only in the sensation of acting, of self- (and thus world-) creation, of the realization through practice of the old saying "nothing is true, everything is permitted." [Example: the revolutionary finds freedom in the experience of totally transforming society, and thereby making himself - not simply in the removal of restrictive forces.] To experience this, one must be capable of doing anything at any time - remember the story of Achilles and the tortoise:
The tortoise asks Achilles: "Are you free, Achilles?" and Achilles responds: "Of course I'm free! I'm Achilles, a god among men, and free men at that. I can do anything I want!"
"So," queries the tortoise, "could you kill me?"
"Easily! I am, Achilles, the invulnerable" [Not so, as it turned out, but anyway] "hero of Greek myth and legend, and you are.. a tortoise."
"So- kill me," challenges the tortoise, matter-of-factly.
"But you are my steadfast friend, my bosom companion, my comrade! I could never kill you!" protests Achilles!
"Exactly," whispers the tortoise suggestively, and Achilles shudders.
The moral is that in a situation where all meaning is already attributed, freedom is irrelevant, for all your possible actions are already determined. Freedom is to be found only in new spaces, in the brand new moments when fresh elements come into play and you have to create yourself from scratch.
One must remain in practice if one is to be a revolutionary: must constantly destroy and recreate the self, must push limits and break every rule and limitation (thus the otherwise implexible affection so many freedom-lovers have had for the Marquis de Sade)- Just as Jane E. wrote in her pamphlet on hypocrisy.
The problem with all this is that the exercise of total freedom is bound to conflict with your own desires. In addition to feeling the sensation of freedom from all constraints and having healthy food in my stomach, I also really do desire to compromise with those motherfuckers who distribute it.
The answer to all this, of course, is simply that we must create a world in which everything that is possible is also desirable- so that in such a thing as "sin" will no longer even be conceivable, and there will be no reason for guilt, no possibility of hypocrisy or conflict between desires. In the utopia our revolution (mythically speaking, now) should create, anything will be possible- and good, for our hearts demand nothing less than total freedom.
The tortoise asks Achilles: "Are you free, Achilles?" and Achilles responds: "Of course I'm free! I'm Achilles, a god among men, and free men at that. I can do anything I want!"
"So," queries the tortoise, "could you kill me?"
"Easily! I am, Achilles, the invulnerable" [Not so, as it turned out, but anyway] "hero of Greek myth and legend, and you are.. a tortoise."
"So- kill me," challenges the tortoise, matter-of-factly.
"But you are my steadfast friend, my bosom companion, my comrade! I could never kill you!" protests Achilles!
"Exactly," whispers the tortoise suggestively, and Achilles shudders.
The moral is that in a situation where all meaning is already attributed, freedom is irrelevant, for all your possible actions are already determined. Freedom is to be found only in new spaces, in the brand new moments when fresh elements come into play and you have to create yourself from scratch.
One must remain in practice if one is to be a revolutionary: must constantly destroy and recreate the self, must push limits and break every rule and limitation (thus the otherwise implexible affection so many freedom-lovers have had for the Marquis de Sade)- Just as Jane E. wrote in her pamphlet on hypocrisy.
The problem with all this is that the exercise of total freedom is bound to conflict with your own desires. In addition to feeling the sensation of freedom from all constraints and having healthy food in my stomach, I also really do desire to compromise with those motherfuckers who distribute it.
The answer to all this, of course, is simply that we must create a world in which everything that is possible is also desirable- so that in such a thing as "sin" will no longer even be conceivable, and there will be no reason for guilt, no possibility of hypocrisy or conflict between desires. In the utopia our revolution (mythically speaking, now) should create, anything will be possible- and good, for our hearts demand nothing less than total freedom.