(no subject)
ummmmmmmmmmmmmm
"Is not atheism merely a different mode of speech from theism? Does not everything depend on anthropology, that is to say, on the problem of the irreplaceable man who is seeking personal identity and can never be free from this search? For if we regard 'God' as the One who by his 'interest' guarantees the infinite value of the subject, by the same token we can also say that this infinite value appears in the consciousness of the individual as an irradicable claim. To realize his true identity is an essential element of man's longing." - Dorothee Sölle, 'Christ the Representative,' p44.
..quoted in a book I'm reading and, one should wonder: "Can the 'longing' be escalated into evidence that there is someone longed for?" with the author (Leander E Keck, in case you're curious) and presumably answer 'no, of course not'.. the main point being the rather startling first one (atheism and theism).
Which is my love of what I like to think of as 'linguistic philosophy' and something emanating more or less exclusively from Wittgenstein, as the recognition that the first question to ask analytically is never Do I agree or disagree with that, but: What does that mean? -to recognise that before anything can be discussed we have to ask what is expressed by the verb 'to be' or - indeed! (and with Monty Python parody in mind ;) - the term 'meaning' - etc. In a nutshell this of course is where at the most fundamental level everything dissolves into 'language games,' but more helpfully any two views can be stripped to their coterminous aspects and from here discussion can proceed. No guarantee of 'truth' occuring, of course, but leading to a more productive social interaction all the same.
Anyway, I think a dissolution of the atheism/theism dichotomy into various tentative explanations of anthrological phenonema is a mighty step forward for ontologicians of all affiliation to take. Because the burden of incontestable truth is I fancy a rather heavier burden than either the axioms of physics or the assertions of orthodox faiths can bear. And after all, when we recognise that the most empirically tested and objectively presented scientific journal article is in the last instance still expressed linguistically, that is, still at root a manifestation of psychological processes (observation, 'rational analysis', peer discussion and all the rest) - well to rule on absolute and timeless truth from it seems a little premature to meeeeeeeee.
All in all I'm having a super saturday :) lazing about, reading weird theology, recording more confused and sloppy contrapunctal guitar pieces - what could make me happier? I'm not to sure whence my fascination with counterpoint originates. I would suggest that for me pitch classes and rhythm are the two primary elemtents of music, to the exclusion of texture/timbre (not that that is unimportant!) - assuming they can be separated into exclusive elements like that. And then the fascination of polyphony is of course simultaniety, i.e. of expressing two things at the same time which isn't really possible in, say, literature or an essay...(at least not in as clear cut a way) - and the fact that the time-organisation of things isn't ignored (as in harmony).
Our office at work is split up into two teams - telephone and reception - and I'm on the telephone and yesterday I was put in a right pickle by a series of cock-ups by the dastardly reception side! They discovered a mistake made by the Pension Service which meant that we'd paid a lady around three hundred pounds too much - not uncommon! the Pension Service are even worse than the reception team.... ;) (only Tax Credits exhibit more hilariously predictable bureaucratic incompetence!) - and whenever this happens we're supposed to tell the Council Tax department to hold fire on a new bill, while we decide whether or not we want to recover the erroneous payment (this depends on whether or not the customer could have known and informed us that we were paying wrongly, but didn't).
However, this was missed and the lady got a new bill. So she phoned up rather upset, as well she might, and we had to tell her that it was a mistake but that we might charge her the three hundred quid all the same, and that she'd have to wait while a team leader decided on whether or not we would do so. Which would be not too pleasant for a start! My good collegue on the telephone duly had a chat with the team leader in question, and was assured that the lady would be phoned back that afternoon.
Which could have been the end of it and no great noteworthy event, except that as it turned out the team leader was on leave that afternoon!!!!! And, of course, it was your old friend bebby who got the call from the by now very unhappy customer insisting that she be advised of a decision there and then and issuing all sorts of warnings and threats (including that if she didn't find out yesterday it would ruin her husband's birthday party for her, held tomorrow). Well, you know when you consider all available options, and find yourself checkmated, mhmm, it was a bit like that. ;) I wandered round the building for a while trying to locate the team leader and then I wandered round trying to find anyone who could do it in her absence (we're not trusted for anything that important ourselves, of course..........:P) and then realised the only thing for it was to phone her and tell her not to look forward to her party.
Well, I did, and it turned out the whole thing was a huge misunderstanding, and she didn't really care too much about the three hundred pounds, but actually was just terrified that we'd take the benefit away altogether, which we certainly weren't going to, so it turned out alright. :P
But it was stressful at the time.
I guess that was a bit of a data protection violation (?). She was very nice though, in the end.
I'm listening to a drum solo. Fun!
"Is not atheism merely a different mode of speech from theism? Does not everything depend on anthropology, that is to say, on the problem of the irreplaceable man who is seeking personal identity and can never be free from this search? For if we regard 'God' as the One who by his 'interest' guarantees the infinite value of the subject, by the same token we can also say that this infinite value appears in the consciousness of the individual as an irradicable claim. To realize his true identity is an essential element of man's longing." - Dorothee Sölle, 'Christ the Representative,' p44.
..quoted in a book I'm reading and, one should wonder: "Can the 'longing' be escalated into evidence that there is someone longed for?" with the author (Leander E Keck, in case you're curious) and presumably answer 'no, of course not'.. the main point being the rather startling first one (atheism and theism).
Which is my love of what I like to think of as 'linguistic philosophy' and something emanating more or less exclusively from Wittgenstein, as the recognition that the first question to ask analytically is never Do I agree or disagree with that, but: What does that mean? -to recognise that before anything can be discussed we have to ask what is expressed by the verb 'to be' or - indeed! (and with Monty Python parody in mind ;) - the term 'meaning' - etc. In a nutshell this of course is where at the most fundamental level everything dissolves into 'language games,' but more helpfully any two views can be stripped to their coterminous aspects and from here discussion can proceed. No guarantee of 'truth' occuring, of course, but leading to a more productive social interaction all the same.
Anyway, I think a dissolution of the atheism/theism dichotomy into various tentative explanations of anthrological phenonema is a mighty step forward for ontologicians of all affiliation to take. Because the burden of incontestable truth is I fancy a rather heavier burden than either the axioms of physics or the assertions of orthodox faiths can bear. And after all, when we recognise that the most empirically tested and objectively presented scientific journal article is in the last instance still expressed linguistically, that is, still at root a manifestation of psychological processes (observation, 'rational analysis', peer discussion and all the rest) - well to rule on absolute and timeless truth from it seems a little premature to meeeeeeeee.
All in all I'm having a super saturday :) lazing about, reading weird theology, recording more confused and sloppy contrapunctal guitar pieces - what could make me happier? I'm not to sure whence my fascination with counterpoint originates. I would suggest that for me pitch classes and rhythm are the two primary elemtents of music, to the exclusion of texture/timbre (not that that is unimportant!) - assuming they can be separated into exclusive elements like that. And then the fascination of polyphony is of course simultaniety, i.e. of expressing two things at the same time which isn't really possible in, say, literature or an essay...(at least not in as clear cut a way) - and the fact that the time-organisation of things isn't ignored (as in harmony).
Our office at work is split up into two teams - telephone and reception - and I'm on the telephone and yesterday I was put in a right pickle by a series of cock-ups by the dastardly reception side! They discovered a mistake made by the Pension Service which meant that we'd paid a lady around three hundred pounds too much - not uncommon! the Pension Service are even worse than the reception team.... ;) (only Tax Credits exhibit more hilariously predictable bureaucratic incompetence!) - and whenever this happens we're supposed to tell the Council Tax department to hold fire on a new bill, while we decide whether or not we want to recover the erroneous payment (this depends on whether or not the customer could have known and informed us that we were paying wrongly, but didn't).
However, this was missed and the lady got a new bill. So she phoned up rather upset, as well she might, and we had to tell her that it was a mistake but that we might charge her the three hundred quid all the same, and that she'd have to wait while a team leader decided on whether or not we would do so. Which would be not too pleasant for a start! My good collegue on the telephone duly had a chat with the team leader in question, and was assured that the lady would be phoned back that afternoon.
Which could have been the end of it and no great noteworthy event, except that as it turned out the team leader was on leave that afternoon!!!!! And, of course, it was your old friend bebby who got the call from the by now very unhappy customer insisting that she be advised of a decision there and then and issuing all sorts of warnings and threats (including that if she didn't find out yesterday it would ruin her husband's birthday party for her, held tomorrow). Well, you know when you consider all available options, and find yourself checkmated, mhmm, it was a bit like that. ;) I wandered round the building for a while trying to locate the team leader and then I wandered round trying to find anyone who could do it in her absence (we're not trusted for anything that important ourselves, of course..........:P) and then realised the only thing for it was to phone her and tell her not to look forward to her party.
Well, I did, and it turned out the whole thing was a huge misunderstanding, and she didn't really care too much about the three hundred pounds, but actually was just terrified that we'd take the benefit away altogether, which we certainly weren't going to, so it turned out alright. :P
But it was stressful at the time.
I guess that was a bit of a data protection violation (?). She was very nice though, in the end.
I'm listening to a drum solo. Fun!