Author Topic: Letters of Interest  (Read 6565 times)

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Nation of One

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It Can't Happen Here c.1935
« Reply #15 on: December 25, 2019, 10:10:25 am »
It Can't Happen Here c.1935
Sinclair Lewis

page 214

" ... if people have gone so soft and turned the world over to stuffed shirts and dictators, they needn't expect any decent woman to bring children into such an insane asylum! Why, the more you really do love children, the more you'll want 'em not to be born, now!"
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Maybe it is time to present Schopenhauer's philosophy to a future audience of women ... streamlined to send direct message to the kernel of the Species ... an attempt at pansexual contemplation where there may be a moment of clarity in the midst of our evolutionary chaos ...
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

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Nation of One

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #16 on: December 26, 2019, 01:50:55 pm »
The Kraus Project by Jonathan Franzen (and Karl Kraus, of course).

Karl Kraus was known as The Great Hater.

Maybe it is ok to take a bolder look at our hatreds.   There might be something of value there.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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Under the Weather: Being (Un) Well in a Gothic World
« Reply #17 on: April 26, 2020, 12:48:20 pm »
Under the Weather: Being (Un) Well in a Gothic World

At length the plague, slow-footed, but sure in her noiseless advance, destroyed the illusion, invading the congregation of the elect, and showering promiscuous death among them. – Mary Shelley, The Last Man

Nightmares, sleeplessness and insanity reported earlier on local news is shaping up to be a planet-wide phenomenon. – Neil Gaiman, '24 Hours'

Be well – Drugstore Slogan

Gothic characters thrive on obsession and mayhem, yet neither of those states offers a positive view of the world, and this is by design.
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This was a fairly quick read, and really strikes at the root of the whole "wellness-oriented" smiley faces in "programs" for wellness ... the obsession with wellness in such a hypocrytically unwell world!

HA!    >:(

Hey, Mikey!   (He likes it)
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As cautionary tales, these Gothic texts and their present-day heirs are still of paramount importance as a counterweight to the toxic excesses of the contemporary wellness movement driven by profit margins not morality.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2020, 08:29:49 pm by Broken Spirit »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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Demonic Texts and Textual Demons
« Reply #18 on: April 28, 2020, 09:46:21 am »
Demonic Texts and Textual Demons: The Demonic Tradition, the Self, and Popular Fiction

 
 
Contents
Acknowledgements
Illustrations
Abbreviations
The Beginnings.....................................................................................1

PART I
1. The Ancestry of the Demonic......................................................23
2. The Demonic in the Self................................................................53
3. Unravelling the Demonic Text.....................................................81

PART II
4. Demons of Horror: Intimations of an Inner Alien..................113
5. Mothering a Demon: Rosemary’s Baby......................................126
6. The Inarticulate Body: Demonic Conflicts in The Exorcist.....143
7. Good at Being Evil: the Demons of The Vampire Chronicles..169
8. The (Un)Traditionalist: Clive Barker’s Devil...........................192
9. Technodemons of the Digital Self..............................................205
10.The Satanic Verses and the Demonic Text...............................249
The Epilogue....................................................................................288 Bibliography.....................................................................................296
Index .................................................................................................334
___________________________________________________________________
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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The Devil Whisperer
« Reply #19 on: April 28, 2020, 09:49:35 am »
The Devil Whisperer: Animality as a path to taming the monster in The Exorcist

This article analyzes the use of animal traits in the transformation from human to monster in the movie The Exorcist, based on the homonymous bestseller by William Peter Blatty. Released in 1973, it remains one of the most disturbing accomplishments of horror cinema and stands as a seminal work of the demonic movie subgenre. The horror narrative describes a journey in which the animal, by virtue of its ubiquitous presence in our lives, frequently acts as a psychopomp, a guiding figure who dispels the evil menace by rendering the monster more recognizable as a beast and, consequently, more prone to be captured and subdued. In The Exorcist, the devil, reduced to a domestic animal with behavioural issues, is tamed back into submission. Although the depiction of animality as a mark of villainy may seem detrimental to our perception of some animals, it nevertheless contributed to an ongoing reflection about the human-animal relationship. Horror narratives remain the main locus of animality in works of fiction, for its unrivalled ability to gather archetypical representations and invite us to experience a vicarious confrontation with our own repressed fears. The article proposes a reflection on animality as a path to reintegration of the Self, defending the endurance of animal monsters in the horror genre.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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"New Buddha"
« Reply #20 on: June 22, 2020, 01:04:57 am »
This one is only available in German, I think, so we can keep our eyes peeled for a translation, I guess:

The Highpriest of Pessimism: Zur Rezeption Schopenhauers in Den USA (American Studies - a Monograph Series) (German Edition)

This is interesting.  Christa Buschendorf is a professor and the chair of American Studies at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. She has published on the transatlantic history of ideas and on African American literature.

I remember while living (on Section 8 rental assistance program) next to the Asbury Park Public Library reading a book she co-authored with Cornel West: Black Prophetic Fire.

Quote
Wie die Bezeichnungen "New Buddha", "Prince of Atheists" oder "Highpriest of Pessimism" erkennen lassen, stellte Schopenhauer die christliche Weltsicht und den optimistischen Daseinsentwurf der Amerikaner auf eine harte Probe. In Interpretationen fiktionaler Texte, kulturkritischer Essays und philosophischer Schriften legt die sowohl literatur- und ideengeschichtlich als auch kulturhistorisch orientierte Studie dar, wie amerikanische Denker und Schriftsteller in der zweiten Halfte des 19. Jahrhunderts in Debatten uber die indische Weisheitslehre, die post-darwinistische Glaubenskrise, die Optimismus-Pessimismus-Kontroverse oder die eskapistische Buddhismus-Mode der Jahrhundertwende auf einen Philosophen reagierten, der die Realitat menschlichen Leidens schonungslos exponiert und zugleich mit seiner Mitleidsethik hohe moralische Standards setzt. In der Konfrontation mit dem Hauptvertreter des Pessimismus rangen die Amerikaner mit der von ihnen zwar immer wieder verdrangten, in Krisenzeiten aber um so dringlicher empfundenen Frage nach der existentiellen Bedeutung von Schmerz, Leid und Tod.

As the names "New Buddha", "Prince of Atheists" or "Highpriest of Pessimism" show, Schopenhauer put the Christian worldview and the optimistic concept of existence of the Americans to the test. In interpretations of fictional texts, essays critical of culture and philosophical writings, the study, which is oriented towards the history of literature, ideas and culture and history, shows how American thinkers and writers in the second half of the 19th century debated Indian doctrine of wisdom, the post-Darwinian crisis of belief, the optimism-pessimism controversy or the escapist Buddhism fashion of the turn of the century reacted to a philosopher who mercilessly exposed the reality of human suffering and at the same time set high moral standards with his compassionate ethic. In the confrontation with the main representative of pessimism, the Americans grappled with the question, which they repeatedly repressed, but all the more urgent in times of crisis, about the existential meaning of pain, suffering and death.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #21 on: June 22, 2020, 06:23:16 am »
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #22 on: May 14, 2021, 10:25:08 pm »
BEFORE THE CURTAIN FALLS:SAMUEL BECKETT AND E.M. CIORAN

ABSTRACT


Samuel Beckett and E.M. Cioran are two of the twentieth century’s best-known pessimists. Yet few scholars outside of France are aware of the fact the two were friends for many years before going their separate ways. This thesis examined their friendship so as to clarify their political and philosophical agreements and disagreements. It did so primarily by consulting the two writers’ correspondence and Cioran’s journal entries. This research determined that Beckett and Cioran fell out as friends as a result of political differences that first became apparent in the mid-1970s. (The former became politically active in this decade and lost patience with the latter’s resignation.) The main conclusions drawn from this study were that Beckett was politically progressive despite his pessimism and that Cioran was unable to re-engage with politics following his youthful nationalism
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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At the end of chapter 2 of the thesis paper, Before the curtain falls:

Quote
In a 1983 interview, Michel Foucault described the magnitude of Beckett’s effect upon his generation:
Quote from: Foucault
I belong to that generation who as students had before their eyes, and were limited by, a horizon consisting of Marxism, phenomenology, and existentialism. Interesting and stimulating as these might be, naturally they produced in the students completely immersed in them a feeling of being stifled, and the urge to look elsewhere. I was like all other students of philosophy at that time, and for me the break was [...] Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

Foucault’s observation is astute, but he may just as well have been speaking about Cioran, as the Romanian expatriate equally represented a break with the prevailing paradigm of “Marxism, phenomenology, [and] existentialism” . These two writers sought to broaden the horizons of French intellectual culture through their re-articulation of the Schopenhauerian themes of suffering and non-existence as well as their hard-won conviction that doubt was among the most important qualities of the non-totalitarian mind.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2021, 11:29:06 pm by Deep Truth »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #24 on: May 20, 2021, 05:22:38 am »
"Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking. They want obedient workers." ~ George Carlin
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #25 on: June 15, 2021, 11:17:53 pm »
On page 46 of the thesis paper, Before the Curtain Falls: Samuel Beckett and E.M. Cioran, there is something Holden and Raul may find more than a little interesting:

Quote from: Michael Friesen
* * *
The principal theme underlying Cioran’s Démiurge is the Gnostic one that the creator of the material world is a petty, lesser god, who rules the universe much like a tyrant. Kluback, in his essay on Beckett and Cioran, argues that Cioran’s appreciation for Beckett was rooted in the latter’s Gnosticism:

He [Cioran] was the prophet of the Demiurge. He was a true prophet, loyal and unwavering. He spoke a truth that few men heard. When he found a kindred soul, he found a companion. He found in Beckett a Gnostic. He turned to him with admiration.


Beckett certainly regarded the Judeo-Christian god as a sort of demiurge. In Mercier et Camier, the narrator speaks of the “universal malignity” who pours down rain on his protagonists. Mercier curses this malignity in Promethean fashion:


With both hands Mercier raised the umbrella high above his head and dashed it to the ground. He used another nasty expression. And to crown all, lifting to the sky his convulsed and streaming face, he said, As for thee, fuck thee!
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

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Re: Letters of Interest
« Reply #26 on: June 17, 2021, 09:40:09 am »
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

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Joe Stack Audio Manifesto
« Reply #27 on: June 17, 2021, 09:37:15 pm »


The Insane Manifesto Of Austin Texas Crash Pilot Joseph Andrew Stack

Quote
In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time.  When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me).  I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread.  I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made.  I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Nation of One

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Suicide Pilot's Daughter: Dad's a Hero
« Reply #28 on: June 18, 2021, 11:08:31 am »




« Last Edit: June 18, 2021, 11:23:59 am by Deep Truth »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

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Herr Hauser’s High School Days
« Reply #29 on: June 18, 2021, 01:54:13 pm »
And no, the academy in question mostly prized its mathematics whizkid prodigy eggheads, someone like Ed Chu (a member of the "AP Calculus" class that had me depressed as ****) who had great discipline and very strict parents

 Unfortunately, Ed Chu did not show much interest in what "my Philosophy instructor" was offering. 
.-Herr Hauser


I have been thinking about it and this is what I thought.

Mr.Chu did a lot of maths but looked down upon philosophy and probably , so did his parents, who were sticklers for discipline.I think he would have been great at mechanical maths methods and might have picked up algorithms rather easily.

He would have done pretty well it came to applying the rules ,without giving much thought to the meaning of it all.
He and his parents looked down upon “useless philosophy” ,because they,implicitly perhaps, believed that anything like that or “intuition” ends up causing indigestion.

Mr.Chu would have declined to consider sets and space, per se. Give him symbols ,bereft of meaning, and clearly defined rules, to play with, and you would have a happy boy.

He would have admired computational processes which are ( apparently ) without any “given” intuitions.
And he would have been completely disinterested in anything to do with the genuine nature of mathematical entities.

His objective,of course, would be to exile all intuition from his mathematical studies.Then ,he would come to believe that once that is done, the mathematical objects would disappear and what would be left ,would be  glorified “Checkers”.”Checkers” does not point to a higher reality and is governed completely by its rules.

Keep the rules of inference in mind and try to deduce one meaningless string of symbols from another.His discipline would help him to do it.

If you would have asked him-why is maths mysterious? He would say there is no mystery there.It’s all explicable once you understand the rules.He would say that when he does maths he is not trying to describe anything external.He is just playing with the mechanical rules of mathematics,which could,admittedly get rather complicated,from time to time.But that is all there is to it.

That there is no mystery there.Or anywhere.You start with a set of maths expressions,you should know the rules of inferences and voila! you could deduce the solution.

Only, there is a chink in this armor. Big enough for a thousand whales to swim through it together.I know that you know that too. That is why you are no Ed Chu.That is why you are so great.

Get well soon.

La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.