Random Signals #1

There are times I can't complete a sentence, never mind a full post. There's a distraction of many bits of excitable thoughts that can't completely cohere, but need to be expressed. So here it is that I present to you a piecemeal post of random signals (as opposed to all the noise in my head). 

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There does to appear to be a rejection of Aristotelian logic in many circles these days, especially in regards to the law of non-contradiction. While the orthogonal approach of both/and works in many cases to limit binary thinking, there are time when either/or is unavoidable. Trying to come up with a philosophical system that works for everyone can be manipulative, as it casts aspersions without clarity and accountability.  You are left with no actual principles with which to live by, leaving it difficult to get your arms around anything substantive and concrete.

As I heard recently, when the British Parliament call for a vote, they also say they are calling for a division. Sometimes we need to take a side; hopefully the more logical side, no matter how large our vista, how grey our choices, and how ill-prepared our courage. 

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I've been reminiscing of my past entheogen experience as I recently came across William Wildwood's post on Drugs and Spirituality. I tend to agree with his point that, “the real aim of the spiritual path is not to achieve a higher state of consciousness (if it were, why be born?) but to acquire virtue using that word to encompass all that is involved in the idea of the good, the beautiful and the true.” That's not to say I have any regrets at all. Even he acknowledges that, “experiencing these states could reorient a person to the spiritual but even if that were true (and I don't dismiss the idea) then once is enough.” So maybe I had my once and done experience, and there is no need to get on that wagon again, and instead continue with meditation, prayer, and study. 

Not to mention the downside. One astute facebook poster was commenting as to why some people don't change after indulging in entheogens. His point: while “sure entheogens are strong medicine, no doubt. But, speaking from experience, the powerful impression of great clarity and insight can also be yet another veil and bulwark against utter nakedness.”

I am more convinced that to become utterly naked before the Divine, it may be better to drink from the cup of suffering and joy (over the cup of plant medicine). 

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David Brooks recently took on the notion of coolness. He says, “It emerged specifically within African-American culture, among people who had to withstand the humiliations of racism without losing their temper, and who didn’t see any way to change their political situation. Cool culture in that context said, you can beat me but I am not beaten, you can oppress me but you can’t own me. It became a way of indicting society even if you were powerless, a way of showing your untrammeled dignity. It was then embraced by all those who felt powerless, whether they were dissident intellectuals or random teenagers.”

It certainly does have a Christian ring to it when we refer to the turning of the cheek doctrine. 

While being cool created a stance of moral ambiguity and emotional detachment, it also allowed for mystique of character that would often be admired and emulated. It appears internet culture has brought that all crashing down. Who is really cool today?

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I saw two great films recently: Dunkirk and War for the Planet of the Apes. Dunkirk is a masterpiece in the many ways the critics are raving about. One observation is the chaos of war from many angles and vistas can leave one emotionally detached from the suffering. Maybe Stalin was right: “One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.” We can't surpass the tragedy of one, as the masses just obscure the infinite value of the loss.

With War for the Planet of the Apes, the opposite was true. I found the intimacy and subtle resonance of the film to bring me to tears at times. Oddly, the film's title doesn't do justice to the contemplativeness that underlays the arc of the narrative.