Re: Moviegoer and despair


Subject: Re: Moviegoer and despair
From: James L Piat (piat@JUNO.COM)
Date: Fri Nov 12 1999 - 23:05:52 EST


Dear Marshall.

Here's a too quick but well intended response -- I think you are right.
I'm thinking that perhaps all awareness is achieved by objectification.
On the other hand, I think something may also be lost in the process. As
for example when we objectify another. Perhaps the problem is that
while objectifying (in the sense of representing) brings the object to
awareness the process also reduces the potential of the manifold to the
particular of the object. Maybe there really are objects in the world
(maybe not) but in either case I'm leary of reducing humans or their
emotions to objects. Except perhaps in the interest of art which is
itself an attempt to expand rather than reduce our self awareness. Maybe
that's the distinction between successful art and objectionable attempts
at mere objective representation.

Cheers,
Jim Piat

On Fri, 12 Nov 1999 19:19:28 EST Marshall Smith <Cocasteady@AOL.COM>
writes:
> As a follow-up to the despair thread, I'd like to add that a highly
> practical, and highly difficult, way to beat despair is to objectify
> it.
> That is, it is useful to try to wrestle yourself outside of yourself
> in order
> to examine the despair. I realize this raises the ugly spectre of
> continental rationalism and Cartesian theory and several other
> objectionable
> schools, but it has proven workable. So I offer it for rebuttal, or
> agreement, or complacent non-response.
>
> Percy, I think, was a master at objectifying his own despair and
> rendering it
> art.
>
> Marshall Smith



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : Thu Jan 11 2001 - 12:52:22 EST