[percy-l] I hope I am not becoming a pest / WP student video
Henry Mills III
henry at henrymills.info
Tue Jul 10 05:38:50 EDT 2012
Janet,
Thanks for sharing this video and your other many recent stimulating
thoughts. It's been great to see a recent resurgence of discussion on
the list, and especially rewarding to see a person from a younger
generation as in this video becoming inspired by Percy. I only wish I
had been "turned on" to Percy at such an early age. I will be certain
to post a link to the video on the Percy Project website in the days
ahead along with it already being archived in the Percy-L archives. I
hope also to announce to the Percy-L community new ways for it to get
involved in the Project in coming months.
Best wishes,
Henry
--
Henry Mills, Director & Editor
The Walker Percy Project
Percy-L Moderator
www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
On 7/9/12 6:56 AM, janet cantor wrote:
> Re: The Thanatos Syndrome of Walker Percy:
>
> *Eros and Thanatos*---Freud identifies two drives that both coincide
> and conflict within the individual and among individuals. Eros is the
> drive of life, love, creativity, and sexuality, self-satisfaction, and
> species preservation. Thanatos, from the Greek word for "death" is the
> drive of aggression, sadism, destruction, violence, and death. At the
> conclusion of /C&D,/ Freud notes (in 1930-31) that human beings,
> following Thanatos, have invented the tools to completely exterminate
> themselves; in turn, Eros is expected to "make an effort to assert
> himself in the struggle with an equally immortal adversary. But who
> can foresee with what success and with what result?"
>
> In *Civilization and its Discontents*, Freud struggles with paradoxes:
>
> 1.Human behavior is motivated by a desire for happiness ("satisfaction
> of needs"). Humans bond together to promote happiness. This bonding
> or "civilization" works against individual happiness.
>
> 2.Although civilization prevents happiness, it is necessary for human
> life.
>
> 3.In order for civilizations to be coherent, they channel their
> aggression toward scapegoats (those excluded from the coherence), but
> with little effect: "In this respect the Jewish people, scattered
> everywhere, have rendered most useful services to the civilizations of
> the countries that have been their hosts; but unfortunately all the
> massacres of the Jews in the Middle Ages did not suffice to make that
> period more peaceful and secure for their Christian fellows"
>
>
>
>
> AND this is an awkward kid who made a video for his teacher as a
> school project to explain Existentialism. Forget about his hemming and
> hawing and just listen to him. This is the clearest explanation of
> Existentialism I have ever heard. Note especially what he says about
> Kierkegard. I just love this primitive video:
>
>
> Existentialism & Walker Percy.mp4
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU5mozqWOEA&feature=em-share_video_user>
>
>
>
> --
> An archive of all list discussion is available at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/
>
> Visit The Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
>
> Contact the moderator: percy-l-owner at lists.ibiblio.org (note: add @ sign when addressing email)
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