"When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are, infinite" - William Blake
Story telling is one of those great art forms, which not only entertains but also has the ability to render different perceptions of this world to us. But when it comes to oneself, most of us don't have a very fertile imagination. Reality is pretty mundane isn't it? Why is finding a story for your life elusive?
Being unofficially rechristened as IMDB, it should be no surprise when i use cinema as my muse. Big Fish (2003), King of California (2007) & Kung Fu Panda (2008) are movies that are great stories in themselves. But the point they are trying to drive is larger, and one which makes story telling such an effective medium. Big Fish is about a son learning about his dying father through stories and myths about him. Stories which seem to be concocted out of a fertile imagination are actually very clever metaphors. King of California is about a mentally unstable father trying to convince his daughter that there is Spanish treasure buried somewhere below California. And well, Kung Fu Panda is one of those totally kickass Jack Black movies about your dreams and purpose in life (with awesome kung fu, awesome dialogues and sheer awesomeness). Now, before you start branding me an escapist with rose tinted glasses, theres something common to all these movies, and at the heart of these movies. And thats the use of stories,myths and imaginations to tell us how important perception is to the way we see reality. So whether its having an adventurous life, a purpose in the madness or achieving awesomeness (:D got to see that again). That perception is the looking glass through which we see this world. And that our lives can be just as special, just as full of story as we want it to be. And thats a very powerful message, existential even, that we have the ability to change the perception.
Now theres a difference in thinking that everything is hunky-dory always and things will always work out. But we, all of us, do have the answer to our existential concerns in ourselves. Just open the different doors.Infinite doors.
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Critique of Pure Compassion
On Nietzsche, Darwin and Bill Gates
Compassion : Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
In a world in which Darwinism theory of "Survival of the Fittest" is enacted in all walks of life, compassion, as a concept, is almost antithetical. It is almost like an oasis in a desert. Why is compassion an emotion experienced by humans then? Lets try to get a historical perspective.
Circa early 19th Century. The glory and democracy of French revolution has given way to an anarchy, which only the obstinate optimists will term as a success. Over the period of next few decades, Napoleon would, in a way exploit, this chaos to establish his supremacy over France. Needless to say, this seminal event changed Europe and the World, not only politically, but also in the way people started thinking. This is as brief a premise as i could possibly give.
Circa late 19th century. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a Prussian-born philosopher, who though was largely overlooked by the contemporaries of his time, came to be regarded as a highly significant and influential figure in modern philosophy. Much of Nietzsche's philosophy has a critical flavor to it; two concepts associated with a more constructive project are the Übermensch (variously translated as superman, superhuman, or overman) and the eternal return (or eternal recurrence), though in this context, its the former we are interested in primarily. The former is posited as a goal that humanity can set for itself, or that an individual can set for his- or herself; Nietzsche basically was of the opinion that society's and mankind's only role should be in the development of a Man who is perfection personified. And consequently, he rubbished democracy. The anarchy that followed French Revolution and the "heroic" role played by Napoleon thereafter, seems to have contributed to Nietzsche's philosophy, as did Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Idea". Contentiously, though, Nietzsche never clearly outlined the role this Superman was to play in such a hypothetical society.
Circa 2006. The world is a lot different place. The new weapon is money, but strife, as a part of life, is one of the few constant factors. In this increasingly complex world, some acts just shock you by their sheer audacity and surprise quotient. The world's richest man, Bill Gates, decides to not just donate most of his wealth close to $50 b, but actively involve himself in philanthropy. And helping him in this endeavor is another of the world's richest men, Warren Buffet who gives most of his wealth to Gates for this purpose. And all this happening in the intensely competitive Corporate society. Gates, in a lot of ways, is the modern Übermensch visualized by Nietzsche. He is a product of his society, achieving success not by inheritance, but by sheer talent and diligence. The implication here is not that he is perfect (ok, there are plenty of Gates detractors), but if there's anyone who fits the bill in this world, its him. And such a man, when in his prime devotes himself to such a cause as philanthropy and compassion, the world takes notice.
Maybe after centuries of power struggles and strife, humans have finally started realising that strife, though necessary, has only worstened human plight in this control-less way and mindless wars. And maybe its people like Gates, who consciously or unconsciously are realising the fact that its not always survival of the fittest which leads to an evolved species, but survival of the weakest which strengthens the pyramid of our societies and our species as a whole. And the most remarkable and striking of all things is that, this time the agent of change is not the Aristocrat, or the Nation state but one of the finest products of a society , where strife is relatively controlled.
And although inequity is still ubiquitous, we still fight over things as inane as land and religion and future appears unstable, but maybe Compassion and humanity is the new mantra in evolution, pioneered by Gates-like-Übermensch.
Nietzsche take a bow.
Compassion : Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
In a world in which Darwinism theory of "Survival of the Fittest" is enacted in all walks of life, compassion, as a concept, is almost antithetical. It is almost like an oasis in a desert. Why is compassion an emotion experienced by humans then? Lets try to get a historical perspective.
Circa early 19th Century. The glory and democracy of French revolution has given way to an anarchy, which only the obstinate optimists will term as a success. Over the period of next few decades, Napoleon would, in a way exploit, this chaos to establish his supremacy over France. Needless to say, this seminal event changed Europe and the World, not only politically, but also in the way people started thinking. This is as brief a premise as i could possibly give.
Circa late 19th century. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a Prussian-born philosopher, who though was largely overlooked by the contemporaries of his time, came to be regarded as a highly significant and influential figure in modern philosophy. Much of Nietzsche's philosophy has a critical flavor to it; two concepts associated with a more constructive project are the Übermensch (variously translated as superman, superhuman, or overman) and the eternal return (or eternal recurrence), though in this context, its the former we are interested in primarily. The former is posited as a goal that humanity can set for itself, or that an individual can set for his- or herself; Nietzsche basically was of the opinion that society's and mankind's only role should be in the development of a Man who is perfection personified. And consequently, he rubbished democracy. The anarchy that followed French Revolution and the "heroic" role played by Napoleon thereafter, seems to have contributed to Nietzsche's philosophy, as did Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Idea". Contentiously, though, Nietzsche never clearly outlined the role this Superman was to play in such a hypothetical society.
Circa 2006. The world is a lot different place. The new weapon is money, but strife, as a part of life, is one of the few constant factors. In this increasingly complex world, some acts just shock you by their sheer audacity and surprise quotient. The world's richest man, Bill Gates, decides to not just donate most of his wealth close to $50 b, but actively involve himself in philanthropy. And helping him in this endeavor is another of the world's richest men, Warren Buffet who gives most of his wealth to Gates for this purpose. And all this happening in the intensely competitive Corporate society. Gates, in a lot of ways, is the modern Übermensch visualized by Nietzsche. He is a product of his society, achieving success not by inheritance, but by sheer talent and diligence. The implication here is not that he is perfect (ok, there are plenty of Gates detractors), but if there's anyone who fits the bill in this world, its him. And such a man, when in his prime devotes himself to such a cause as philanthropy and compassion, the world takes notice.
Maybe after centuries of power struggles and strife, humans have finally started realising that strife, though necessary, has only worstened human plight in this control-less way and mindless wars. And maybe its people like Gates, who consciously or unconsciously are realising the fact that its not always survival of the fittest which leads to an evolved species, but survival of the weakest which strengthens the pyramid of our societies and our species as a whole. And the most remarkable and striking of all things is that, this time the agent of change is not the Aristocrat, or the Nation state but one of the finest products of a society , where strife is relatively controlled.
And although inequity is still ubiquitous, we still fight over things as inane as land and religion and future appears unstable, but maybe Compassion and humanity is the new mantra in evolution, pioneered by Gates-like-Übermensch.
Nietzsche take a bow.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Where's the Witch?
Art, they say, imitates Life.
But Life, in its myriad avatars must be a tough customer, to know and judge, let alone imitate with precision. Yet, now and then, you find seemingly unrelated pieces of Art, born out of different circumstances, alluding to the same facet of this sometimes enigmatic, sometimes repugnant Life. And this makes you realise that you dont need a Theory of eternal return ala Nietzshe to learn from life. You just need to have the willingness to observe and learn.
With this somewhat vague premise i would like to knit a thread through three pieces of Art i have seen/read recently, all of which reflect the same skewed image of Life
1) Die Blechtrommel - The Tin Drum - This German masterpiece by Gunter Grass is an account of the world as seen through the eyes of a dwarf, Oscar Matzerath, who decides to stop growing at the age of three because he is disgusted by the hypocrisy of adult world. Set in years preceding and following WW2 , its a scathing dissection not only of the tragedy and insanity of war but also the general decadence and hollowness of modern lives.
2) The Catcher in the Rye - J.D.Salinger - "Its a phoney world"
A book which at the same time appears as an honest account of teenage angst against the "system" and also a delusion with the way this world works. Set in the 40's, this book broke all stereotypes; be it with the use of language by its protagaonist - Holden Caulfied-or the theme. But what to most, might appear, as a delusioned adoloscent, was simply a guy fed up with the moral hypocrisy of the world.
3) The Taxi Driver - directed by Martin Scorsese - "You talkin to me?"
A masterpiece in its own right. Robert De Niro plays the taxi driver Travis Brickle, who, again, fed up with the moral decadence, decides to take things into his hand and rescues a young prostitute from a brothel. Not much of a story at surface. But the portrayal of the angst of a common man and the reality of the world is hard-hitting.
Three seemingly different works of Art dealing with things as different as Holocaust, teenage angst and moral decadence, somehow give an image of Life thats not too different. However different might the circumstances be, but you can see Oscar morph into Holden or Holden growing up to become a Travis with ease. They are all rebels, against the hypocrisy and ideological double standards of our societies. And they are all heroes in their own ways. Not your quintessential supermanesque heroes, but humans who see truth and react to it, not necessarily mitigating things wrong with our society, but atleast reacting.
And this teaches us one more lesson about human nature. That deep down, somewhere, we are all part of that moral decadence. All of us.
P.S. I am not a fatalist/pessimist. I observe, therefore i write.
But Life, in its myriad avatars must be a tough customer, to know and judge, let alone imitate with precision. Yet, now and then, you find seemingly unrelated pieces of Art, born out of different circumstances, alluding to the same facet of this sometimes enigmatic, sometimes repugnant Life. And this makes you realise that you dont need a Theory of eternal return ala Nietzshe to learn from life. You just need to have the willingness to observe and learn.
With this somewhat vague premise i would like to knit a thread through three pieces of Art i have seen/read recently, all of which reflect the same skewed image of Life
1) Die Blechtrommel - The Tin Drum - This German masterpiece by Gunter Grass is an account of the world as seen through the eyes of a dwarf, Oscar Matzerath, who decides to stop growing at the age of three because he is disgusted by the hypocrisy of adult world. Set in years preceding and following WW2 , its a scathing dissection not only of the tragedy and insanity of war but also the general decadence and hollowness of modern lives.
2) The Catcher in the Rye - J.D.Salinger - "Its a phoney world"
A book which at the same time appears as an honest account of teenage angst against the "system" and also a delusion with the way this world works. Set in the 40's, this book broke all stereotypes; be it with the use of language by its protagaonist - Holden Caulfied-or the theme. But what to most, might appear, as a delusioned adoloscent, was simply a guy fed up with the moral hypocrisy of the world.
3) The Taxi Driver - directed by Martin Scorsese - "You talkin to me?"
A masterpiece in its own right. Robert De Niro plays the taxi driver Travis Brickle, who, again, fed up with the moral decadence, decides to take things into his hand and rescues a young prostitute from a brothel. Not much of a story at surface. But the portrayal of the angst of a common man and the reality of the world is hard-hitting.
Three seemingly different works of Art dealing with things as different as Holocaust, teenage angst and moral decadence, somehow give an image of Life thats not too different. However different might the circumstances be, but you can see Oscar morph into Holden or Holden growing up to become a Travis with ease. They are all rebels, against the hypocrisy and ideological double standards of our societies. And they are all heroes in their own ways. Not your quintessential supermanesque heroes, but humans who see truth and react to it, not necessarily mitigating things wrong with our society, but atleast reacting.
And this teaches us one more lesson about human nature. That deep down, somewhere, we are all part of that moral decadence. All of us.
Always somewhere behind me, the Black Witch.
Now ahead of me, too, facing me, Black.
Black words, black coat, black money.
But if children sing, they sing no longer:
where's the Witch, black as pitch?
Here's the black, wicked Witch.
Ha! ha! ha!
Now ahead of me, too, facing me, Black.
Black words, black coat, black money.
But if children sing, they sing no longer:
where's the Witch, black as pitch?
Here's the black, wicked Witch.
Ha! ha! ha!
P.S. I am not a fatalist/pessimist. I observe, therefore i write.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The Seeker
Grigori Perelman. A name not too familiar a few days ago. And a name unlikely to be synonymous with headline stories in this world of blatant 'celebritydom'. But some people are born to defy and be different. So who this guy and what did he really accomplish?
Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who was recently conferred with the Field Medal in mathematics (Nobel of math) for his contributions towards solving Poincare conjecture. Now to quote straight from wikipedia :
"Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who has made landmark contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology .The Poincaré conjecture, proposed by French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904, is the most famous open problem in topology.
His early mathematical education occurred at the world-famous Leningrad Secondary School #239, a specialized school with advanced mathematics and physics programs. In 1982, as a member of the USSR team competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad, an international competition for high school students, he won a gold medal, achieving a perfect score.
In 1999, the Clay Mathematics Institute announced the Millennium Prize Problems – a one million dollar prize for the proof of several conjectures, including the Poincaré conjecture. There is universal agreement that a successful proof would constitute a landmark event in the history of mathematics, fully comparable with the proof by Andrew Wiles of Fermat's Last Theorem, but possibly even more far-reaching.
The Big Deal is:
While for the rest of us mortals, its about chasing green papers which will ironically oulive us.
To these 'Seekers' , i bow.
"11:15, restate my assumptions: 1. Mathematics is the language of nature. 2. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers. 3. If you graph these numbers, patterns emerge. Therefore: There are patterns everywhere in nature." - Pi (1998)
Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who was recently conferred with the Field Medal in mathematics (Nobel of math) for his contributions towards solving Poincare conjecture. Now to quote straight from wikipedia :
"Grigori Perelman is a Russian mathematician who has made landmark contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology .The Poincaré conjecture, proposed by French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904, is the most famous open problem in topology.
His early mathematical education occurred at the world-famous Leningrad Secondary School #239, a specialized school with advanced mathematics and physics programs. In 1982, as a member of the USSR team competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad, an international competition for high school students, he won a gold medal, achieving a perfect score.
In 1999, the Clay Mathematics Institute announced the Millennium Prize Problems – a one million dollar prize for the proof of several conjectures, including the Poincaré conjecture. There is universal agreement that a successful proof would constitute a landmark event in the history of mathematics, fully comparable with the proof by Andrew Wiles of Fermat's Last Theorem, but possibly even more far-reaching.
In November 2002, Perelman posted to the arXiv the first of a series of eprints in which he claimed to have outlined a proof of the geometrization conjecture, a result that includes the Poincaré conjecture as a particular case."
So he's just another geek ... whats the big deal?The Big Deal is:
- He refused (yes , turned down) the Field Medal.
- He posted his solution , for free, on the internet to be accessed by anyone.
- He lives a totally ascetic life in Russia and shuns fame and money instead of basking in the glory (and money) which he could have had.
While for the rest of us mortals, its about chasing green papers which will ironically oulive us.
To these 'Seekers' , i bow.
"11:15, restate my assumptions: 1. Mathematics is the language of nature. 2. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers. 3. If you graph these numbers, patterns emerge. Therefore: There are patterns everywhere in nature." - Pi (1998)
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