Philosophy is the greatest of the arts.
Socrates
*********************
As far as I'm concerned a person's philosophy isn't worth a dime if it doesn't have practical purpose, some positive effect on the world. It's the same with a person's religion. Jean Paul Sartre's philosophy certainly profoundly affected the French and others. Martin Luther's ideas transformed much of European religious thought. Socrates is still shaking up world thought.
It's fun, and probably therapeutic for some, to dream up fancy utopian ideas but what good are they if you can't put them into practice. "I will show you my faith by my works" wrote James, chapter 2. If it works, it's worthy of faith, if it doesn't work it's fruitless fancy.
Some may think I'm a philosopher. I don't think so. Many philosophers started out as mathematicians, or other scientists, some started out as priests. I wonder if there was ever a philosopher who started out as an actor.
Philosophy is certainly woven through the writings of the great playwrights from the ancient Greeks to Shakespeare, Moliere, Ibsen and Shaw. Pope John Paul II started out as a playwright and became a priest.
To consider myself a philosopher I would have to become familiar with all philosophers from Thales to the latest one to publish. And considering that my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be and I have to read with a magnifying glass, that would be a very tedious task.
And many of today's philosophers spend too much time arguing with each other over semantic gravel like borderlines of borderlines, theories of vagueness, implicatures and secondary said-content. Try analyzing a sentence like "Even, unlike Picasso, Warhol was famous." Good luck.
The greatness of philosophy is the greatness of art and the greatness of science. Imagination, ingenuity, intelligence and a sense of humor. Mix thoroughly. Serve. Season to taste.
DB - The Vagabond
************************
The Ball Game
a story in 7 parts
Part 4
Jimmy thought that after graduating from high school he would take a year off, find a job, make a little money and then try to enter City College, or maybe Brooklyn College, to study to become a scientist like his father. So he was very surprised when he got a phone call from the head office of the Brooklyn Hawks.
When he went to the appointment he met with a man who explained that they had been watching Jimmy for the past year and thought he would make a good ball player for the team. If he agreed he would be sent to the White Plains Aces, the Hawks farm team, for a few years and if it worked out he could move up to the majors. Jimmy never thought any one would pay him to play baseball. His Mom told him he should do what's in his heart.
When he went in to sign the contract he still wasn't sure. The man he had talked to before said that he would step out of the room for a few minutes and leave Jimmy alone to think about it.
Jimmy read the contract over carefully and sat staring at it. "Jimmy" a voice said. He looked up and sitting across the table from him was a man in a lab coat, glasses and a big warm smile. "Dad, what should I do?"
The man didn't speak, but just then a pen came floating out of a cup on the table, gently moved over to in front of Jimmy and hung there in mid air. He took it and singed the contract. When he looked up the man in the lab coat was gone.
(Part 5 tomorrow)
*********************
SPRING QUESTION
NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.
Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
2 answers so far
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
******************
Showing posts with label Sartre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sartre. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Tickle The Phantom
Everything has been figured out, except how to live.
Sartre
**************
October 17, 2009, a day of infamy in my life, was the day my computer abruptly stopped letting me on the Internet. During the 6 weeks I was marooned I spent a lot of money and logged many hours on the phone talking to tech support people from the computer company, the service provider and AOL. Some of them were nice people, some were not. Some were smart people, some were not. Some were knowledgeable about how to fix things, some were not.
One evening in the midst of my struggle and anguish I spoke to a fellow from Verizon who was obviously intelligent and who knew how computers work and how to be respectful and helpful. He did some tests and came up with a piece of information which eventually led to help solving a part of the problem. When he was finished he said "Is there anything else i can help you with?" I said "No. unless you can tell me the real meaning of life." He laughed and said he hadn't figured that one out yet. I told him that I was 70 and didn't have the answer either, so good luck. We both shared a laugh over that.
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905 - 1980 was a French philosopher, playwright and novelist. I performed his play "No Exit" once years ago. Sartre was so important to the world that, even though there was no official count, it is estimated that over 50,000 mourners attended his funeral.
During the war he served in the French army, was captured by the Germans and spent many years as a prisoner. It was then that he started writing.
Sartre was an Existentialist, which means, among other things, that he had an understanding and appreciation for the absurd, an awareness of the idiosyncrasies of the human race, an ability to cheerfully face the mysteries and uncertainties of life, in short, a sense of humor.
I owe, in part, to Sartre my own sense of humor, which allowed me, even in the midst of terrible and seemingly unsolvable computer problems, to share a laugh with a stranger over this strange and impenetrable thing called life.
DB - The Vagabond
------------------------
Try on a laugh today and see if it fits.
*********************
Weekend Puzzle.
Sing along.
It's fun and easy.
XMBB, HVAG AG ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC VMWJ EZX WEN HVME, UZC NZE'H LEZX FCGH XVMJM WEN UZC NZE'H LEZX FCGH XVME. AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH WJM ZQMJ WEN HVME, AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH GHWJH YBWUAE' WRWAE. UMG, AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC VMWJ OZJ WXVABM HVWH PZKMG AEHZ OWGVAZE HVME RZMG ZCH ZO GHUBM. AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC HVAEL UZC OZJRZH. SCH AH'G ZEN ZO HVZGM GZERG UZC PWEEZH.
FAKKU NCJWEHM
RZZN EARVH KJG. PWBWSWGV, XVMJMQMJ UZC WJM.
*************************
Good luck.
1 right ansawer so far
Have fun.
DB
Sartre
**************
October 17, 2009, a day of infamy in my life, was the day my computer abruptly stopped letting me on the Internet. During the 6 weeks I was marooned I spent a lot of money and logged many hours on the phone talking to tech support people from the computer company, the service provider and AOL. Some of them were nice people, some were not. Some were smart people, some were not. Some were knowledgeable about how to fix things, some were not.
One evening in the midst of my struggle and anguish I spoke to a fellow from Verizon who was obviously intelligent and who knew how computers work and how to be respectful and helpful. He did some tests and came up with a piece of information which eventually led to help solving a part of the problem. When he was finished he said "Is there anything else i can help you with?" I said "No. unless you can tell me the real meaning of life." He laughed and said he hadn't figured that one out yet. I told him that I was 70 and didn't have the answer either, so good luck. We both shared a laugh over that.
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905 - 1980 was a French philosopher, playwright and novelist. I performed his play "No Exit" once years ago. Sartre was so important to the world that, even though there was no official count, it is estimated that over 50,000 mourners attended his funeral.
During the war he served in the French army, was captured by the Germans and spent many years as a prisoner. It was then that he started writing.
Sartre was an Existentialist, which means, among other things, that he had an understanding and appreciation for the absurd, an awareness of the idiosyncrasies of the human race, an ability to cheerfully face the mysteries and uncertainties of life, in short, a sense of humor.
I owe, in part, to Sartre my own sense of humor, which allowed me, even in the midst of terrible and seemingly unsolvable computer problems, to share a laugh with a stranger over this strange and impenetrable thing called life.
DB - The Vagabond
------------------------
Try on a laugh today and see if it fits.
*********************
Weekend Puzzle.
Sing along.
It's fun and easy.
XMBB, HVAG AG ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC VMWJ EZX WEN HVME, UZC NZE'H LEZX FCGH XVMJM WEN UZC NZE'H LEZX FCGH XVME. AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH WJM ZQMJ WEN HVME, AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH GHWJH YBWUAE' WRWAE. UMG, AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC VMWJ OZJ WXVABM HVWH PZKMG AEHZ OWGVAZE HVME RZMG ZCH ZO GHUBM. AH'G ZEM ZO HVZGM GZERG HVWH UZC HVAEL UZC OZJRZH. SCH AH'G ZEN ZO HVZGM GZERG UZC PWEEZH.
FAKKU NCJWEHM
RZZN EARVH KJG. PWBWSWGV, XVMJMQMJ UZC WJM.
*************************
Good luck.
1 right ansawer so far
Have fun.
DB
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Quaint Questions 11/30/08
Nothing can be pleasing which is not also becoming.
Quintilian
********************
What has become of me? What have I become? What am I becoming? These are hard questions to consider as I duck the stones that life keeps throwing at me.
Someone once asked John Wayne what he thought of himself and he replied "I try not to." It's very difficult. We are reminded of ourselves every waking minute. And we have to take ourselves under consideration when we are about to make any personal choices. But then we have to ask ourselves, who is this self with whom I am consulting?
Jean Paul Sartre wrote "We only become what we are by radical and deep-seeded refusal of that which others have made of us." But maybe that goes for what we think we have made of ourselves. I refuse to accept myself as the bumbling lout I have convinced myself that I am, just as I refuse to accept myself as the irresponsible villain that others have tried to make of me.
I have been stung by my own ignorance therefore I have become wiser. I have been stuck with my own lies hence I have become more honest. I have witnessed cruelty and so I have become more humane. I have shamed myself by my harsh criticism of those who were wrong therefore I have become more understanding. I have in the past been unconcerned about the suffering of those around me and now I have become more compassionate.
I strongly urge my friends to reject, refuse and deny the two dimensional puppets that others may try to make of you and with the same vigor refute the foolish fictions you have made up about yourselves.
The road to self-discovery is a fascinating journey. Every time I think I know what I am, I became something else or something more. That's what makes life so comical and so frustratingly interesting.
DB
Quintilian
********************
What has become of me? What have I become? What am I becoming? These are hard questions to consider as I duck the stones that life keeps throwing at me.
Someone once asked John Wayne what he thought of himself and he replied "I try not to." It's very difficult. We are reminded of ourselves every waking minute. And we have to take ourselves under consideration when we are about to make any personal choices. But then we have to ask ourselves, who is this self with whom I am consulting?
Jean Paul Sartre wrote "We only become what we are by radical and deep-seeded refusal of that which others have made of us." But maybe that goes for what we think we have made of ourselves. I refuse to accept myself as the bumbling lout I have convinced myself that I am, just as I refuse to accept myself as the irresponsible villain that others have tried to make of me.
I have been stung by my own ignorance therefore I have become wiser. I have been stuck with my own lies hence I have become more honest. I have witnessed cruelty and so I have become more humane. I have shamed myself by my harsh criticism of those who were wrong therefore I have become more understanding. I have in the past been unconcerned about the suffering of those around me and now I have become more compassionate.
I strongly urge my friends to reject, refuse and deny the two dimensional puppets that others may try to make of you and with the same vigor refute the foolish fictions you have made up about yourselves.
The road to self-discovery is a fascinating journey. Every time I think I know what I am, I became something else or something more. That's what makes life so comical and so frustratingly interesting.
DB
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