So, the festive season is now officially over and we are firmly within the new year. 2010, and all its potential, lay before us and this can mean only one thing. Yep, Dancing on Ice is back.
Dancing on Ice is very much a guilty pleasure of mine, and one of the few things that ITV produce that I will watch live. I am not sure what it is about the show that attracts me to it. It could be the lovely male ice skaters with their delightfully tight pants and revealing costumes. It could be the combination of music and dance to produce delightfully entertaining routines. Or it could be the fact that we have celebrities on ice with razor sharp blades on their feet - it is literally dancing with death.
First week is over and it was ladies night, with the lads strutting their stuff next week. From what I have seen so far I think that it will be a very tight competition. 2009 gave us the wonderful Ray Quinn, who from his first performance was clearly far superior to any of the other contestants. This year I am not sure that we have a presumptive champion. There are a couple that have the potential, but as will anything they could be cut down before their prime (just like Sinitta this week).
Hopefully after the lads premiere performances next week I shall be able to make some predictions on who I think will be in this years final.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Monday, 7 December 2009
The Prisoner (2009)
I have finally gotten around to watching the 2009 version of The Prisoner. I have resisted doing so for a fair few weeks now, mainly because of the profound affect that the original series had on me.
The first thing that does strike me about the new version is that it is definitely not the original. Like so much in the modern world, we require answers. This was something which, even to this day, the original series refuses to give us definitively. We may have theories, but no definitive answers about it.
This is something that the new series does not provide us with; the new series gives us the answers. It gives us a fully coherent explanation for what is going on. We know what the Village is; we know why it exists, and what the purpose of the Village is.
I think that the reason why the new series does this is because the modern viewing public, in general, would not accept anything like the original series in its enigmaticness. Today, we demand answers, we demand explanations. We are not prepared to accept something that does not have a rationale that we can get from the programme alone. We demand TV that explains rather than TV which makes us think.
I think for this reason alone, I am going to be looking upon the new series as just a tele-visual event which uses the toolbox of the original, the trappings and scenery so to speak, to tell a completely different story. This is probably the better way of looking on it. To fundamentally compare it to the original would be unfair.
So, what did I think of The Prisoner (2009) as a tele-visual event in its own right? Overall, I enjoyed it. For what it is, it is enjoyable.
The first thing that I would recommend is that it is watched, as best as possible, back to back. In doing so I think it is easier to accept it as being one complete story, rather than an episodic adventure. The Prisoner (2009) is basically just one, very long, story with a clearly defined narrative.
With the entire story in mind, the look of The Village made sense. Something like the original location would not have worked the same way that the modern set does. The modern Village makes senses when you get to the resolution in the Checkmate, the last instalment. You can see why they went with the set that they did.
The story itself is interesting. It is very much one persons quest to find the truth about what is going on, the truth behind what he uncovers. However, unlike the original, the quest is complete by the end of the last instalment.
It is hard to talk about the actually story itself without spoiling it for those that have not watched it, and this is something that I would not want to do.
I would recommend watching it, for the unfolding story. However, I would suggest that it is watched on the understanding that it is not the original series nor does it attempt to do what the original series did. The Prisoner (2009) is very much its own beast, with its own story to tell. It uses the trappings of the original but that is all it has in common with the original. Watch it for what it has got to tell, the story it wants to portray, rather than a reimagining of what the original series was.
The first thing that does strike me about the new version is that it is definitely not the original. Like so much in the modern world, we require answers. This was something which, even to this day, the original series refuses to give us definitively. We may have theories, but no definitive answers about it.
This is something that the new series does not provide us with; the new series gives us the answers. It gives us a fully coherent explanation for what is going on. We know what the Village is; we know why it exists, and what the purpose of the Village is.
I think that the reason why the new series does this is because the modern viewing public, in general, would not accept anything like the original series in its enigmaticness. Today, we demand answers, we demand explanations. We are not prepared to accept something that does not have a rationale that we can get from the programme alone. We demand TV that explains rather than TV which makes us think.
I think for this reason alone, I am going to be looking upon the new series as just a tele-visual event which uses the toolbox of the original, the trappings and scenery so to speak, to tell a completely different story. This is probably the better way of looking on it. To fundamentally compare it to the original would be unfair.
So, what did I think of The Prisoner (2009) as a tele-visual event in its own right? Overall, I enjoyed it. For what it is, it is enjoyable.
The first thing that I would recommend is that it is watched, as best as possible, back to back. In doing so I think it is easier to accept it as being one complete story, rather than an episodic adventure. The Prisoner (2009) is basically just one, very long, story with a clearly defined narrative.
With the entire story in mind, the look of The Village made sense. Something like the original location would not have worked the same way that the modern set does. The modern Village makes senses when you get to the resolution in the Checkmate, the last instalment. You can see why they went with the set that they did.
The story itself is interesting. It is very much one persons quest to find the truth about what is going on, the truth behind what he uncovers. However, unlike the original, the quest is complete by the end of the last instalment.
It is hard to talk about the actually story itself without spoiling it for those that have not watched it, and this is something that I would not want to do.
I would recommend watching it, for the unfolding story. However, I would suggest that it is watched on the understanding that it is not the original series nor does it attempt to do what the original series did. The Prisoner (2009) is very much its own beast, with its own story to tell. It uses the trappings of the original but that is all it has in common with the original. Watch it for what it has got to tell, the story it wants to portray, rather than a reimagining of what the original series was.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
The Letter
The journey home had been horrendous and he thought that it would never end. But it had, and he was finally home. Closing the front door on the bitter winter wind that had cut through him only minutes previously, he turned on the hall light. He stood with him back against the door and rested for a minute. It had been a long day. In fact, it had been a long week. Monday seemed like a lifetime ago, even though only three days had passed.
He reached down to pick up the mail that was on the carpet and set off into the lounge. Pausing only to throw the letters in his hand onto the sofa, he quickly lit the fire and then went to fix himself a drink. He did not normally drink so early in the evening, preferring a large measure of brandy post-dinner instead. But he did not really care about routine. Not this week.
Drink in hand, he made his way to the sofa and sat down. He slowly sipped his drink and stare into the mock flame effect that dance before his eyes. He just sat there, staring at the fire and letting the minutes pass him by.
He was not sure how long his mind had wandered for before he came back to the present. He knew that he was hungry and should really fix himself something to eat. He could not face anything major. Truth be told, he had not really eaten properly all week. He would just have something light. Something to take the edge off the hunger pangs.
Five minutes later he returned to the lounge with some cheese on rustic bread. It was nothing fancy but it would serve its purpose. He turned the fire down a notch since the room was nicely warmed through and fixed himself another drink, before returning to the sofa and his necessary snack.
Whilst chewing on one of his open sandwiches, he started to flick through the mail opening each one in turn. Bill, Bill, Charity appeal, Bill. Then he saw the last letter in the pile, one completely different to the normal ‘run of the mill’ mail that he normally received. It was just a standard white envelope, with hand written address and a second class stamp on it.
He recognised the hand writing immediately. It was distinctive. He would know it anyway. Then he looked at the post mark that covered the stamp. Saturday, it had been post marked Saturday. It was post marked before.
He quickly ripped open the envelope and pulled out the sheets of writing paper inside. Each piece was hand written in the same distinctive handwriting.
He slowly took a drink from the glass that rested on the arm of the sofa and started to read.
Dear Tom,
You probably have been asking yourself why I did it. You probably have been wondering whether there was something that you missed, something that you should have seen. You probably have been wondering whether there was something that you could have done to prevent it. I want to explain. I want you to know why and also why I could never tell you before now.
It all started six months ago. Do you remember? You had had that meeting with the Finance Director and had come storming into the office afterwards. You had just found out that someone had been embezzling money from the company. Do you remember? That was when it all started.
The investigation was swift and the evidence was found on Mathew’s computer. The investigators found copies of all the fake invoices that had been processed by Accounts. They found evidence which linked him to the PO Box number that the cheques had been issued to.
I can still remember your anger when the Crown Prosecution Service said that they did not have enough to bring the case to trial. But did that really matter in the end? He had lost everything anyway. His job, his reputation, even his family left him. He had nothing left. That was why he killed himself.
But he had protested his innocence until the very end. Even in his suicide note he maintained he was innocent and that he had been framed for the fraud. But, in the end, this was not enough to keep him going. He had lost everything and had nothing to live for anymore. That was why he killed himself in the end.
You believed that his guilt had finally gotten to him. You believed that he could no longer handle the guilt of stealing all that money from the company. You believed that, in taking his own life, he had proven that he had done it.
It is hard to believe that it was four months ago that Mathew’s killed himself. Even now I can still remember every detail of the day that we found out. That day as haunted me ever since.
He went to the grave protesting his innocence and the truth of it is he was. Mathew’s did not do it. I did. I was the one that took the money. I was the one that perpetrated the fraud against the company.
I had been desperate for money. I was on the verge of losing the house because I could not afford to keep up the payments. I had been banking on a pay rise to help but it was not going to happen. Do you remember? The company had been going through a bad patch and no one was going to get a pay rise or a bonus that year.
I was desperate and so I came up with the plan. It was very simple really. Submit fake invoices, get Accounts to process them, and then cash the cheques. I remember my nerves the first time that I did it. I am surprised that I did not crack there and then. I was sure that you would have noticed at the time. But you didn’t and I got away with it.
I cannot say that I did not feel guilty about what I had done because I did. However, what choice did I have? I need the money and there was no other way of getting it.
Once business was better and I got that pay rise I did think of stopping. I did think of giving it up. Looking back with hindsight I wish I had. But I did not. After all, it had been a year and I had not been caught.
But I did stop taking the money for myself. I started to make donations to charity with it instead. I think donating the money helped ease my conscience a bit. After all, I was no longer doing it for my benefit. I was doing it for the benefit of others now. I felt like a modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. I did start feeling good about myself. It is just a shame that it did not last that long.
I had always had a plan in place, just in case my scheme got uncovered. It was never actually meant to be Mathew’s who took the fall. It should have been Johnston. He was perfect for the role of fall guy, especially after how he humiliated you over the Franken fiasco. He deserved to be taken down.
It would have been Johnston if he had not had that heart attack which took him out of the picture. How could he be blamed for something when he was not around?
It was purely by chance that it was Mathew’s that got picked to be the replacement. If he had not gone back to the hotel room with Sandra at the Christmas Party then he might never have been picked. But he did and he was.
It was easy enough to befriend him really, to gain his trust. I think he was desperate to feel wanted. So, the squash games started, and then the nights out. Within a very short space of time I knew his computer password, which is all I ever really wanted from him.
So, when everything got discovered it was easy to plant the evidence on his computer. If only I had known then how it would have played out. If only I had known what would have happened. But I didn’t know and so I framed him.
I felt relieved when he was sacked. I was relieved that it was over with. I was relieved that I had gotten away with it. If only it had lasted.
Mathew’s death hit me hard. After all, I was to blame for it. I was responsible for what happened to him. If I had not done it, if I had not planted the evidence on his computer, then he would have been alive. But I did and he is not.
For four months I have had to live with the knowledge of what I have done. For four months I have had to live with the knowledge that I am responsible for his death. I have lived with this for four months and I cannot live with it any longer.
I am responsible for him taking his life. I am responsible for pulling the trigger. I am responsible for his death. I am responsible and I cannot live with the guilt any longer.
This is why I am going to end it tonight. Now you know the reason. You know the reason why I can no longer go on living with myself, and the reason why I could never have come to you to explain.
I am not sorry for starting the fraud. After all, it was only money. But I am sorry that I continued with it when I did not need to. I am sorry that I framed Mathew’s for it rather than taking responsibility for it myself.
I am sorry that I betrayed your trust. A part of me thinks that I should not be writing this letter, that I should not be explaining it to you. But
I know that I must. I know that you need to know the truth. You need to know what I have done and why I cannot live with the guilt any longer.
I hope that you can forgive me but I understand if you cannot. You deserve to know the truth. What you do with it I leave up to you.
I’m sorry.
David
Tom stared at the last page of the letter. He had no idea what his friend had done. He had no idea what he had been going through. He had no idea the secret that had been slowly eating away at him.
He finished the last of the drink that remained in his glass before going to fix another one, which he quickly downed.
David had always been a good friend to him. He had always been there for him, both at work and away from it. He had always been there when he need him.
Putting the empty glass down, he went over to ash tray that sat on the coffee table and started to tear the letter into little pieces. He dropped the pieces into the ash tray and lit a match, which he dropped on top of them. He watched the paper burn until all that was left was the blackened remains of David’s confession.
He may not have been therefore him at the end, but he could be there for him now.
He reached down to pick up the mail that was on the carpet and set off into the lounge. Pausing only to throw the letters in his hand onto the sofa, he quickly lit the fire and then went to fix himself a drink. He did not normally drink so early in the evening, preferring a large measure of brandy post-dinner instead. But he did not really care about routine. Not this week.
Drink in hand, he made his way to the sofa and sat down. He slowly sipped his drink and stare into the mock flame effect that dance before his eyes. He just sat there, staring at the fire and letting the minutes pass him by.
He was not sure how long his mind had wandered for before he came back to the present. He knew that he was hungry and should really fix himself something to eat. He could not face anything major. Truth be told, he had not really eaten properly all week. He would just have something light. Something to take the edge off the hunger pangs.
Five minutes later he returned to the lounge with some cheese on rustic bread. It was nothing fancy but it would serve its purpose. He turned the fire down a notch since the room was nicely warmed through and fixed himself another drink, before returning to the sofa and his necessary snack.
Whilst chewing on one of his open sandwiches, he started to flick through the mail opening each one in turn. Bill, Bill, Charity appeal, Bill. Then he saw the last letter in the pile, one completely different to the normal ‘run of the mill’ mail that he normally received. It was just a standard white envelope, with hand written address and a second class stamp on it.
He recognised the hand writing immediately. It was distinctive. He would know it anyway. Then he looked at the post mark that covered the stamp. Saturday, it had been post marked Saturday. It was post marked before.
He quickly ripped open the envelope and pulled out the sheets of writing paper inside. Each piece was hand written in the same distinctive handwriting.
He slowly took a drink from the glass that rested on the arm of the sofa and started to read.
Dear Tom,
You probably have been asking yourself why I did it. You probably have been wondering whether there was something that you missed, something that you should have seen. You probably have been wondering whether there was something that you could have done to prevent it. I want to explain. I want you to know why and also why I could never tell you before now.
It all started six months ago. Do you remember? You had had that meeting with the Finance Director and had come storming into the office afterwards. You had just found out that someone had been embezzling money from the company. Do you remember? That was when it all started.
The investigation was swift and the evidence was found on Mathew’s computer. The investigators found copies of all the fake invoices that had been processed by Accounts. They found evidence which linked him to the PO Box number that the cheques had been issued to.
I can still remember your anger when the Crown Prosecution Service said that they did not have enough to bring the case to trial. But did that really matter in the end? He had lost everything anyway. His job, his reputation, even his family left him. He had nothing left. That was why he killed himself.
But he had protested his innocence until the very end. Even in his suicide note he maintained he was innocent and that he had been framed for the fraud. But, in the end, this was not enough to keep him going. He had lost everything and had nothing to live for anymore. That was why he killed himself in the end.
You believed that his guilt had finally gotten to him. You believed that he could no longer handle the guilt of stealing all that money from the company. You believed that, in taking his own life, he had proven that he had done it.
It is hard to believe that it was four months ago that Mathew’s killed himself. Even now I can still remember every detail of the day that we found out. That day as haunted me ever since.
He went to the grave protesting his innocence and the truth of it is he was. Mathew’s did not do it. I did. I was the one that took the money. I was the one that perpetrated the fraud against the company.
I had been desperate for money. I was on the verge of losing the house because I could not afford to keep up the payments. I had been banking on a pay rise to help but it was not going to happen. Do you remember? The company had been going through a bad patch and no one was going to get a pay rise or a bonus that year.
I was desperate and so I came up with the plan. It was very simple really. Submit fake invoices, get Accounts to process them, and then cash the cheques. I remember my nerves the first time that I did it. I am surprised that I did not crack there and then. I was sure that you would have noticed at the time. But you didn’t and I got away with it.
I cannot say that I did not feel guilty about what I had done because I did. However, what choice did I have? I need the money and there was no other way of getting it.
Once business was better and I got that pay rise I did think of stopping. I did think of giving it up. Looking back with hindsight I wish I had. But I did not. After all, it had been a year and I had not been caught.
But I did stop taking the money for myself. I started to make donations to charity with it instead. I think donating the money helped ease my conscience a bit. After all, I was no longer doing it for my benefit. I was doing it for the benefit of others now. I felt like a modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. I did start feeling good about myself. It is just a shame that it did not last that long.
I had always had a plan in place, just in case my scheme got uncovered. It was never actually meant to be Mathew’s who took the fall. It should have been Johnston. He was perfect for the role of fall guy, especially after how he humiliated you over the Franken fiasco. He deserved to be taken down.
It would have been Johnston if he had not had that heart attack which took him out of the picture. How could he be blamed for something when he was not around?
It was purely by chance that it was Mathew’s that got picked to be the replacement. If he had not gone back to the hotel room with Sandra at the Christmas Party then he might never have been picked. But he did and he was.
It was easy enough to befriend him really, to gain his trust. I think he was desperate to feel wanted. So, the squash games started, and then the nights out. Within a very short space of time I knew his computer password, which is all I ever really wanted from him.
So, when everything got discovered it was easy to plant the evidence on his computer. If only I had known then how it would have played out. If only I had known what would have happened. But I didn’t know and so I framed him.
I felt relieved when he was sacked. I was relieved that it was over with. I was relieved that I had gotten away with it. If only it had lasted.
Mathew’s death hit me hard. After all, I was to blame for it. I was responsible for what happened to him. If I had not done it, if I had not planted the evidence on his computer, then he would have been alive. But I did and he is not.
For four months I have had to live with the knowledge of what I have done. For four months I have had to live with the knowledge that I am responsible for his death. I have lived with this for four months and I cannot live with it any longer.
I am responsible for him taking his life. I am responsible for pulling the trigger. I am responsible for his death. I am responsible and I cannot live with the guilt any longer.
This is why I am going to end it tonight. Now you know the reason. You know the reason why I can no longer go on living with myself, and the reason why I could never have come to you to explain.
I am not sorry for starting the fraud. After all, it was only money. But I am sorry that I continued with it when I did not need to. I am sorry that I framed Mathew’s for it rather than taking responsibility for it myself.
I am sorry that I betrayed your trust. A part of me thinks that I should not be writing this letter, that I should not be explaining it to you. But
I know that I must. I know that you need to know the truth. You need to know what I have done and why I cannot live with the guilt any longer.
I hope that you can forgive me but I understand if you cannot. You deserve to know the truth. What you do with it I leave up to you.
I’m sorry.
David
Tom stared at the last page of the letter. He had no idea what his friend had done. He had no idea what he had been going through. He had no idea the secret that had been slowly eating away at him.
He finished the last of the drink that remained in his glass before going to fix another one, which he quickly downed.
David had always been a good friend to him. He had always been there for him, both at work and away from it. He had always been there when he need him.
Putting the empty glass down, he went over to ash tray that sat on the coffee table and started to tear the letter into little pieces. He dropped the pieces into the ash tray and lit a match, which he dropped on top of them. He watched the paper burn until all that was left was the blackened remains of David’s confession.
He may not have been therefore him at the end, but he could be there for him now.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
The Unbearable Necessity of Time Constraints
Today I have realised something about myself, which as really come to light in this brave new world of unemployment. I need targets. I need constraints on my time.
When I was working I would always find a way of meeting my work targets and fit in the requirements of my day to day life. However, without the constraints on my time I am finding that I am fitting in less than what I would have done when I was working.
Allowing for an eight hour day at work (including lunch time) and a good eight hours sleep at night, I had eight hours for life. Eight hours to fit in what I needed to do, what I wanted to do. Now I have sixteen hours a day to do what I want, and I am finding that I am doing little with my time.
I was always looking forward forward to having a break from the nine to five after I was made redundant. The idea was to spend this break between jobs to do some of the stuff that I wanted, to concentrate on me. However, I am finding that with all the extra time that I have I am not doing so. I am now approaching the end of month two and I have not done half the things that I wanted to do.
I am reading but not as much as I could. My daily TV watching is just backing up, when I used to be on top of it. I have not been as active over the last couple of weeks, compared to how I was when I first became unemployed. I have written nothing, even though the aim was to do so.
I have realised that I am basically just adrift, wandering like the proverbial cloud. What I need again is constraints upon my time. I need to force myself to do the things that I wanted to do with my time whilst I was between jobs.
And this is what I need to now distill back into my life. I need to set myself targets. I need to focus more on what I wanted to do.
Firstly, I need to become more active again. I had done so well previously with getting rid of some weight but this as now stopped. I need to get back to doing a few hours worth of walking again. I need to get myself out and about earlier than I have been doing. I need to push myself into being more active.
Secondly, I need to pick up the speed on the reading. I am now going to alternate between fiction and non-fiction/academic books. During the day whilst I am out I am going to read a non-fiction book, and one hour every night before bed I am going to read a fiction book.
Thirdly, I need to focus on clearing that backlog of comics that I have to read. I am probably about a month and a half behind. I need to get back on top of this so that I am back to reading the weeks comic buy in the week that I buy them.
Fourthly, I need to start writing. I had an idea for a series of short stories before I finished work. I need to focus on trying to get these stories down on paper (well, computer screen anyway). This might be one of the hardest things to do. I am going to aim to have written the first of the stories within the next two weeks. Hopefully after the first one is done the others will come a lot easier.
Fifthly, I need to really focus on getting the flat sorted. I am not happy with the layout of the rooms and will needed to spend some time moving things around until I am happy. I think this will be best done after my travel pass as run out. Maybe a week of solid focus on this front will get it sorted.
Sixthly, I need to get the TV backlog sorted and stop putting off watching things. This definitely includes the new Prisoner which I need to get up the enthusiasm to watch. By the end of next week this will be done.
So, that is the plan. Six things to do. Six things to put constraints on my time. Six things to focus on. Six things to achieve.
When I was working I would always find a way of meeting my work targets and fit in the requirements of my day to day life. However, without the constraints on my time I am finding that I am fitting in less than what I would have done when I was working.
Allowing for an eight hour day at work (including lunch time) and a good eight hours sleep at night, I had eight hours for life. Eight hours to fit in what I needed to do, what I wanted to do. Now I have sixteen hours a day to do what I want, and I am finding that I am doing little with my time.
I was always looking forward forward to having a break from the nine to five after I was made redundant. The idea was to spend this break between jobs to do some of the stuff that I wanted, to concentrate on me. However, I am finding that with all the extra time that I have I am not doing so. I am now approaching the end of month two and I have not done half the things that I wanted to do.
I am reading but not as much as I could. My daily TV watching is just backing up, when I used to be on top of it. I have not been as active over the last couple of weeks, compared to how I was when I first became unemployed. I have written nothing, even though the aim was to do so.
I have realised that I am basically just adrift, wandering like the proverbial cloud. What I need again is constraints upon my time. I need to force myself to do the things that I wanted to do with my time whilst I was between jobs.
And this is what I need to now distill back into my life. I need to set myself targets. I need to focus more on what I wanted to do.
Firstly, I need to become more active again. I had done so well previously with getting rid of some weight but this as now stopped. I need to get back to doing a few hours worth of walking again. I need to get myself out and about earlier than I have been doing. I need to push myself into being more active.
Secondly, I need to pick up the speed on the reading. I am now going to alternate between fiction and non-fiction/academic books. During the day whilst I am out I am going to read a non-fiction book, and one hour every night before bed I am going to read a fiction book.
Thirdly, I need to focus on clearing that backlog of comics that I have to read. I am probably about a month and a half behind. I need to get back on top of this so that I am back to reading the weeks comic buy in the week that I buy them.
Fourthly, I need to start writing. I had an idea for a series of short stories before I finished work. I need to focus on trying to get these stories down on paper (well, computer screen anyway). This might be one of the hardest things to do. I am going to aim to have written the first of the stories within the next two weeks. Hopefully after the first one is done the others will come a lot easier.
Fifthly, I need to really focus on getting the flat sorted. I am not happy with the layout of the rooms and will needed to spend some time moving things around until I am happy. I think this will be best done after my travel pass as run out. Maybe a week of solid focus on this front will get it sorted.
Sixthly, I need to get the TV backlog sorted and stop putting off watching things. This definitely includes the new Prisoner which I need to get up the enthusiasm to watch. By the end of next week this will be done.
So, that is the plan. Six things to do. Six things to put constraints on my time. Six things to focus on. Six things to achieve.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
The Aesthetic Duty
To fully understand the Aesthetic Duty it is important to understand what Beauty is, since understanding this leads to the central reason for the Aesthetic Duty.
Beauty is, above everything else, undefinable. What is beautiful to me may not be to the next person. Our relationship with beauty is very much a subjective thing. The important thing is why. Why do you find something beautiful when the next person does not?
Take a work of art as an example. It is possible to break it down into subject matter, the use of colour and shade, the way that the brush stroke captures a scene. It is possible to de-construct the final piece into its constituent parts. But in doing this we do not get to understand why something is beautiful to us. We also do not understand why it is beautiful to us but to someone else it is not.
There is no absolute Form of beauty, in the Platonic sense. There is not some overarching Form from which all beauty is distilled particular examples of. If this was the case then everyone would find the same things beautiful.
Beauty is very much a subjective thing, a very individual reaction to something. No matter the rationale that we place on it, the reaction is personal to ourselves.
The reason for the individualistic reaction to something is because the reaction in question is very much an emotional one. When we find something beautiful we are actually having an emotional response to the thing in question - whether it be a person, an occasion, a work of art.
Emotions are very much a private thing, something which is personal to us. We may share similar emotional responses with other people, but the actual emotional response is very much individual and personal. No two people will have the same exact emotional response to something. We may have a similar broad-category emotional response (like being happy) but the actual response will be different.
When we say something is beautiful we are having a positive emotional response to something, as opposed to a negative/ugly response.
And this is the key to the Aesthetic Duty. Positive emotions are better than negative ones. When we have positive emotions we feel good, as opposed to feeling bad from negative emotions.
It is better to feel good than it is to feel bad. Positive emotions can put a spring in our step, can make our world seem brighter, can give us a positive outlook upon life.
If this is the effect of positive responses to things then it follows that it is important to surround yourself with beauty. Whether it is things, people, places, sounds, smells is unimportant. The important thing is that we are exposed to things that give us positive responses.
Surrounding ourselves with beautiful things means surrounding ourselves with things that give us positive emotions, which in turn make us feel good within.
Sometimes we must be exposed to negative emotions. An everyday example could be our working life. Presuming that we do not get a positive reaction from our working life, then it is important to try and turn it into one. This might be something which we enjoy about our work. It might be something which we can add to the working day which helps us endure the negative. Whatever it is, if we can identify the positive response we can help combat the negative.
The Aesthetic Duty is, therefore, to surround our lives with beautiful things, the things can give us positive emotional responses, which will make us feel good within. It is too easy to put up with the negatives and the things that make us feel bad within. In embracing the beautiful things we can combat this. We can strive to survive the negatives and live a life full of good things. Where possible we need to remove the negative, ugly things in our lives and replace them with beautiful things. Where we cannot do this we must try and find the hidden beauty within it so to try and make the ugly experience as beautiful as possible.
In removing the ugly things from our lives we can start to live a life where we feel good within, rather than having to put up with lives were we feel bad.
Beauty is, above everything else, undefinable. What is beautiful to me may not be to the next person. Our relationship with beauty is very much a subjective thing. The important thing is why. Why do you find something beautiful when the next person does not?
Take a work of art as an example. It is possible to break it down into subject matter, the use of colour and shade, the way that the brush stroke captures a scene. It is possible to de-construct the final piece into its constituent parts. But in doing this we do not get to understand why something is beautiful to us. We also do not understand why it is beautiful to us but to someone else it is not.
There is no absolute Form of beauty, in the Platonic sense. There is not some overarching Form from which all beauty is distilled particular examples of. If this was the case then everyone would find the same things beautiful.
Beauty is very much a subjective thing, a very individual reaction to something. No matter the rationale that we place on it, the reaction is personal to ourselves.
The reason for the individualistic reaction to something is because the reaction in question is very much an emotional one. When we find something beautiful we are actually having an emotional response to the thing in question - whether it be a person, an occasion, a work of art.
Emotions are very much a private thing, something which is personal to us. We may share similar emotional responses with other people, but the actual emotional response is very much individual and personal. No two people will have the same exact emotional response to something. We may have a similar broad-category emotional response (like being happy) but the actual response will be different.
When we say something is beautiful we are having a positive emotional response to something, as opposed to a negative/ugly response.
And this is the key to the Aesthetic Duty. Positive emotions are better than negative ones. When we have positive emotions we feel good, as opposed to feeling bad from negative emotions.
It is better to feel good than it is to feel bad. Positive emotions can put a spring in our step, can make our world seem brighter, can give us a positive outlook upon life.
If this is the effect of positive responses to things then it follows that it is important to surround yourself with beauty. Whether it is things, people, places, sounds, smells is unimportant. The important thing is that we are exposed to things that give us positive responses.
Surrounding ourselves with beautiful things means surrounding ourselves with things that give us positive emotions, which in turn make us feel good within.
Sometimes we must be exposed to negative emotions. An everyday example could be our working life. Presuming that we do not get a positive reaction from our working life, then it is important to try and turn it into one. This might be something which we enjoy about our work. It might be something which we can add to the working day which helps us endure the negative. Whatever it is, if we can identify the positive response we can help combat the negative.
The Aesthetic Duty is, therefore, to surround our lives with beautiful things, the things can give us positive emotional responses, which will make us feel good within. It is too easy to put up with the negatives and the things that make us feel bad within. In embracing the beautiful things we can combat this. We can strive to survive the negatives and live a life full of good things. Where possible we need to remove the negative, ugly things in our lives and replace them with beautiful things. Where we cannot do this we must try and find the hidden beauty within it so to try and make the ugly experience as beautiful as possible.
In removing the ugly things from our lives we can start to live a life where we feel good within, rather than having to put up with lives were we feel bad.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Return from the rabbit hole
So we have embraced the only Truth that all we can know is that we think, and in doing so we have fallen down the nihilist rabbit hole. How can we function if we can know nothing else but this single truth?
The only way back out of the rabbit hole is through trust. If we continue to deny everything as an illusion then there is no return. We are stuck in a situation where all we can really know is that we think since everything else our senses provide us with can be denied.
We must take, in essence and for lack of better terminology, a leap of faith. We have to trust what our senses tell us. If something looks like a rock, feels like a rock, and smells like a rock then we got to be able to trust that it actually is a rock.
This same level of trust in our senses is what allows us to function in Society. All we can know is our own thoughts and what our senses present us with. We cannot know the thoughts of another. In this way, the Other is closed to us.
But if we cannot know the thoughts of the Other then what can we know of them? This comes from what our senses present us with, what we can deduct from the information gathers. We may not know what the Other is thinking but from their actions we can deduct.
This requires trust. Trust that the actions of the Other, that what the Other is presenting to our senses, is what they are thinking. We deduce from our senses and the information gathered.
But this can only function if the trust is there. We trust the Other to act in a way that is consistent with their thoughts. If the Other acts contrary to these thoughts, and we discover that they are acting contrary to their thoughts, then the trust goes.
When the trust goes, when we start to doubt the Other, then the basis of Civil Society starts to break down. It breaks down because we are left in a situation where only our thoughts can be trusted. We cannot rely on our senses to deduct since their is no trust in the Other. The Other may well be deliberately deceiving our senses. The Other could be trying to make us doubt what we know.
Without the trust that the Other is acting in up-most good faith toward us, that the Other is being honest in the information that they provide us with, we cannot interact with them. We must always remain of the opinion that they are not being honest with us, we cannot have any trust that their actions and their thoughts are in synch.
Just as we must trust our senses so too we must be able to trust the Other. But when we cannot trust the Other then they truly become closed to us, they become unknowable.
To return from the rabbit hole of nihilism we must have trust, because without trust it is impossible to function within the world in general, and within society specifically. With trust in our senses we can honestly hope to deduce true information about the world around us. But we can only deduce correctly if the information presented by the sense is indeed honest information.
We must have trust in our senses, and trust in the Other, because without either we will never leave the nice rabbit hole of our own thought.
The only way back out of the rabbit hole is through trust. If we continue to deny everything as an illusion then there is no return. We are stuck in a situation where all we can really know is that we think since everything else our senses provide us with can be denied.
We must take, in essence and for lack of better terminology, a leap of faith. We have to trust what our senses tell us. If something looks like a rock, feels like a rock, and smells like a rock then we got to be able to trust that it actually is a rock.
This same level of trust in our senses is what allows us to function in Society. All we can know is our own thoughts and what our senses present us with. We cannot know the thoughts of another. In this way, the Other is closed to us.
But if we cannot know the thoughts of the Other then what can we know of them? This comes from what our senses present us with, what we can deduct from the information gathers. We may not know what the Other is thinking but from their actions we can deduct.
This requires trust. Trust that the actions of the Other, that what the Other is presenting to our senses, is what they are thinking. We deduce from our senses and the information gathered.
But this can only function if the trust is there. We trust the Other to act in a way that is consistent with their thoughts. If the Other acts contrary to these thoughts, and we discover that they are acting contrary to their thoughts, then the trust goes.
When the trust goes, when we start to doubt the Other, then the basis of Civil Society starts to break down. It breaks down because we are left in a situation where only our thoughts can be trusted. We cannot rely on our senses to deduct since their is no trust in the Other. The Other may well be deliberately deceiving our senses. The Other could be trying to make us doubt what we know.
Without the trust that the Other is acting in up-most good faith toward us, that the Other is being honest in the information that they provide us with, we cannot interact with them. We must always remain of the opinion that they are not being honest with us, we cannot have any trust that their actions and their thoughts are in synch.
Just as we must trust our senses so too we must be able to trust the Other. But when we cannot trust the Other then they truly become closed to us, they become unknowable.
To return from the rabbit hole of nihilism we must have trust, because without trust it is impossible to function within the world in general, and within society specifically. With trust in our senses we can honestly hope to deduce true information about the world around us. But we can only deduce correctly if the information presented by the sense is indeed honest information.
We must have trust in our senses, and trust in the Other, because without either we will never leave the nice rabbit hole of our own thought.
Saturday, 21 November 2009
The only knowable Truth.
In the classic thought experiment of Rene Descartes it is argued, through the use of a Grand Deceiver, that the only thing that we can truly know is that we think. I think, therefore I am. Everything else can be denied as being the work of the Grand Deceiver. The only thing that we cannot deny is that we think.
This is indeed very true. As individuals, all we can know is ourselves and nothing else. Our experiences with the world around us is through our senses, on which we rely to function in the world. We have five in total and through the information we gather from these senses we interpret the world that we inhabit.
But how much can we rely upon these senses? We might have a condition like colour blindness which means that we will doubt certain information that our sight presents us with. We might be deaf, at which point we gain no information from our hearing at all. In these cases, we discount the information (or lack of it) and compensate accordingly.
But what if we do not have such a deficiency in our senses? What if we feel we are able to rely upon them? What happens if we are told that what our senses are telling us is wrong?
This is a difficult position to be in. If we are told that one of our senses is giving wrong information then we can fall back onto medical science to have it checked. Could it not be that there is a deficiency in that sense that we do not know about? This will lead us into a situation where we can correct the information from this sense in future situations.
The situation is more complicated when we are told that in a situation two of our senses have failed us. Our senses are, in essence, independent of each other. Each one gives us different information, from which we build our picture of the world. If one of these senses fails us in a given situation then we have the other four to rely upon. But if two of the five fails us then what then?
How is it possible to function in the world when we cannot rely upon these two senses that, up to that point, we have always been able to rely upon? We have never had cause to doubt them before. They have always provided us with reliable information up to that point. Or have they?
And this is the problem. Doubt. Doubting of the information that we have received. If we cannot rely upon this information then where are we? We are back where we started. All we can know is that we think and that is it. We cannot rely upon anything else since our senses may well be deceiving us.
We know that we think, and that is all. We can only know our own thoughts and nothing else. Everything else can be denied. Nothing else can be trusted to be true.
The only truth in the world is that we think. Everything else is just interpretation. An opinion. A viewpoint. Nothing more.
No matter what happens in our lives, we must always be truly alone. It is the only thing that can be known. The only thing that can be held to be true.
I think, therefore I am, and nothing more.
This is indeed very true. As individuals, all we can know is ourselves and nothing else. Our experiences with the world around us is through our senses, on which we rely to function in the world. We have five in total and through the information we gather from these senses we interpret the world that we inhabit.
But how much can we rely upon these senses? We might have a condition like colour blindness which means that we will doubt certain information that our sight presents us with. We might be deaf, at which point we gain no information from our hearing at all. In these cases, we discount the information (or lack of it) and compensate accordingly.
But what if we do not have such a deficiency in our senses? What if we feel we are able to rely upon them? What happens if we are told that what our senses are telling us is wrong?
This is a difficult position to be in. If we are told that one of our senses is giving wrong information then we can fall back onto medical science to have it checked. Could it not be that there is a deficiency in that sense that we do not know about? This will lead us into a situation where we can correct the information from this sense in future situations.
The situation is more complicated when we are told that in a situation two of our senses have failed us. Our senses are, in essence, independent of each other. Each one gives us different information, from which we build our picture of the world. If one of these senses fails us in a given situation then we have the other four to rely upon. But if two of the five fails us then what then?
How is it possible to function in the world when we cannot rely upon these two senses that, up to that point, we have always been able to rely upon? We have never had cause to doubt them before. They have always provided us with reliable information up to that point. Or have they?
And this is the problem. Doubt. Doubting of the information that we have received. If we cannot rely upon this information then where are we? We are back where we started. All we can know is that we think and that is it. We cannot rely upon anything else since our senses may well be deceiving us.
We know that we think, and that is all. We can only know our own thoughts and nothing else. Everything else can be denied. Nothing else can be trusted to be true.
The only truth in the world is that we think. Everything else is just interpretation. An opinion. A viewpoint. Nothing more.
No matter what happens in our lives, we must always be truly alone. It is the only thing that can be known. The only thing that can be held to be true.
I think, therefore I am, and nothing more.
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