With his sentences short and assured, Parfit may seem clearer than his predecessors, but since there is little substance per page to be clear about, the clarity's value is dubitable. Some of his predecessors at least wrote good literature. Surely, reading Partif shall provoke a thought, but efficient that literary provocation will be not. One comes to appreciate Wittgenstein, who thought much, wrote little, had the right ideal of mathematical precision to strive for, fell short of that ideal, and---because of that failure---is still read.
(The early Wittgenstein revealed the futility of traditional philosophic discourse in the scientific age. The late Wittgenstein pursued the only aspect of traditional philosophy to have retained any merit---the collective experience encoded into linguistic patterns---anthropology.)
Physics studies what is true, or approximately predictable. Mathematics studies what is possible, or logically consistent. Short of being a formal derivation of implications from premises, moral philosophy can only survive as an empirical study of what is willed for and by whom.
What matters is discovering facts (done by arts and sciences), discovering the logical implication of these facts (done by mathematics), and discovering the rules for discovering facts and their implications (undertaken by philosophy). It is not obvious that the latter kind of discovery needs a separate discipline and cannot be left to the evolution (of arts, sciences, and mathematics).
To a layman, one of the appeals of philosophy is in its pseudo-scientific nature. Religious doctrines promise understanding without the hard work of science and logic. A kin sense of understanding is evoked by philosophy when it fails to apply a systematic method. Genuine understanding is achieved by an argument with the precision of a computer code; it either executes correctly or it fails. Successful execution requires precise definitions of the objects beyond one's sensory experience; one cannot rely on the consensus innate understanding of such objects. Too often, philosophy borrows its definitions from the vernacular.
Another reason for the layman's enjoyment of philosophy is the seeming accessibility of the minds of philosophy's geniuses. If one reads a frontier philosopher working in the verbal tradition, one understands most of it, if the philosopher is any good. If one reads a frontier mathematician, one understands nothing.
Occasionally, a philosopher would raise a question that does not merit an answer---meaning that whether a particular statement is true has no bearing on how one should live one's life, how the society should be organised, and how scientific inquiry should be structured. Such a question may be infectious, like a mystery story. The inconsequential nature of the question does not imply that it should be dismissed, only that its importance should not be overestimated. Pondering such a question may be a satisfying diversion.
Philosophy that is not a diversion is a heuristic process that, by trial and error, through analogies and introspection, identifies what matters to individuals---i.e., what they appear to be curious about (even if no utilitarian application for that curiosity is yet evident) and what important questions are (even if the framework in which these questions can be addressed is yet unavailable). Such philosophy is perpetually immature.
What distinguishes philosophy from art is that philosophy seeks to establish a common interpretation, whereas art invites individual interpretations linked by family resemblance. Art is a technique that evokes thoughts and feelings, and nudges one towards reasoning, but does not supply reasons. Art is a well-designed distributed computing system. Art's beauty can be appreciated without any formal training; one only needs to have lived or to intend to live.
T.S. Eliot's poetry is a search for meaning that may not exist, a warm-up exercise for prose, a madness's dose, a pose, an irrational book to give the world a rational look, the spectre of an obsessive thought, deflated once articulated.
6 October 2011
"Time on the Cross" by Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman (1974)
For centuries, the abolition of slavery had seemed both politically infeasible and economically calamitous. Reason, gods, and violence had been employed by vested interests in order to defend the status quo. The present-day institutional details that may seem unjust and inefficient in a hundred years from now may be the inter-personal inequality in the consumption of material goods (apparently required to motivate heterogeneously-endowed individuals to work) and the voters' differential regard for the welfare of their compatriots and of foreign citizens.
Today, sufficient individual incentives are provided by avoiding the threats of death and hunger. In future, even better incentives could be provided if an individual's desire to differentiate himself from others is channelled into pursuits more productive than material consumption. The acknowledgement of the equal worth of domestic and foreign citizens would require deeper arguments justifying the tolerance of cross-country consumption inequality than the present-day implicit appeals to entitlement.
The book's distinction is that it focuses on correlations, not exceptions. Using exceptions, a reader can decorate his pet theory, and deceive himself and others. The cultivation of exceptions also makes it easier for a writer to differentiate himself from his competitors. An eye for correlations distinguishes a scientist.
The authors refrain from an anthropomorphic theory ascribing the qualities of an eccentric individual to a social class. Instead, they explore individual incentives. Then, at a class level, under appropriate conditions, individual eccentricities cancel out; behavioural regularities emerge.
The slaves' better-than-free-labour and better-than-freedman material conditions need not distract from the injustice of exploitation, measured by the slaves' superior productivity, but mostly unmeasured. Liberty comes from respect for individual idiosyncrasies. Even if slavery had been comfortable for most, it would have nonetheless been inadmissible because insufferable for few.
Today, sufficient individual incentives are provided by avoiding the threats of death and hunger. In future, even better incentives could be provided if an individual's desire to differentiate himself from others is channelled into pursuits more productive than material consumption. The acknowledgement of the equal worth of domestic and foreign citizens would require deeper arguments justifying the tolerance of cross-country consumption inequality than the present-day implicit appeals to entitlement.
The book's distinction is that it focuses on correlations, not exceptions. Using exceptions, a reader can decorate his pet theory, and deceive himself and others. The cultivation of exceptions also makes it easier for a writer to differentiate himself from his competitors. An eye for correlations distinguishes a scientist.
The authors refrain from an anthropomorphic theory ascribing the qualities of an eccentric individual to a social class. Instead, they explore individual incentives. Then, at a class level, under appropriate conditions, individual eccentricities cancel out; behavioural regularities emerge.
The slaves' better-than-free-labour and better-than-freedman material conditions need not distract from the injustice of exploitation, measured by the slaves' superior productivity, but mostly unmeasured. Liberty comes from respect for individual idiosyncrasies. Even if slavery had been comfortable for most, it would have nonetheless been inadmissible because insufferable for few.
1 October 2011
"Brandeburgs," "The Uncommitted," and "Piazzolla Caldera" by Paul Taylor
(Wadsworth Auditorium, 1 October 2011)
"Brandenburgs": solipsistic, narcissistic, baroque, literal, routine.
"The Uncommitted": formulaic, expressive, sartorially wronged.
"Piazzolla Caldera:" well-engineered, light, musical, accordant.
The dancers, competent, play not, but are being played. Unrefined, the men cannot give class to the women, but do succeed in the same-sex duo in "Piazzolla Caldera"---the dance that most betrays the choreographer's talent.
Modern ballet resembles modernist poetry in its lack of externally imposed structure. The audience may mistake form for the promise of substance. Without reliable grammar, the choreographer may end up with an amorphous product. The talented are liberated; the mediocre are encouraged and multiply.
"Brandenburgs": solipsistic, narcissistic, baroque, literal, routine.
"The Uncommitted": formulaic, expressive, sartorially wronged.
"Piazzolla Caldera:" well-engineered, light, musical, accordant.
The dancers, competent, play not, but are being played. Unrefined, the men cannot give class to the women, but do succeed in the same-sex duo in "Piazzolla Caldera"---the dance that most betrays the choreographer's talent.
Modern ballet resembles modernist poetry in its lack of externally imposed structure. The audience may mistake form for the promise of substance. Without reliable grammar, the choreographer may end up with an amorphous product. The talented are liberated; the mediocre are encouraged and multiply.
5 September 2011
"The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler (1953)
A deep thinker is unlikely to become a Marlowe. Thinking will expose that occupation's risks and suggest alternative opportunities. Nevertheless, in order to survive as a Marlowe (which Marlowe does), one must judge characters well and make winning choices. For that, Marlowe has moral taste, an instinct, or principles. Marlowe is attracted to others who appear to share his good taste---regardless of whether their taste has translated into accomplishments. Aware of the world's imperfections, Marlowe recognises that translation's haphazard nature.
Reading a mystery is addictive. Confronted with a good question, the mind refuses to admit that a good answer may be unavailable. The entire civilization has been built on the addiction to riddles the solutions to which may be beyond one's reach. This irrational addiction is valuable provided one chooses the object of his addiction rationally.
Reading a mystery is addictive. Confronted with a good question, the mind refuses to admit that a good answer may be unavailable. The entire civilization has been built on the addiction to riddles the solutions to which may be beyond one's reach. This irrational addiction is valuable provided one chooses the object of his addiction rationally.
3 September 2011
When the Rain Stops Falling
(Studio Theatre, 3 September 2011)
British plays excel at exploring class, American ones at rebellion, Russian ones at despair. Each subject could be regarded as a dominant trait of the corresponding national character, if there were such a thing as the national character. This Australian play explores whether a sick parent can conceive healthy progeny. Andrew Bovell, the playwright, answers in the affirmative (at least after sufficiently many generations), thereby salvaging the Australian character.
In the same way as the expression of an individual's genes is influenced by his environment, the national character is largely shaped by the rules of the game prescribed by the political and economic systems. A collection of individual characters is an inept metaphor for a country's national character in the same way as an individual's genotype is a poor protagonist for a novel. At best, an individual's character is a symptom, not a cause, of his country's condition. Being mutable, the national character is not as useful a concept as the individual character; politics and economics can be altered in ways that brain cannot be.
Occasionally grotesque, the play nevertheless leaves some room for acting. Each player finds a scene in which to excel. Donna Belleville and Peter Millard excel consistently.
British plays excel at exploring class, American ones at rebellion, Russian ones at despair. Each subject could be regarded as a dominant trait of the corresponding national character, if there were such a thing as the national character. This Australian play explores whether a sick parent can conceive healthy progeny. Andrew Bovell, the playwright, answers in the affirmative (at least after sufficiently many generations), thereby salvaging the Australian character.
In the same way as the expression of an individual's genes is influenced by his environment, the national character is largely shaped by the rules of the game prescribed by the political and economic systems. A collection of individual characters is an inept metaphor for a country's national character in the same way as an individual's genotype is a poor protagonist for a novel. At best, an individual's character is a symptom, not a cause, of his country's condition. Being mutable, the national character is not as useful a concept as the individual character; politics and economics can be altered in ways that brain cannot be.
Occasionally grotesque, the play nevertheless leaves some room for acting. Each player finds a scene in which to excel. Donna Belleville and Peter Millard excel consistently.
22 August 2011
The Heidelberg Project
(Heidelberg St, 20 August 2011)
Art is an exercise in control of an imagined world. Wealth diminishes the artistic urge, as it confers the powers to control the real. Art is an advertisement, an identity broadcast. Age diminishes the artistic urge; over time, one will have been discovered by sufficiently many. Art is a desperate plea to gods in whom one does not believe. Desperation wears out. The art that lasts is a conversation.
Art is an exercise in control of an imagined world. Wealth diminishes the artistic urge, as it confers the powers to control the real. Art is an advertisement, an identity broadcast. Age diminishes the artistic urge; over time, one will have been discovered by sufficiently many. Art is a desperate plea to gods in whom one does not believe. Desperation wears out. The art that lasts is a conversation.
29 July 2011
Friends with Benefits (2011)
Not quite a motion picture, but an (unintentionally) impressionist painting executed by a group of friends and acquaintances in the course of an evening. Not a manifesto, but a memento of friendships, serendipitous encounters, and the both coasts. The supporting characters (of Richard Jenkins, Jenna Elfman, and Woody Harrelson) are well conceived, but poorly integrated---in a way that is true to life, defiant of the Hollywood formula, and, perhaps, compliant with some aggregation rule for the votes collected at the test screenings.
Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are well prepared (even when directed by a committee) to star in the impending era admitting that the lives of the articulate can be, if not comprehensible, then at least gratifying to observe.
Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are well prepared (even when directed by a committee) to star in the impending era admitting that the lives of the articulate can be, if not comprehensible, then at least gratifying to observe.
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