Category Archives: Philosophy

Five Wise Lines [May 2024]

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Play is a state of mind, rather than an activity.

Stuart brown in PLay: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and Invigorates the soul

My sins are running out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I come to judge the sins of another!

From Sayings of the Desert Fathers
(A Senior Monk’s reply upon being asked to Judge a younger monk’s actions)

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth! But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Matthew 5: 38&39

I have no scepter, but I have a pen.

Voltaire to Fredrick the great

If a man is born to error, let us wish him virtuous errors.

Voltaire; ON Superstition

BOOK: “Toleration and Other Essays” by Voltaire

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A Treatise on Toleration and Other Essays (Great Minds Series)A Treatise on Toleration and Other Essays by Voltaire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Project Gutenberg — Free Access

This collection gathers together eight essays and a poem. The theme that interconnects these works is a petition to avoid petty tribalism and irrationality / superstition in the practice of one’s religion. The titular essay, “On Toleration,” sets the collection’s tone, beginning with its detailing of the murder of Jean Calas on religious grounds and its exploration of many more acts of savagery attributable to sectarian forces in alliance with authoritarian governments. The poem, “Poem on the Lisbon Disaster,” echoes the central idea of “Candide” — i.e. the idea that we live in the best of all possible worlds is patently false.

As one would expect of Voltaire, there is plenty of humor and satire throughout these pieces. The arguments are also generally well supported by facts. It is clear that Voltaire possessed a great deal of the knowledge of his day. That said, the reader may well find some factual errors. Most notably, Voltaire tends to attribute a kind of enlightened utopian vision to cultures with which he was likely largely unfamiliar as he builds a case against many within the culture with which he is familiar. This isn’t to say that there isn’t some truth to Eastern traditions being historically more tolerant of other sects than the Abrahamic religions, but the degree to which he extends these idyllic views of those outside of Europe (and the details, thereof) don’t always seem to comport with the historic record.

While some may be inclined to dismiss this book as a collection of anti-religion writings, it is really not anti-belief at all. (Though he does poke holes in many a Biblical myth, so too does he actually provide a deist argument in favor of the existence of a god or gods in the book’s final essay.) Instead, the collection is anti-intolerance, anti-superstition, and anti-authoritarianism. I’d highly recommend this book for all readers. Whatever flaws it may contain are outweighed by the great importance of its message and the cleverness with which Voltaire conveys said message.

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BOOKS: “Christianity: A Very Short Introduction” by Linda Woodhead

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Christianity: A Very Short IntroductionChristianity: A Very Short Introduction by Linda Woodhead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Page OUP

The central idea of this book is that (despite all the complexity of schisms, sects, and subsects) the various entities that call themselves Christian can be put into one of three categories: church, biblical, or mystical. These groups reflect where the adherents see the ultimate source of authority. Church Christians, exemplified by Roman Catholics, view the hierarchy of clergy as the ultimate authority. Biblical Christians, e.g. Baptists, see the Bible as the highest authority. Finally, mystics see the individual’s relationship with (or connection to or oneness with) God to be what matters.

Bookending elaboration upon those three forms of Christianity, there is an opening that discusses early development of the Christian religion and the dividing lines that characterized it (e.g. whether Jesus was man, god, or a bit of both,) and there is a closing chapter about modern Christianity that explores various modern movements, such as: liberal Christianity, Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism, and charismatic Christianity.

If you’re interested in understanding the various permutations of Christianity (past and present,) and how they developed and differentiated themselves, this is a fine introduction to the subject.

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Countless Pieces of Hate [Free Verse]

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Countless pieces of hate
   Tumble through our days,
   Clogging up our Flow --

Tiny bites of thought
   Pit us against 
   Imagined adversaries...

But aren't all adversaries 
   Imagined adversaries?

 Those who act badly against us
   Are only adversaries 
   If we slide them into that
   Mental basket.

BOOKS: “Teachings of the Christian Mystics” ed. by Andrew Harvey

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Teachings of the Christian Mystics (Shambhala Pocket Library)Teachings of the Christian Mystics by Andrew Harvey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Acquired at Blossom Bookhouse

This book gathers a collection of short writings (mostly paragraph to a few page excerpts as well as a few poems) on mystic Christianity from the time of the Gospels through the twentieth century. While the bulk of the pieces are (if not from scriptures) the work of clergymen and / or theologians, there are some by individuals known elsewise (e.g. poets William Blake and Gerard Manley Hopkins.) The book is arranged somewhat, but not perfectly, chronologically — enough that all the Biblical excerpts are lumped together at the beginning to form about the first quarter of the selections. While there are a number of one-off contributors, there are several pieces from each of: Gregory of Nyssa, the Desert Fathers, Saint Symeon the New Theologian, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Eckhart von Hochheim.

One nice feature of this book is that it does include selections from a wide range of sources (Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, and Protestant) over a range of time periods, and from scriptures both canonical and “apocryphal.” So, there are many varied ideas of the mystical experience and the path thereto. The flipside of this fact is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of cohesiveness to the collection. It isn’t always clear why Harvey (the editor) thought a given excerpt was representative of mystic teachings versus of mainstream Christianity. There is a substantial introduction, but otherwise the selections are left to speak for themselves.

Still, it was a quick read, dense with insights, and I found — particularly some of the scriptural selections — to be among the most profound statements of Christian philosophy that I’ve seen.

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“Finely Woven” [Poetry Style #14] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

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The building blocks of everything --
   Too fine to feel or see or smell --
 Dance their way into hardened shapes
   Via forces, invisible.
 And so water flows, flowers bud,
   But - also - dew evaporates.
 This expansive path stretches on --
   It's slow-going through dark lands.
 It can't be spoken of smartly.
 It can't be pondered fruitfully.
 It's Early Spring green in sunlight,
   Or like the snow seen by moonlight.

NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a translation of the fourteenth of the twenty-four poems. Translated titles vary: Giles calls it “Close Woven” and others have titled it, “Fine.”

BOOKS: “The Pass of the Persecuted” by Guram Odisharia

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The Pass of the PersecutedThe Pass of the Persecuted by Guram Odisharia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Prospero’s Books

I picked up this book at Prospero’s Books in Tbilisi as part of my continuing effort to consume literature from every place I visit. It’s one of those books that’s small in page count (less than 100pp.) but massive in emotional impact. It tells of the author’s flight from Abkhazia (a contested region between Georgia and Russia on the Black Sea) on foot over a high mountain pass in the early 1990’s. It shines a harsh light on the refugee experience (though I don’t know that the term “refugee” is technically correct as Odisharia was both leaving from and going to a country to which he was a citizen.)

Besides being a visceral story of hardship, this thin book is weighty with powerful language, and it offers some vivid philosophical insights — e.g. “Miserable is the country where a bullet is valued more than a kind word, where hatred means more than love.” or “Mountains are like great love. Great love makes a kind man kinder, and a wicked man more wicked, a niggardly man more niggardly, a greedy man greedier, a cowardly man more cowardly, a naive man more naive…”

I found this book to be well worth reading.

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BOOK: “How To Be The Best Improviser On Earth” by Will Hines

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How To Be The Greatest Improviser On EarthHow To Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth by Will Hines
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This guide to performing improv comedy alternates chapters that explore various tenets of the art with chapters that present exercises to help one carry out said tenets in practice. So, it is both a philosophy of improv and a how-to manual. The tenets include: “be present,” “be changeable,” “be brave,” “be authentic,” and “be funny” — among others.

Being a neophyte to the subject, I knew nothing beyond the oft joked upon advice to always “Yes, and…” during a scene, a lesson intended to keep a scene moving and which also provides much material for wisecracks. This book doesn’t spend much time on that rule beyond discussing when one should break it, and how one can do so without bringing a scene to a halt. The key takeaways of the book were about pacing and the need for normality in contrast to the absurdity to make a scene funny. That is, one can’t just go to the whackiest place possible out of the gate and with all characters, instead it is the contrast between everyday conversation and the introduction of an absurd premise that makes a scene funny. As with the “straight man” of a comedic duo, one needs straight elements or characters.

I found this book to be informative. It’s a quick read and offers much food-for-thought that could benefit one offstage as well as on.

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PROMPT: Work / Life Balance

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How do you balance work and home life?

Live in the moment.

PROMPT: Leader / Follower

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Are you a leader or a follower?

That’s a tough one because I think most people who would describe themselves as followers have failed to write their story boldly enough. Yet, the majority of people who describe themselves as leaders are more full of hot-air than of the capacity to inspire others to action.

I’d say, overall, I’m neither a good follower nor a good leader, but in varied contexts – as necessary – I can pull off either.

I think it might just be a false dichotomy.