Slow Progress to the Score of Summer

I am still trudging along in this thesis. Sometimes it stops making any sense to me. I've worked the argument over so many times. Some days it is painfully obvious, and I'm afraid I'm really not contributing anything novel at all. Other days, it seems convoluted and contrived, and I'm afraid it's full of dead ends and unsubstantiated claims. Some days it drives me to distraction. Some days I am certain that this is my calling.

In any case, I'll hand it in within a week's time. Whether it's a turning point in my life, or just an eight month nightmare, it is soon coming to a close. Unfortunately, something as seemingly inconsequential as a letter grade will decide which way this goes. I'm sure I want to keep going to school, but I may shelve Heidegger for some time, lest I start writing like him. That ship may have sailed.

As I work away at it on a Friday night, my window open to relieve the stuffiness in this room, I can hear the sounds of cars bringing partygoers into the city. I can hear expensive shoes beating the pavement, and slurred speech creeping through the still night air, into my window, into my brain. A man is playing harmonica down the street.

During the day, I can hear children playing. On Sunday, if the weather is nice, I will sit here typing away to the beat of drums from the park as Tam Tams gets under way to mark the beginning of summer. At the worst of times, this is downright torture. But at least I have some distant company while I labour to finish this work.

I belong in the city. I am a people watcher, and now also a people-listener. If it gets bad, I will be a people-water-balloons-thrower.

Some Rhymes to Pass the Time

I wrote this because it's important to have a sense of humour about oneself. Ironically, it was about the same time that I realized I really want to pursue philosophy as a profession.

Cheers

"Cheers!" says a man
Holding up his glass and sloshing ceremony on his friends

Why cheer?
Why have I friends? To what ends?
Why gather in dankness and drink down the time?
What is time?
As it passes, as I pass, as we pass away
As it twists and turns and flies and burns
What are we?
What am I?
What is "I"?
The I, the eye.
What is? What is Being?
Is there anything? Can nothing be?
What is "What?"

What?

"Cheers!" says a man
And glasses clink, and we drink
And in a blink it's reasoned all away

Examined Life

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Plato

Examined Life is a documentary by Astra Taylor. It is a series of ten-minute interviews with various contemporary philosophers in various cities. Notables include Peter Singer, Judith Butler, and Slavoj Zizek. Aside from being chock full of really interesting ideas, it is also an attempt to get philosophy out of the ivory tower and onto the streets. In each interview, the scholar is placed in an environment that somehow reflects his/her ideas. Singer is interviewed on 5th Avenue in NYC, discussing the moral implications of living the sweet life while others don't even have the bare necessities. Judith Butler walks along the streets of San Francisco with a girl in a wheelchair, and they have a conversation about the social construction of disability. In each interview, the subject and the camera never stop moving, which makes for some innovative cinematography.

I highly recommend this film to anyone with any level of interest in philosophy. It can be a teaser or a sampler for the beginner, or a fascinating mosaic of modern thought for the seasoned scholar. It is insightful, creative, and humorous. It is not by any means light, but all of these philosophers seem to have a great sense of humour, so you get a few laughs in the process.

This idea of reviving philosophy as a vibrant social activity, as opposed to a rigorous academic discipline, really struck a chord with me. While I love what I study, I often find myself wondering what the use of it is if it's so obscure and inaccessible to the common person. There are some great ideas out there, but few of them can be grasped without a significant background in the history of Western thought. On the other hand, bookstores are littered with pop philosophy, which is accessible, but often has to sacrifice the depth and breadth of its content. This movie presented a happy middle ground, resurrecting Socrates' idea that philosophy is a constantly evolving discourse, not a dogma immortalized in books.

Disenchantment

April. Snow on the ground. Enough said.

The winter funk funks on, and funks me over.

With every day of bad weather, I think of more summer pastimes: picnics in the park, beer on patios, reading a book under a tree, spontaneous drum festivals, trips to the farmer's market... I could not live in a warmer climate than this. In the summer, I think of winter pastimes. Each season is only as enjoyable as the anticipation for it. Contrast is the essence of life.