tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343122535318547716.post7602811608630167829..comments2024-02-25T13:25:26.434-08:00Comments on Owl's Farm: The Idea of Order in East McKinneyOwlfarmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15373358232893937182noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343122535318547716.post-6544899464804062852008-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:002008-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:00Well, now you need to read some real philosophy! I...Well, now you need to read some <I>real</I> philosophy! If you want to know about being, you'll need to start with Kant and Hegel and work through to Heidegger and Gadamer . . . but not all by yourself, because real philosophy needs conversation and dialogue. As I mentioned in class, Bach is one of two writers my students tend to encounter in their teens, the other being Ayn Rand. I was so hardened by Rand, in fact, that Bach never did appeal to me--even after I'd made it through my "objectivist phase of existence" by the time I turned 19 or 20. <BR/><BR/>The attraction of these folks is that they offer answers when we haven't yet acquired the background to know what the questions really are. So after I encountered Plato and Aristotle and the rest of the history of philosophy, Rand seemed shallow and simplistic. I really did try to read Bach's first book, but it was, by then, just too fluffy and new agey for an ACMAW (I've probably been one all my life). His "Is" is a watered down, simplified, predigested, and contentless version of Heidegger's <I>Dasein</I>, with some mumbo jumbo thrown in. (Otherwise, of course, I have no opinion on the matter . . . ) A friend describes this sort of thing as "vulgar romantic pantheism" (or VRP--prounounced "verp"--for the acronym lovers). That's not meant to disparage you, because I understand the attraction. But now you're probably ready for the big boys (and girls, although there are fewer of them). I recommend Susan Griffin, a poet and writer about nature and women. Her first book, <I>Woman and Nature</I> is complex but accessible, and you can probably pick up a copy at Half Price Books for cheap. Check out her website, too, at http://susangriffin.com/. And thanks for being such a good sport.Owlfarmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373358232893937182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343122535318547716.post-30382980526548818482008-04-30T03:38:00.000-07:002008-04-30T03:38:00.000-07:00Reading this post made me distinctly think of a qu...Reading this post made me distinctly think of a quote that I think you may like from Richard Bach's <I>Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah</I>. If you haven't read it, you may like it. I recommend it to practically everyone. If you need a copy to read, I'd be happy to loan mine out, as well as the accompanying <I>Messiah's Handbook</I> with it.<BR/><BR/>"Imagine the universe beautiful and just and perfect. Then be sure of one thing:<BR/><BR/>The Is has imagined it quite a bit better than you have."<BR/><BR/>What better order--what better pattern--than what's created by nature, right?Miyamashihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08397617707717232590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343122535318547716.post-73562361725426526142008-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:002008-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00Relax, Homer. If you can keep your enormous carcas...Relax, Homer. If you can keep your enormous carcass out of my garden, you'll be fine. The new "carbon sink" version of the old garden is a technology free zone, and even a big bozo like you would find little to injure himself. And shouldn't you be dismembering a toy gorilla or something instead of reading my blog?Owlfarmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373358232893937182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6343122535318547716.post-44254554552836458772008-04-21T14:34:00.000-07:002008-04-21T14:34:00.000-07:00Geez why did you have to bring up the tomato cages...Geez why did you have to bring up the tomato cages? Those suckers HURT if you get your paw caught in em. Didn't you destroy them after they tried to eat me?Estherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17976841298553583723noreply@blogger.com