Tunnels

When I was in Montenegro, we traveled through the Sozina (Созина) tunnel from Podgorica to Bar on one of our excursions. The tunnel was placed into service on July 13, 2005 (incidentally, my birthday). The tunnel is 4,189 m long, and is the longest and most modern vehicular tunnel in Montenegro. I found the tunnel to be a symbol of the progress of the nation as well as a psychological referent to the 'birth of the nation.' This has started an interest in the mythology of tunnels and their place within the human psyche. This is from an interpretation of dreams about tunnels:

Seeing a tunnel in your dream, represents the vagina, womb, and birth. Thus it may refer to a need for security and nurturance. Dreaming that you are going through a tunnel, suggests that you are exploring aspects of your unconscious. You are opening yourself to a brand new awareness. Alternatively, it indicates your limited perspective. Seeing the light at the end of a tunnel, symbolizes hope.

While I am not much of a subscriber to notions Fruedian and/or Jungian, I still enjoy entertaining the idea of pseudoscience (in dream and subconscious interpretation) as being relevant to our understanding of the world. In other words, whether or not there is 'truth' to the meaning of, say, tunnels, we attribute meaning to them through our construction of mythologies surrounding them.

Here are you nice images of the modern tunnel; well-lit, clean, futuristic, yellow and full of richness and meaning:

Andy Warhol on Eating Alone

Random Thoughts

1) This week I mentioned to a friend that he had grey hair that I hadn't noticed before. Well, for the record, I hope he didn't take it wrong. Grey hair is sexy.

2) I am becoming the person I never knew I could be when I was a young sickly, husky child.

3) I'm reading Foucault again from the later lectures and he is talking about "the care of the self" vis a vis "knowing yourself."

Tricia (Casler) Whitmire (and Vinc Whitmire)

I met Tricia while attending the University of Southern Mississippi. We were in a history class together and it was there we decided we were both Sophists. That was a long time ago, and one of my earliest introductions to philosophy. What can I say about Tricia? She quickly became a Punk in the sense that she held her own views and became amazingly individualistic. She had been in a marching band, but she would not be lock-step ever again. We, of course, discussed the poetry of Morrissey (when he was with The Smiths) and how the words he sang were the most profound we had heard at the time. We also thought about places like Botswana, my initial introduction to global political thought.

Tricia went on to join the Navy. I thought it odd that she would take her nose ring out and put on a uniform, but I would never judge her. After all, so many people in my life have been fiercely patriotic and served their country proudly: my friend Wally Williamson became a Marine while I was still in high school, my friend Glen E. Harrison was in the Air Force (and later the Peace Corp), my partner Clay R. Russell was in the Navy. I was always aware that I could not join the forces had I wanted to, and I might have wanted to. With my heart, and with being gay, it was a club I couldn't join.

But, I assume part of her motivation to join the Navy was based on the fact that her family (father and brother(s)) had been in the service. Her love for her family and it's tradition won her over to the idea. And I feared she would loss her individuality. When you're young, you think that 'individuality' can be lost, or worst yet, taken away from you. It can't be taken away, it has to be surrendered, and Tricia was too strong to surrender hers.

I was so proud to know that she was at the ceremony (acting as a translator) returning Hong Kong sovereignty to China in 1997. This was a quantum leap from sitting together in a junior history class to actually witnessing history in the making. I had a similar feeling for myself when I was in Montenegro just after they declared independence. And, I have a similar feeling for my friend Rushit Veliu who just celebrated independence in Kosovo on February 17, 2008. And I am also proud that through her time in the Navy she has met her life's love Vinc and they will continue to make their own history together.

Plato and a Platypus

Finished reading Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes this week. Not a difficult read at all, and so I would recommend it. It is not for someone who wishes to deeply understand philosophical concepts and their history, but it does go over a number of basics. I guess my main recommendation is it is entertaining. The jokes are not rip-roaringly funny, but I chuckled here and there.

On the negative side, I would have wished the philosophy part had been a bit more extensive and a been a bit more contemporary. I was also shocked that Karl Marx wasn't really touched on, even though the book did talk about political philosophy. I even expected a mention of post-modernism and deconstruction, and, perhaps, mention Derrida.

Give it a go.

Jacques Derrida - The Gift of Death

The Gift of Death by Jacques Derrida


So, I have been reading this late work by Jacques Derrida recently. It was recommended to me by Joan whom I studied with at Otis. She said it was the best work by him. I wasn't sure what to expect, but decided to give it a go.


This book is amazing. Here is what Publishers Weekly has to say...

French philosopher Derrida stares death in the face in this dense but rewarding inquiry. Beginning with an analysis of an essay on the sacred by Czech philosopher/human rights activist Jan Patocka, Derrida follows the development of moral and ethical responsibility, and the concept of the soul's immortality, in the transition from Platonism to Christianity. He then ponders the self's anticipation of death in sacrifice, war, orgiastic mystery cults, murder and execution, with reference to Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, Nietzsche, Heidegger's thought (a "constant attempt to separate itself from Christianity") and the biblical story of Abraham's contemplated sacrifice of his son, Isaac, at God's behest. In the most provocative section, Derrida links religious injunctions of sacrifice to the "monotonous complacency" of modern society, which allows tens of millions of children to die of hunger and disease.

I admit that Chapters One (Secrets of European Responsibility) and Two (Beyond: Giving for the Taking, Teaching and Learning to Give, Death) were fairly easy to read and quite enthralling. Concepts dealing with responsibility and European heritage are fully detailed from the originary Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History by Jan Patočka. But, Chapter Three (Whom to Give to: (Knowing not to Know)) was a stunner. After four rereadings Derrida's subtle deconstruction started to become clearer. It helps to hold two opposing views in mind simultaneously. As for the final Chapter (Tout autre est tout autre), I think ten more readings of it will help. I'll get back to you on how it goes.

In the meanwhile, here is a fantastic essay by Ivan Chvatík titled The Heretical Conception of the European Heritage in the Late Essays of Jan Patočka. Here is Chvatík's abstract of the essay:

In this short piece I am not undertaking to give a full discussion of the whole of Patočka’s ‘heretical’ work. I wish only make clear its most essential core. What, in Patočka’s view, made Europe Europe and what is Europe’s bequest to the world after what Patočka describes as its fall, completed by the two world wars? What should Europe look to conserve in itself if—as seems likely—it would like to once again play a respected role in world events? Is there something which the globalised world should take over from old Europe, or something which it should eschew, if it does not wish history to end and utter decadence to ensue?