My ideas are in blue, quotes are from Jacques Lacan by Sean Homer:
"Lacan always refers to the subject as arriving or having just arrived; as always too early or too late. There is never a point in time that the subject can be said to finally emerge as a stable and complete entity."
I find this interesting as I tell people that I see myself like this. I'm not complete now and I don't anticipate ever being complete. I think that as an individual I am a constant work in progress and will learn and change until the day I die.
"It also involves a 'want to know' of that which is outside structure, and beyond language"
I struggle with this as there is certainly an inner longing for something beyond language within me.
"A need such as hunger or thirst can be satisfied. Desire on the other hand refers to something beyond basic human needs that cannot be satisfied."
I do think that desire is something that can never be fully satisfied. I think this is because I desire things (people, objects...etc) but once I have that, I still have a desire for more.
"Desire is at the very core of our being and as such it is essentially a relation to lack; indeed, desire and lack are inextricably tied together. Lacan defines desire as the remainder that arises from subtraction of need from demand."
I get that desire is the core of my being. I agree. Desire as need minus demand...that is going to take some more thought...
"The unconscious manifests iteself at those points when language fails and stumbles. The unconscious is precisely this gap or rupture in the symbolic chain."
I can understand the concept of things being beyond words - I feel this and I get it. However, I get confused in the idea that the unconscious is that place where words fail. If the unconscious is the place where words fail - then how am I able to ever come to an understanding of it?
"The more we submit ourselves to the superego imperative, the greater its pressure, the more we feel guilty."
Ultimately this means that I feel more guilty when I give in to my feelings of desire than if I supress them? I don't think this is true. When I give in to my feelings, although relieved and whole, don't normally feel guilty for those feelings - perhaps other negative feelings, but not guilty.
"Any given sign acquires its meaning by virtue of its difference from other signs."
I like this idea! The thing that makes me...me...is the fact that I am not you and I am not Bob.
"Human subjectivity or what we call existence involves this constant process of projecting oneself out on to the world and into the future."
"Take a moment to sit back and consider what the text is doing to you. Think about how you feel at that moment and what effect the language has had upon you."
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
External Unconcious
"Human subjectivity or what we call existence involves this constant process of projecting oneself out on to the world and into the future.[1]"
Nella Larsen’s Quicksand is a prime example of many psychoanalytical ideas including the theories of Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger and Claude Levi-Strauss. The phenomenological theory created by Jacques Lacan, in which he establishes the idea that identity is created through ex-sistence (emphasis on the ex, meaning outward, as opposed to interiority) and projection of oneself into the world, is used as a focus point thought the novel and can come to be seen as the best way to view the actions and reactions associated with Helga’s behavior and unconscious.
Helga is often shown the reader through the visions of others and rarely do we hear how she feels about herself. Helga has learned to identify herself in relationship to the world around her. When speaking about Naxos, the school where she works, Helga says “I think there’s less evils here than in most places, but because we’re trying to do such a big thing, to aim so high, the ugly things show more, they irk some of us more” (20). Here Helga has described the situation at Naxos as one that can not be understood independently. Her view of Naxos has come to be seen through a spiral. By this, it can be said that Helga views Naxos and the people there in relationship to the people outside of Naxos. Only through her viewing Naxos from the outside world can Helga come to draw such a conclusion and view human subjectivity.
In a reversion of roles, Helga is viewed as a subject as well. Upon visiting Denmark, Helga’s Aunt Katrina tells her “you, you’re young. And you’re a foreigner, and different. You must have bright things to set off the color of your lovely brown skin…You must make an impression” (68). Immediately, Katrina is setting Helga up to be a subject within the Denmark social circle. By establishing Helga as a human subject, she quickly comes to see her ex-sistence through the lens of others. When thinking about her own role as subject, Helga says that she “felt like nothing so much as some new and strange species of dog being proudly exhibited” (70). This firmly supports Lacan’s idea that in order to be, one must be seen or noticed by another. This relationship in turn affects both individuals on a subconscious level. Helga does not realize the direct influence that being paraded has on her; however, the feelings of strangeness and anxiety over the situation presented, shows Helga’s unconscious at work.
Whether it be through the works of Sigmund Freud or Jacque Lacan, it is clear that Nella Larsen has several layers of meaning behind each and every character within Quicksand. This representation of characters is much like real life and ultimately we can conclude that through simply purchasing and reading this novel, we have experienced ex-sistence.
[1] Homer, Sean. Jacques Lacan. New York: Routledge, 2005.
Nella Larsen’s Quicksand is a prime example of many psychoanalytical ideas including the theories of Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger and Claude Levi-Strauss. The phenomenological theory created by Jacques Lacan, in which he establishes the idea that identity is created through ex-sistence (emphasis on the ex, meaning outward, as opposed to interiority) and projection of oneself into the world, is used as a focus point thought the novel and can come to be seen as the best way to view the actions and reactions associated with Helga’s behavior and unconscious.
Helga is often shown the reader through the visions of others and rarely do we hear how she feels about herself. Helga has learned to identify herself in relationship to the world around her. When speaking about Naxos, the school where she works, Helga says “I think there’s less evils here than in most places, but because we’re trying to do such a big thing, to aim so high, the ugly things show more, they irk some of us more” (20). Here Helga has described the situation at Naxos as one that can not be understood independently. Her view of Naxos has come to be seen through a spiral. By this, it can be said that Helga views Naxos and the people there in relationship to the people outside of Naxos. Only through her viewing Naxos from the outside world can Helga come to draw such a conclusion and view human subjectivity.
In a reversion of roles, Helga is viewed as a subject as well. Upon visiting Denmark, Helga’s Aunt Katrina tells her “you, you’re young. And you’re a foreigner, and different. You must have bright things to set off the color of your lovely brown skin…You must make an impression” (68). Immediately, Katrina is setting Helga up to be a subject within the Denmark social circle. By establishing Helga as a human subject, she quickly comes to see her ex-sistence through the lens of others. When thinking about her own role as subject, Helga says that she “felt like nothing so much as some new and strange species of dog being proudly exhibited” (70). This firmly supports Lacan’s idea that in order to be, one must be seen or noticed by another. This relationship in turn affects both individuals on a subconscious level. Helga does not realize the direct influence that being paraded has on her; however, the feelings of strangeness and anxiety over the situation presented, shows Helga’s unconscious at work.
Whether it be through the works of Sigmund Freud or Jacque Lacan, it is clear that Nella Larsen has several layers of meaning behind each and every character within Quicksand. This representation of characters is much like real life and ultimately we can conclude that through simply purchasing and reading this novel, we have experienced ex-sistence.
[1] Homer, Sean. Jacques Lacan. New York: Routledge, 2005.
Friday, February 22, 2008
More Theory
Some more of my wild and off the wall theories...
It is possible that the meaning of life is to try to experience the journey to knowledge (or knowing something - anything really) without including your own impressions. The journey to knowing what really exists outside of oneself.
G.E. Moore asked "Does beauty exist without human perception?" The question is - does it? I believe that nature is so beautiful and whole in and of itself that it does exist as such without our interpretation of it.
Trauma is processed when we are not in control. Trauma is processed in a part of our mind that we can never control and ultimately can not ever fully understand. This creates the idea of "that". It's like that. It's this big. It's like. The concept that the closer we come to knowing something, the more imaginary our description of that something to one another gets. (I think I have to stand in front of you and use my hands to explain this one accurately.)
"Re-fashioned(,) her memory of him, and there it stayed in the mind affecting one almost like a work of art." - Viriginia Woolf
This idea that our memories are art is incredible!! The ideas that we create and establish in our minds are magical in such a way because they are art that we can't ever show to any one else. This form of art is true and pure in the most sincere fashion.
Art is an attempt to take something out of the world. The key here is to take OUT OF the world. Art is a cookie cutter of the living. Therefore, art can only freeze something by destroying it. By interrupting the life that exists at that moment, we can create art, a something that is frozen in time, yet imperfect.
Brad said "We're going to die alone, apart, isolated and misunderstood. Ultimately this attempt to communicate is in vain." 2/21/08
It is possible that the meaning of life is to try to experience the journey to knowledge (or knowing something - anything really) without including your own impressions. The journey to knowing what really exists outside of oneself.
G.E. Moore asked "Does beauty exist without human perception?" The question is - does it? I believe that nature is so beautiful and whole in and of itself that it does exist as such without our interpretation of it.
Trauma is processed when we are not in control. Trauma is processed in a part of our mind that we can never control and ultimately can not ever fully understand. This creates the idea of "that". It's like that. It's this big. It's like. The concept that the closer we come to knowing something, the more imaginary our description of that something to one another gets. (I think I have to stand in front of you and use my hands to explain this one accurately.)
"Re-fashioned(,) her memory of him, and there it stayed in the mind affecting one almost like a work of art." - Viriginia Woolf
This idea that our memories are art is incredible!! The ideas that we create and establish in our minds are magical in such a way because they are art that we can't ever show to any one else. This form of art is true and pure in the most sincere fashion.
Art is an attempt to take something out of the world. The key here is to take OUT OF the world. Art is a cookie cutter of the living. Therefore, art can only freeze something by destroying it. By interrupting the life that exists at that moment, we can create art, a something that is frozen in time, yet imperfect.
Brad said "We're going to die alone, apart, isolated and misunderstood. Ultimately this attempt to communicate is in vain." 2/21/08
Friday, February 15, 2008
Pre-Linguistic
*Pardon the generalities used when referring to women and men, I understand that they don't apply to all but it's easier to explain it in that fashion.
*Also pardon my deep philosophical ideas here, if you don't get it or have questions, ask me...
Concept 1: Language is a patriarichal creation. Words were created by men and therefore are good at expressing their (men's) ideas. However, because this is something created by a man, women are left out of this loop and are not always represented in words. For women, language is not essential if you can reach someone with your eyes. Sometimes, a pre-linguistic feeling can be powerful, adding a word to that feeling can cheapen it by putting it into a tidy little box with a label. For example, female telepathy. Sometimes, women can exchange thoughts with other women and sometimes men, without saying anything. It's something that comes from another realm and is beyond words. Being forced to say it out loud means that you don't have the connection with that other person you would like to have and therefore must say it in the only way that you are able to connect. There is power in the words we don't speak.
Concept 2: The philosopher, Ari Bergson discusses the idea of la duree (the duration) which I feel is extremely true and pertinant to understanding life in general. This is my theories of what he has to say and how I preceive them to interact with us every day.
Bergson's theory says that time is not a linear thing, you don't start at 8am and end at 8pm like a line. Rather, time is like a snowball and as you progress through it, you are constantly drawing on, learning from, and adding to the future by your present/past experiences. This idea creates the understanding that the same action doesn't always create the same reaction in you. How we handle the situation now and the exact same situation in two years may be different. This is because our impressions vary from moment to moment and we can never experience anything in the same fashion as we did just minutes before.
This theory means that the idea of emotional baggage is real. However, the efforts we make to get rid of emotional baggage are a war to never be won. We are always going to carry that with us and it will always play a role in our reality. We must learn to acknowledge that "It's over, but I'm carrying it with me."
The idea that we don't live in our physical reality at all times is essential to understanding Bergson's theory. Sometimes we live simply within our own mental realities and these are just as real as anything else. This mental reality can be called "it". Whatever "it" was and is, is our personal property and no degree of language will ever be able to accurately give that experience to someone else. "It" will always be yours in it's entirety.
The snowball effect creates no lines between the past, present and future and forces us to live all of them at once. Because of this, there is no next step and certainly no next step as we like to conceive it.
*Also pardon my deep philosophical ideas here, if you don't get it or have questions, ask me...
Concept 1: Language is a patriarichal creation. Words were created by men and therefore are good at expressing their (men's) ideas. However, because this is something created by a man, women are left out of this loop and are not always represented in words. For women, language is not essential if you can reach someone with your eyes. Sometimes, a pre-linguistic feeling can be powerful, adding a word to that feeling can cheapen it by putting it into a tidy little box with a label. For example, female telepathy. Sometimes, women can exchange thoughts with other women and sometimes men, without saying anything. It's something that comes from another realm and is beyond words. Being forced to say it out loud means that you don't have the connection with that other person you would like to have and therefore must say it in the only way that you are able to connect. There is power in the words we don't speak.
Concept 2: The philosopher, Ari Bergson discusses the idea of la duree (the duration) which I feel is extremely true and pertinant to understanding life in general. This is my theories of what he has to say and how I preceive them to interact with us every day.
Bergson's theory says that time is not a linear thing, you don't start at 8am and end at 8pm like a line. Rather, time is like a snowball and as you progress through it, you are constantly drawing on, learning from, and adding to the future by your present/past experiences. This idea creates the understanding that the same action doesn't always create the same reaction in you. How we handle the situation now and the exact same situation in two years may be different. This is because our impressions vary from moment to moment and we can never experience anything in the same fashion as we did just minutes before.
This theory means that the idea of emotional baggage is real. However, the efforts we make to get rid of emotional baggage are a war to never be won. We are always going to carry that with us and it will always play a role in our reality. We must learn to acknowledge that "It's over, but I'm carrying it with me."
The idea that we don't live in our physical reality at all times is essential to understanding Bergson's theory. Sometimes we live simply within our own mental realities and these are just as real as anything else. This mental reality can be called "it". Whatever "it" was and is, is our personal property and no degree of language will ever be able to accurately give that experience to someone else. "It" will always be yours in it's entirety.
The snowball effect creates no lines between the past, present and future and forces us to live all of them at once. Because of this, there is no next step and certainly no next step as we like to conceive it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)