We don't have to have possession with the idea or feeling of ownership. There are things we must have in order to pursue our tasks, hobbies, dreams etc. We can simply say we are using them until the time comes when we no longer need them, which is typical of the older generation that gives away much of what in the past was necessity of living. I don't always use my camera equipment but when I want to take photos it is there. I have pianos and guitars, tons of art supplies, tools and more tools, toys and games and lots of stuff. I do often give much of it away when I see that look in someones eye that says, wow this is really cool. We can always replace most anything we have.
On Jul 28, 12:02 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > In the course of the recent discussion here concerning the reposting > of Minds Eye contributions in other internet fora, the question of > copyright arose. It got me to thinking about the idea of intellectual > ownership and the idea of possession in general. > > We have all seen the Westerns in which the Native Americans sold away > title to land for nothing, or pittances because the white man's > concept of "owning" land was incomprehensible to them. Throughout > history, many of those whom we regard as great thinkers have been very > critical of the benefits of possessions and owning things. Indeed, a > controversy centred on the absolute poverty of Christ raged throughout > the medieval Christian Church and completely split the Franciscan > movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ > Franciscans#Renewed_controversy_on_the_question_of_poverty). In this > context, it is perhaps interesting to note that one of the all-time > heroes here on Minds Eye, William of Occam, was a proponent of the > principle of absolute poverty and lost his job as English Franciscan > provincial and was excommunicated as a result. > > Personally I spent almost a decade as a Dominican friar, during which > time I took a "vow of poverty." I don't want to go into a discussion > on the extent to which Catholic monks actually live according to this > vow here, personally, I always found it to be the expression of an > attitude of freedom from a dictatorship of "things." It may also have > left an indelible mark on me in that in almost a quarter of a century > since leaving the order I have been pretty bad at earning, > accumulating and retaining material wealth and possessions. During my > life I have gone through a number of pretty radical changes, which > have often involved leaving nearly everything behind and starting > again. Such processes have been, inevitably, traumatic, although not > necessarily negative. One of the things that has helped is the fact > that I have never felt particularly attached to "things". But maybe my > sense of "ownership" is just underdeveloped, or damaged! > > There's a German saying which states that "he who has possessions has > worries." Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, one of the founders (!) of modern > anarchism went farther with his statement that "property is theft." > What does it mean to "own" something anyway? > > To use Molly's words: What do you think? > > Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
