On Thu, 2 Feb 2006, Lanny Quarles wrote:
Happy Birthday Alan!!
Thank you!
Are we not to use the word admiral without knowing its jaded ideologically determined history? Does anyone recognize the hard contours of its ironic use today?
I think languages change in a sense absolutely; the fact that 'breakfast' meant 'breaking fast' etc. is probably far more irrelevant than we'd like to believe.
What are the ethical foundations of all language.. Was language itself originally a weapon? or a tactical device for exploitative hunting practices?
Look up Tran Duc Thao on the origins of language, Althusser's teacher - theorizes that language originated in gestural activities vis-a-vis the hunt. On the other hand, the fact the gorillas rain dance point to other dissimilar origins. In fact, I doubt there is a specific originary moment or 'cause' of language, any more than of schizophrenia. In this sense of course language itself is a language game.
we should be cognizant here of the physics of photons themselves, of the existence of polaritons, which is a mechanical meta-particle which travels through substance and which can sometimes regenerate a photon.. ideas when they become externalized as words or images enact the same polaritonic mechanical force in the mind, and thus in the world engendering all kinds of structures think of ideas as solitons, identities whose structures have some form of coherence but whose usage is subjective.. ie prone to mutation in the field
I'd be incrediby dubious of these sorts of parallels. You might want to look at Rene Thom's work on linguistics, which seems to me one of the few ways of relating actants to mathesis.
its no accident to me, that the butterfly was the greek symbol for psyche, and that we have "the butterfly effect" as a feature of chaos theory.
Of course this is where I disagree with you entirely! I haven't a spritual bone in my body, and tend to think that it is in fact a complete and utter accident, it might have been anything.
what would the world look like if Constantine had not converted to Xtianity? What would the world look like if Tesla, or Napolean had never existed..
Check out Saul Kripke; I tend to think of these sorts of questions as red herrings.
If the world is a construction, then politics are irrelevant except as a symptom of mental disorder. Design, ie Aesthetics should be the overarching concern.
The world a construction? Then I'm spending useless time worrying/trying to do something about the rain forest... Mind you I haven't read the flarf essay; I knew Gary Sullivan and that was enough for me... - Alan
