Jewish anarchist song

Very stirring.

Filed under: anarchism, culture, music, philosophy, politics

emma goldman

Very interesting.

Filed under: anarchism, culture, people, people I'd like to meet, philosophy, politics, russia

kropotkin

Filed under: anarchism, culture, literature, people I'd like to meet, philosophy, russia, science, trivia

persona opening sequence

Filed under: cinema, culture, philosophy, religion

zizek wikiquote

Daly: In a sense, would you say that the age of biogenetics/cyberspace is the age of philosophy?
Žižek: Yes, and the age of philosophy in the sense again that we are confronted more and more often with philosophical problems at an everyday level. It is not that you withdraw from daily life into a world of philosophical contemplation. On the contrary, you cannot find your way around daily life itself without answering certain philosophical questions. It is a unique time when everyone is, in a way, forced to be some kind of philosopher.

Filed under: philosophy, quotes

zizek on love

Possibly Slavoj Žižek is a silly old bachelor like myself.

Filed under: philosophy, prejudices

People I’d like to meet — definitely

Ludwig Wittgenstein

At one time I was quite taken with Wittgenstein’s thought and writings. How much of it I understood is probably not a great deal. Wittgenstein’s story however is (to me at least) romantic, inspiring, and fascinating.

The seven main propositions of the Tractatus:

1. The world is everything that is the case.
2. What is the case (a fact) is the existence of atomic states of affairs.
3. A thought is a logical picture of a fact.
4. A thought is a proposition with sense.
5. A proposition is a truth-function of elementary propositions.
6. The general form of a proposition is the general form of a truth function, which is: .
7. Where (or of what) one cannot speak, one must remain silent.

Number seven is often translated whereof one cannot speak thereof one must remain silent (C K Ogden’s translation).

This proposition is intriguing (given an interest in Zen).

6.522 There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical.

From the Wikipedia article on Wittgenstein:

Wittgenstein died from prostate cancer at the home of Edward Vaughan Bevan, his doctor, in Cambridge in 1951. His last words were: “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life”.

He had an extraordinary life for sure.

I could ask him about The Jew of Linz.

Filed under: culture, people I'd like to meet, philosophy

Even as a footballer, I was always being creative.

I have no interest in sports, and so know next to nothing about football. I can’t say, however, that I know nothing about football. Interest in the beautiful game is such that it is unavoidable in the workplace, for instance, so even I have found myself taking part in talk about football just to join, or fit in. I don’t mind showing my ignorance and even knowingly getting a laugh out of my ignorance at my own expense. I honestly couldn’t give a damn about this childish sport that enthralls so many people.

Except I do resent a little that I feel obliged to show an interest in something which holds no interest for me. It’s not that I would like people to be discussing philosophy or showing their concern for some of the serious issues that confront and challenge us all in the 21st Century—but just somehow for the bar to be raised a little.

When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. ~ Eric Cantona (former Manchester United player)

Picture a number of men in chains, and all condemned to death; each day some are strangled in the sight of the rest; those who remain see their own condition in that of their fellows, looking at one another with sorrow and without hope, each awaiting his turn. This is the picture of the condition of man. ~ Blaise Pascal Pensées

Which of these two would you rather have a tête-à-tête with? Okay, okay Eric Cantona I concede it. But not every football player or fan has his wit.

Football is often referred to as the beautiful game. I can understand this, you couldn’t easily imagine volleyball being referred to in this way. The Brazilians play with a great amount of skill and flair, I own it. However it’s when you see football strips displayed in frames and signed by some non-entity like David Beckham that you begin to wonder that the whole game is maybe taking itself a bit too seriously and that some fans really ought to grow up a bit.

I’m aware that I am being a bit harsh on David Beckham. Only this week at work Irene spoke up for him pointing out that he does a lot of good work with kids. I’m in no position to citicise anyone, I know, but people like David Beckham get paid huge amounts of money just for their entertainment value while so many other people do vital jobs for a pittance. This last point is commonly made against the modern game.

The main thing I think that I’m saying here is that I get depressed at the slavish way people follow this particular manifestation of popular culture.

The title is another quote from Eric Cantona. See Monty Python’s International Philosophy over at and so…

Filed under: philosophy, popular culture, prejudices