Sunday, November 22, 2020

Experimental Nonfiction: In Search of the Last Why

What I say here will seem trivial to whoever ignores everything to which I allude. -- Dávila 

With our new & improved format, or absence thereof, every post is at most halfbaked & halfbarked fresh each morning, with no past and apparently no future. O God help us in the hour of our dearth of ideas! 

Neither forethought nor hindsight is put into it, just an insolent breach in the discontinuity of language, an invasion of the left brain into the right, or of day into night. A little bitty tear in the fabric of spacetime, so baby don't cry, don't cry.

Or perhaps it is an invasion by the dark into broad daylight. Wouldn't that be something! 

Because make no mistake, and make it again: you are deceived by the clarity and metricality of things and are in desperate need of poetry and noetry and even worse in order to seed beneath the sufferance of the times. 

I am just the manumit for your minervous wreckage, because this -- let's be honest -- is worse than poetry, it is ten minutes of belabored mindjazz in ten minutes of labored reading.  We all have our unbearable crosswords to puzzle. This is yours.     

Time past & time future aren't time present, and apparently not time at all if we are toburrow into it today.  If there is to be continuity -- and sometimes there will be -- it won't generally be on the surface, but at a much deeper level.  

For it has come to this: we are practicing a radical version of the suspension of memory, of desire, and of understanding, and placing all our trust in God or his unconscious deuputy, or whoever takes the wheel first.  Turn off our minds, relax, float downstream, and surrender to the void. It is not dying. Of boredom, anyway. Experimental nonfiction, that's what it is.  

As our first knowledge is spontaneous, so too will be our last. Not last in terms of time, but rather, ultimacy. 

For as mentioned a post or two ago, nothing spares us the final leap back to a childlike vision in daylight, in nature, in wonder, in the garden. That we may finally see the meaning of within, amen for a child's job.

The intelligent adult is one in whom the child has survived and the youth has died. 

Ah, but what is intelligence?

Intelligence is the capacity for discerning principles.

Agreed, but children don't know principles. Let's try anyway. Let's apply them first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Or maybe the other way around, like extreme unction.  

What we propose to do is circle back to childhood via youth and adulthood, and know the place for the first time!  Prayloud to a postcrypt. I just wanted to say that. No filter! That's the rule. The wisdom we lost in the knowledge, the knowledge we lost in the tenure, the facts we lost in the journalism, and what's left?

Only this deeeeep continuity.  Not only is this a thing, it is the most important thing, for it is the very substance of philosophy.  Science deals only with this or thatoccular thing or that spatial sameone, from atoms to molecules to organisms and so on.  But what is the relationship between these?  Obviously it can never be seen, only grasped. It is not empirical but intellectual.

Nor is it new. It's called philosophy. Or, you could call it "One Cosmos," emphasis on both terms, AKA the deep unity and deep order of everything -- not every thing as the sum, but rather, the ground of being that sponsors the very thingness of things.  

Every thing, insofar as it is one, has at least one share of stock in the great corporate entity known as Being. And you'd better believe that this corporation is a person, or it would have gone blankrupt long ago.

But Being isn't just anything, much less nothing.  For one thing, it shines.  Or, in the words of John Lennon, it is shiiiiining. This morning, anyway. Nothing to say but it's O --> (k). 

Our cosmology doesn't sit next to science but rather, above. Science is only at the adult table at best. We want to know how the particular sciences are connected to one another -- for example, physics to biology to psychology --  until we finally arrive at an ocean so simple, anyone can float on it. Let that sink in!

"What are these simplest notions?," asked Cardinal Mercier.  Well, for starters (and aren't we all), they are simple and universal, and apply to everyone and everything, everywhere and at all times.  The timelessness comes to put away grownup things, for 

the process of splitting up cannot go on forever; a time comes when ideas resist further analysis; they no longer continue to be explained by previous ideas, but on the contrary are such that they explain everything else. These most elementary objects of thought by means of which others are understood are called the principles of things. They are called, too, the reasons of things....

Principles or fundamental reasons are the ultimate solutions to the problems the human mind inevitably proposes every time it sets itself to reflect upon the world or upon itself. They supply the answers to the last why and wherefore that reason asks.

I've never actually heard a child ask Wherefore? but they never stop asking Why?!  

Immature people do, however, and they do so arbitrarily.  Most people stop asking Why in college, apparently because the answers they are given there are sufficient to kill their anemic curiosity, and journalism takes care of the rest. 

A philosopher or onecomosographer is simply someone who continues asking Why?, but not forever!  This isn't a game!

Oh, wait.  It is a game, but a game has an end. This isn't a game if it devolves to infinite regression; rather it ends in a progression to the infinite -- and absolute, and universal, and timeless, and simple.  As that.  

I apologize for the style of this post. I may not be adequate to the task, but someone has to do it.  Or, put it this way: if you see something, say something. This morning I saw something.  

39 comments:

julie said...

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Now back to the business of the day

Anonymous said...

Well I've got something to say.

I’m seeing right wing blogs going nuts over this mythical “totalitarian left”. You mean like when Hillary conceded to Trump the very next day despite winning the popular vote, then trying to blame "Powerful Russia" (with a GDP smaller than Canada) so she could save face? That kind of totalitarian?

You mean the Democratic Party, the one that progressives call worthless and weak?

You mean the liberals who applaud Republican judges for throwing out virtually all of Trumps suits because of a pitiful lack of evidence?

You mean sleepy Joe Biden, who was barely visible as VP for an administration which by it’s own admission, governed as “moderate Republicans”? And who wants Republicans in his cabinet? Are they all supposed to take over America together?

Is it because wearing masks is a hundred times worse than businesses wanting shirt, shoes and seat belts?

Is it because the side that cares about a Taliban resurgence, or sharia terrorism, is now the "totalitarian" left?

Is it because evangelical leaders are insinuating, some outright saying, that democracy means less to them than ever?

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Anonymous said...

The mainstream media's anti Trump bias in it's reporting of his administration was effectively an extended ad campaign that interfered in the election. Ad campaigns do work.

Gagdad Bob said...

My thoughts exactly.

Anonymous said...

That article reminds me of Orwellian sayings such as "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.". While there are some valid criticisms of Democrats which I share, most is hysterical nonsense.

E.g. " Those saboteurs’ opportunities were greatly enhanced this year with the installation in battle ground states of voting machines specifically designed to calculate how many votes were required to steal an election and then to switch ballots already cast and deliver them to the chosen party. Mail-in ballots were indispensable to the realization of this plan."

Absolute unproven nonsense. First of all, Trump is the one who is subverting our election process. He has no proof of anything and keeps on losing in court. He can't get any serious lawyers to represent this nonsense and is stuck with that lunatic Giuliani. There is not on iota of evidence to support any of that. Anyone who believes this nonsense is being take for a ride by Trump. How can anyone think that Trump values anything other than Trump and his extremely fragile ego pretty much drives most of what he does.

"how a pathological liar and corrupt political whore like Joe Biden "...
For real???? Biden is the pathological liar? He is a politician and like all he lies at times, but to compare anyone to the constant lying of Trump is ridiculous. "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."

Yeah, Biden is too old and poor presidential material. However, he isn't the devil reincarnated. I think everyone needs to calm down (on both sides).



Nicolás said...

To scandalize the leftist, just speak the truth.

Petey said...

To scandalize the conservative, just lie.

Anonymous said...

Truth must be based on facts. Just saying something doesn't make it the truth. To call an election fraudulent without any proof or even credible evidence is not truth. At best is is sloppy thinking. Why is it that the lawsuits are being laughed out of court? Why is it that no serious lawyers will touch these cases? Whys is it that Trump and Giuliani claim fraud, but in court, they specifically say that the issue isn't fraud? Could it be that there are consequences of lying in court?

Some good advice from Chris Christie: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/22/politics/chris-christie-donald-trump-election/index.html:

"This is outrageous conduct by any lawyer,"
"They allege fraud outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom, they don't plead fraud and they don't argue fraud," he said.
"Listen, I have been a supporter of the President's. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen."
"If you are unwilling to come forward and present the evidence, it must mean the evidence doesn't exist," he went on. "The country is what has to matter the most. As much as I'm a strong Republican and I love my party, it's the country that has to come first."
"Quite frankly, the conduct of the President's legal team has been a national embarrassment,"

Nicolás said...

Whoever insists on refuting idiotic arguments ends up doing so with stupid reasons

Cousin Dupree said...

--To call an election fraudulent without any proof or even credible evidence is not truth.

No shit. Will the left ever let go of the Russia hoax?

Anonymous said...

Apologies... I thought you were advocating the position of election fraud when you referenced that article.

Gagdad Bob said...

That the Dems committed fraud is a metaphysical certitude. Whether it can be proven in court is another matter.

julie said...

Whether it can be proven, and whether the judges being presented with said proof are interested in the truth and the law, or in furthering the cause of the left.

Anonymous said...

Hi GDB I like the new style, very good. I hope to see more like it.

In the comments you wrote "That the Dems committed fraud is a metaphysical certitude." I was wondering if you could explain what that means?

Thank you sir.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't accusations as serious as sowing doubt as to the validity of a elections which is a core aspect of our democracy be based on something more than someone's gut feel of metaphysical certitude? Had Trump won, would you place any value one someones metaphysical certitude that the Republicans committed fraud? Shouldn't something as serious as this be based on fact or at least credible evidence?

Let's say that the Dems wanted to commit such fraud and attempted it. Do you think that they are competent enough to pull it off without leaving any evidence - especially in states run by Republicans? And if they had the ability to create fraudulent ballots, would they just mark those particular ballots in favor of Trump and not bother with Senate and Congressional candidates on those same ballots? IMO this defies logic.

Julie: The judges that have thrown out the unsubstantiated claims by Trump are both Republican and Democrat and they have been diligent about following the law. Aside from you, I have heard no claims of prejudicial rulings. The legal actions by Trump have no chance of winning (as even Trump knows) and are not claiming fraud. They are only intended to sow doubt in the election process and the validity of the election. They appear to be succeeding



Gagdad Bob said...

If you didn't understand the post, just say so, and I'll try to dumb it down.

Anonymous said...

Speaking once again about freedom lovers mindlessly pushing for totatitarianism…

I’ve been hobnobbing with those much older and wiser than any of us could ever be, and the consensus seems to be that Team R is actually this very odd alliance between two very different tribes.

The first tribe is the lower taxes more freedom libertarian clan who’ll do whatever it takes to push things that way. The other tribe is the authoritarian-worshipping evangelicals who’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that God runs the show.

Our Founders said that the two should never be combined, since they warned us about what happens when an omnipotent God runs nations. You wind up with witches all over the place getting burned at the stake, since every yahoo thinks that theirs is the Only True Direct Line To God, and that it's they alone who can separate the sheep from the witches.

Sadly, the two need each other to be able to have any kind of international power. For decades they've maintained an uneasy alliance by being able to rationalize away their stark differences. But lately, the evangelicals have become ascendant.

But that’s just my humble intro. I’ll now let my man (and avid Trump supporter) the Reverend Ken Copland explain what I cannot with his catchy ministry dance video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmO6x1cg7s

Anonymous said...

anon @ 11/22/2020 07:24:00 PM,

Fool! The highly respectable attorney Sidney Powell has told us of the Deep State plot which involves international Communists, globalists, neoliberals, George Soros (yes him again!), the Clinton Foundation and literally thousands of Democratic and Republican henchmen (including Trump “ally” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp), who were all part of a conspiracy to rig the election in favor of “Sleepy” Joe Biden by using Hugo Chavez manufactured voting machines!

Even Bernie Sanders and Tucker Carlson are in on the scam, capitulating after Deep State Marxists made them offers they couldn’t refuse.

Anonymous said...

Silly me. How could I not see that.

You have to give Hugo Chavez credit. Although he died in 2013, he managed to foresee the rise of Trump and managed to get the voting machines in place 7 years before they would be needed.

Hugo said...

Good news bad news: equality is absolutely achievable. In hell.

Anonymous said...

Hello there blog author. You wrote "That the Dems committed fraud is a metaphysical certitude." But then you opined that may not be provable in court.

This is a very odd statement; If it is a "certitude" (? does this mean fact) why would it not be provable?

In a comment you wrote "If you didn't understand the post, just say so, and I'll try to dumb it down."

I think if you try to make the post more intelligent that would suffice. I think you have dumb covered already.

-Reginald Frobisher, Esq.

Gagdad Bob said...

Yes, that Dems committed fraud is a metaphysical certitude, but this is wholly irrelevant, since the legal standard is but a preponderance of the evidence -- a much lower standard than either "clear and convincing evidence" or "beyond a reasonable doubt," let alone the type of angelic certitude vouchsafed to Petey and his angelic cronies.

Anonymous said...

All conservatives need to distance from the Trump regime now or go down with the ship and the ship's mentally deranged "legal" team.

Do any of you want to make a refutation at this time? Better get out while there is still time.

Gagdad? How about you? Do you want to become notable as the psychologist nuttier than his clients?

Conservatives are in deplorable condition. They can't all have gone insane at once? Is that even possible? How did they fall so low so fast?

I'll take comments/opinions. Anyone?

Gagdad Bob said...

As to the metaphysical certitude, this is anchored in the first principle of rational thought, the law of identity, in this case, Dems = Dems. But of course, angelic intelligence requires no such discursive reasoning, because it sees directly into the essence of things. And even you don't need the assistance of a higher nonlocal authority to comprehend the essence of the left.

Cousin Dupree said...

80% of Republicans and 30% of Dems believe the election was stolen. I'm not good at math, but I think this works out to over half the country. These voters deserve an assurance that the election was legitimate. Absent the assurance, we will assume it wasn't.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure how old your stats or or where you got them from, but here is what I found: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-11-18/half-of-republicans-believe-president-trump-won-election-poll-finds:

A new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll found that 52% of Republicans believe that Trump won the election, compared to just 29% who believe Biden won and more than two-thirds of Republicans, 68%, were concerned about "rigged" vote counting processes that favored Biden.

Among overall Americans, about three-quarters, 73%, believe that Biden, who received more than the necessary 270 electoral votes, won the election, while 5% say Trump did.

The poll also found that more than half, 55%, of Americans believe the election was "legitimate and accurate," a 7-point decrease from a similar poll taken after the 2016 election and a sign that the president's public – and unsubstantiated – claims of widespread voter fraud have had an impact on Americans' opinions.


However this is still appalling and an indication of people's susceptibility to propaganda and their inability to think for themselves. A pathological liar sets the stage for unfounded claims of election fraud and people believe it. He even said that the only way he could lose would be due to fraud which is idiotic. Pathetic.. As Einstein said: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe!"

My father used to say that there is nothing sacred about American democracy and that we could easily turn into a dictatorship. I didn't take that seriously and thought he was being overly alarmist and negative as he had a tendency to be. Doesn't seem so far fetched now. If an incompetent buffoon like Trump can pull this off, imagine what someone with a modicum of competency and intelligence could do. And those who know better and are eroding our democracy, can't count on this erosion as installing a government that they like. The next person who takes advantage of this could just as easily have leftist dictatorial tendencies.

Anonymous said...

Conservatives are in deplorable condition. They can't all have gone insane at once? Is that even possible? How did they fall so low so fast?

I already explained why above (11/22/2020 10:59:00 PM). Conservatives violated their Prime Directive: combining church with state.

Dupree says: Absent the assurance, we will assume it wasn't.

Just because I say that both parties are owned by powerful, wealthy, corporate plutocrats expert at manipulating the masses, doesn't mean that I'm a marxist. I'm just saying that they're pretty good at getting you to buy their next big thing, so they can become even more powerful and wealthy.

Tucker Carlson and Hillary, while working for plutocrats, were actually being reasonable when proclaiming that absolute trust in electronic voting machines must never be achieved.

However, both parties have had their watchers and legal judges saying the same thing - that the election was done as honestly and well as it could be done.

Gagdad Bob said...

Well, good. I had no idea the left had conceded the 2016 election.

Gagdad Bob said...

About those wealthy corporate plutocrats expert at manipulating the masses. I don't listen to them.

Anonymous said...

The Biden campaign stole the election out from under the nose of President Trump with the postal vote. That portion of the electorate who never voted before because of lack of interest when presented with a postal ballot and 'encouraged' by Biden campaign activists in their community to use them combined with President Trump's disapproval of them, they became upstanding members of society by doing what they were told and voting for Biden.

Anonymous said...

How is that stealing the election?

Anonymous said...

Educating anon @ 02.40.00 PM I'ts a figure of speech.

Anonymous said...

anon @ 02:40:00 PM: That's not stealing an election or a figure of speech. That is called winning an election with effective voter outreach. The opposition wishes they'd a done it. Coulda woulda shoulda but didn't. Boo hoo.

Anonymous said...

Hi Gagdad:

You explained the metaphysical certitude, but I don't buy it whatsoever. It sounds like bloviating.

You wrote: "As to the metaphysical certitude, this is anchored in the first principle of rational thought, the law of identity, in this case, Dems = Dems."

Dem=dem? Ridiculous. Dems are people and no two are alike.

You seem out of touch at this point and also to be bitter to a toxic degree. You are giving off the weary and hopeless energy of a burnt-out spouse talking about their other half towards the end of a prolonged and acrimonious split.

With this election your relationship with your nation has cratered. I don't think you understand her needs.

Nicolás said...

What is trivial soon dies, but triviality is immortal.

Anonymous said...

Hello and good morning.

I applaud the the new non-fiction approach. One may call it a species of Joycean revival. Author Gertrude Stein also made waves with her free-flowing style in the medium of fiction which was well-received but not much emulated.

Your fresh take on getting loose on the page echoes the celebrated psychedelic stream-of-consciousness style pioneered in the 1960's in the arena of song lyrics and poetry.

Now it is the turn of non-fiction to get the treatment. Long overdue and kudos to you.

Are you using drugs in your regimen or is this straight off-the-top of the unaltered mind?

Sincerely, Professor of Literature Judith Abernathy PHD, Cambridge.

Anonymous said...

Hi kids.

I'm a shill for the New World Order (NWO). Hey they pay the bills.

I've been asked to soften up the population of SW North America regarding the COVID vaccine.

I'm supposed to assess sentiment/prevailing attitude to start with.

What is everyone feeling about the vaccine(s) coming out the pipeline? You would take? Or not?

Weigh in por favor.

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