RWE

Kassey Pass
F09_DS03- Discussion (S_002)

Introduction

1. The distinction and particular value of anything, or any person, inevitably must alter according to the time and place from which we take our view.
- This very first line of Oliver's introduction specifically reminds me something we recently discussed in my public art class. Given ethnographic field studies, we are sent to different location to simply "observe" what we see. This "act of observing' became a major topic of discussion amongst our class, creating much controversy of what it means to observe. The modernist approach is to consider all aspects of a situation which in many cases, objectifies everything. Yet to an anthropologist of an older observing technique, the goal is to be completely subjective and consider only what is at hand. The fact that Mary Oliver brings up this same idea leads me to believe that it is completely true. Times change and mindsets seem to alter with the seasons, therefore making it sometimes difficult to understand ideas from other times, yet very insightful and revealing.

2. The best use of literature bends not toward the narrow and the absolute but to the extravagant and the possible. Answers are no part of it; rather it is the opinions, the rhapsodic persuasions, the ingrafted logics...
-This statement really makes me ponder my opinions of literature. Over the summer, I wanted to read as many books as I could, yet I could not decide what my reading preference was. I started , without finishing, many fiction stories trying to find what interested me. Giving up hope to find a novel that resonated with me, I considered reading non-fiction, so that I would become more knowledgeable on a certain subject matter. I finally found a popular book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that really enjoyed. After I had finished the book, I tried to analyze why I had liked it so much, so that I may have some direction for the next time, and I realized that I think it was because so much of the book provided access to the main characters thoughts. Instead of a series of events composing the plot, the author presented an passage for the reader to enter the thoughts and emotions of this vulnerable character. The title itself, alluding to a wallflower suggests a lot of activity going on in this person's mind. Therefore, from my experience, I can definitely attest to great literature coming from one's thoughts, as long as the opinions and ideas are intriguing and relative.

3. ...a young boy, remembers him [Emerson] sitting in the parlor, "legs crossed and-- such was their flexibility-- with one foot hitched behind the other ankle. Leaning forward, elbow on one knee, he faced his guests and held converse..."
- This detail made me laugh. This mention of Emerson's position seems kind of silly, yet it produced a very detailed image in my mind, which I think is really important because it makes me think of Emerson completely differently than what I had presupposed. Seeing someone twisting their legs around each other in such a manner is very uncommon. The only time I can maybe remember seeing this position, it was demonstrated by someone much younger. Though this is hard to explain, in my opinion, someone demonstrating this awkward position makes me believe that they are friendly, humorous, and easy going. It seems that if someone of such high philosophies feels no need to present themselves as proper, they are probably very understanding and eager to share thoughts with you.

4. [on transcendentalism] All the world is taken in through the eye, to reach the soul, where it becomes more, representative of a realm deeper than appearances; a realm ideal and sublime, the deep stillness that is, whose whole proclamation is the silence and the lack of material instance in which, patiently and radiantly, the universe exists.
This idea seems very reoccurring in philosophical texts. I completely understand this theory and even believe I had similar ideas even before I was able to read these classic texts. Yet despite all these historic writings, it remains yet a theory. So why therefore do famous philosophers put so much emphasis and superiority on comprehending the transcendental point of view when really, the most superior of all intellects is that which adopts and considers all theories, knowing that these things may never be proved?

5. The light is always identical in its composition, but it falls on a great variety of objects, and by so falling is first revealed to us, not in its own form, for it is formless, but in theirs; in like manner, thought only appears in the objects it classifies.
- I thought this analogy was really excellent and made a lot of sense to me. Yet the only word I find a problem with is identical. For the sake of the basic analogy, the "identical" or unchanging light refers to the consistency of our thoughts. Yet as an artist, I know that the light is not always identical; that you can change its angle, intensity, distance, etc. Considering this new perspective, our thoughts are NOT always the same. They may actually be ever-changing.

6. Every materialist will be an idealist; but an idealist can never go backward to be a materialist.
-I understand what Emerson means, but I feel as though he's taking this labeling thing too seriously. I may accept and understand these Idealist ways of seeing, yet how can I be classified as one or the other? Even if one considered themselves a true Idealist, what would that mean? that the person blindly stumbles around ignoring all human relations and behaviors, trying to find some portal to escape a materialist's world made up of illusions? Even an Idealist can not escape interacting with this "reality" that materialists focus so heavily on. So what then does an Idealist do that makes them an Idealist or are there any Idealists?

7. His experience inclines him to behold the procession of facts you call the world, as flowing perpetually outward from an invisible, unsounded centre in himself...
-How then, does this idea relate to our attention to relations with one another? It seems that so much of our lives involve our interactions and relations with others. Imagine all people as being empty nothings with imaginary strings attached to our imaginary experiences, which includes connecting strings to other peoples strings. Although all these facts are flowing from each of us, the invisibles, an intricate web of relation would seem to form. So maybe this web allows and reinforces our reality proving that material things may exist even through Idealistic views.

8. Society is good when it does not violate me, but best when it is likest to solitude.
- I simply liked this line, finding it even poetic, particularly by the word choices of "good" and "violate." I agree with Emerson's portrayal of society presented in this quote. It seems as though society serves as that annoying friend that won't stop following you and suggesting your next move. To me, it seems as though society as a whole fears being alone. As a rebel of oppression, I feel as though I try to disprove these misconceptions. When others frantically call friends to accompany them in little errands such as grocery shopping, I am disgusted. Sometimes, I even try to make it known that I am independent and unfearful to be alone. Even when individuals bring attention to an awkward moment of silence in group conversation, I refuse to search for meaningless words, choosing rather to demonstrate how perfectly normal it could be if society wasn't so uncomfortable with themselves.

9. The Buddhist, who thanks no man, who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors," but who, in his conviction that every good deed can by no possibility excape its reward, will not deceive the benefactor by pretending that he has done more than he should, is a Transcendentalist.
-How does this peculiar characteristic of gratitude relate to the other attributes associated with a Transcendentalist?

10. [on the person of solitude] Whoso goes to walk alone, accuses the whole world; he declares all to be unfit to be his companions; it is very uncivil, nay, insulting; Society will retaliate.
- I think the comment of Society (capitalized) retaliating is very humorous in its portrayal of the society's opinion of the individual preferring to be alone. I think it is very upsetting that the herding of sheep has become such an accepted treatment of mankind. How when one sheep gets separated, they freak out and run around in confusion until they are eventually eaten alive by the coyote. This frantic removal from the heard seems much more unbearable than a sheep sneaking away to wonder off into the woods where he discovers new objects of interest that only he can enjoy. Considering this portrayal, it is probably a good thing all the sheep don't wander into the woods because then it would no longer be a secret place of personal pleasure.