Last update: 2002-06-11
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Cogito ergo sum (Rene Descartes; Discourse on Method IV, 32)
In the tug of war between the chicken and the egg (art imitating life), it is important to recall the struggle for truth against the nihilist backdrop of the postmodern era. We are in an age where virtually no one READS from the SOURCE. The past decade's rise of the Internet has fuelled an outpouring of human thought onto "the Web", much of it in a stream-of-conciousness vacation of the soul.
We quote from the "classics", but there is a danger in quoting from pre-packaged reinterpretations. Modern works which help us to understand past philosophical thought are only commentaries, based on the author's experience, bias, et. al. Such commentaries are but mimetic arts: a description of the truth, rather than the truth in itself. Most of the time, it is sufficient to accept the commentary from professional authorities (secondary sources), however, in some cases there is a need for the absolute Truth (from the Primary source).
Plato banned the Poetic (mimetic) Arts in (from) the Republic, because of their danger to confuse and obfuscate the Truth. Truth being the primary objective of any "good life". I always recall a fabulous line in Lawrence of Arabia, where T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) notes to one of his captors:
"If we've told lies, you've told half-lies and a man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth, but a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it. " - Quote from www.angelfire.com/movies/closedcaptioned/lawrence_of_arabia.txt":
This is my playground on the "free" portion of the Web. A professional version of these contents are available to those willing to bury into the source. Some areas of the site ramble a bit, and I will address them when time permits. Think of this as this author's public rough notes, while any more professional product will appear in appropriate locations.