Banter 9 - The against stance vs. Optimism

 Monday, February 21 - 7pm - Same old place.
*bring warm drinks, warm muffins, warm things...we're in the deep of winter!
*email me if you don't know where "Same old place" is - sabine@whitefishreview.org

Let us Oxford-style debate about this:  

Optimism in the face of the postmodern human condition.  Is optimism a farce, or is it preferable to the starkness of postmodernism without humor?  Has the facing of starkness (ie existential crisis) always been a problem for humans with time on their hands, ie not bent on survival, or is it worsening now?  Is it possible to be happy, to find meaning, and to be aware of the postmodern human condition which bucks off sentimentality and surety as its modus operandi, ad nauseum?  Or is happiness and meaning a thing postmodernism has killed as well, except in those bent on delusion?  Is it better to take the against stance and not have hope/delusions for happiness, to enjoy one's curmudgeoness, or is it better to be a sappy optimist whose hope offers a steady stream of angst when happiness doesn’t arrive?  Or is it better to be delusional?

1. Define postmodernism.
2. Define optimism.
3. Define ‘the against stance’ via Phillip Lopate, either in his current essay in Harper's "Between Insanity and Fat Dullness" (article link)or from one of his essays in his book Against Joie de Vivre.
4. Is it possible to be a critically-minded, realistic optimist?
5. What to you defines the postmodern condition of being a human?
6. Define existential crisis.
7. Explore whether undeveloped societies have existential crises comparable to developed societies, or not.
8. Describe reasons personally that add to your starkness or sense of existential crisis?
9. Describe your reasons for optimism presently.
10. What are the advantages of the against stance or optimism?  
11. Shawna's contribution:  John Wilmot's poem "A Satyre Against Mankind," written in 1675 (link)
12. Sabine's personal stance summarized by John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale"  (beautiful audio link)
13. Joel's contribution: Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" (poem link, Joel suggested at least the intro)
14. Pam's and Isaac's contributions were sent via email (ask if you didn't receive them)

Choose the one that most fits your approach to life presently, and prep yourself to defend (with some the above or with your own additional sources, which you may share with the group if you like).

Monday, January 24 ~ Banter 8 ~ Truth

6:30pm @ the standard spot

I’ve been staring at the shape above for the past few hours, and though the interior angles appear to add up to 360°, I’m just not sure…

"Atheists, then, are denied not only certain knowledge of the external world, but also knowledge of mathematics and all ‘eternal truths’." 

-response to Descartes (click on yellow words for more detail)

Tingo

Pascuense (Easter Island) – Hopefully this isn’t a word you’d need often: “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.” 

Phillip Lopate as "Truth" & at his feet, "Love"

Truth is tall and rather unconventional looking.  He has golden hair and a short beard.  He does not like statistics and is not particularly concerned about facts, but he loves a good story.  He chronicled the contemporary film scene for a while.  He quit when his reviews started being quoted out of context.  Though he never hides what he feels, by nature he is gentle and not at all sarcastic.  However, he does have a fierce temper.  He has observed that people who only listen with one ear when he says something in a kind way are always impressed by his anger.

Truth has been employed as a thief stealing illusions.  He can climb over any security fence we have constructed to keep out disturbing influences.  Although he can unlock any window or door, he is no longer interested in breaking in or getting away.  No longer thrilled by the chase nor by defying authorities, he has given up on the challenge of trying to find new ways to escape.

X-rays, photographs of cells, and the history of plants fascinate Truth.  When Truth's fingers touch my shoulder, I hear bone touching bone.  Truth has set down his bundle of needs, and his shoulders are soft and spacious, outlined by light.

Truth learned to act in the theater of qualities, and his studies in mime continue.  He lingers in long pauses between questions and answers.  He has made an altar to his loneliness.  Certainty and Uncertainty are both welcome at his table.  Truth is willing to wait for a long time with little attention or visible encouragement. Truth is not willing to live without Love.

-J. Ruth Gendler