My exploration of Zhuangzi continues. I am drawn toward his story telling, his manner of doing philosophy. This 4th century BCE Taoist intellectual responds to several defined schools of thought by writing philosophical fantasy. Philosophical fantasy! Imagine someone rising to his/her feet in a lecture hall at a philosophy conference Q&A session, to describe…
Raining now. Prospect of rain for the rest of the day. Well and good for the trees and shrubs. A good drink is needed before the frost of Fall arrives. Today these words from Ludwig Wittgenstein captured my imagination. But I did not get my picture of the world by satisfying myself of its…
Read more of the Zhuangzi this morning. Stories concatenated in succession, the writer considers that his thinking, his point of view could be, might be, or was, radically different — even reversed. “This” is easily “that” in another context. In a time past I thought differently… I am entranced by this love song, every…
There was a beginning. There was a beginning before that beginning. There was a beginning previous to that beginning before there was the beginning. There was existence; there had been no existence. There was no existence before the beginning of that no existence. There was no existence previous to the no existence before there…
If the United Auto Workers strike declared against “the big three” auto companies is not on your mind, it should be. Initially the strike is shutting down three plants. It is doubtful the gap between what the Union is asking and what the companies are offering will be narrowed soon. The picketing is likely…
I am taking a course in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The book was first published in Great Britain in 1954. I’ve read it once before and cannot be sure whether I was in high school, or college. Golding writes a parable, a deft assay of our human condition, of the trajectory…
Today stands to be full. A literature class is scheduled for the afternoon. Consideration of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. later in the afternoon, I am fortunate to participate in a exploration of Artistotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The day begins at Starbucks, by reading the Taoist text composed by Zhuang Zhou, reported to have…
I obtained a copy of one of the great works of Asian literature to enlarge my appreciation of the Taoist sensibility of life and world. Nowadays, fragmentation, seemingly intractable polarization demands that common ground be found. Is any synthesis upon which enough of us can stand together possible? Drown if you must. Do not…
The air is cool, cleansed by a day of rain. I do not remember the last time of a full day of rain. Rain comes infrequently, as if nature is diffident, inattentive to the thirst of plants and creatures living on a thin crust of the earth. Another consequence of climate warming, perhaps? Heat…
Monday brings the prospect of rain. Weeks without precipitation and the grass is dormant, the shrubs appear thirsty and dull at the end of a growing season. Some trees are shedding leaves, without any retrograde movement of temperature thus far. Does anyone pray for rain? I know that my grandfather did. Granddad owned a…
