Thursday Evening
A more intimate opportunity for philosophical “play” is offered at Taste-of-Paris on Thursday evenings. The setting could not be more perfect. A few of us meet in the dining room, find a place at the round table, which is under the scaled down model of the Eiffel Tower. Two to five individuals, friends, a perfect number for the leisurely exchange and development of ideas.
Last night, Jeff came, and Tom showed up to keep me company. Mentally I am prepared for a solo evening if no one appears. A few minutes of solitude with a glass of Riesling wine and my thoughts, is an agreeable evening. Even better when I have company.
The context, the cafe atmosphere of our meeting enlivens our mood, and makes mindful conversation easy. I imagine that we are faithful to the tradition of the great French intellectuals who met in the Cafe’s on the Left Bank, outsiders, who courageously considered alternatives to the status quo. Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, come to mind. Everything, simply everything for us humans, begins with an idea. No idea is developed in solitude; we need help.
Jeff, a former banker, and accomplished musician, Tom a neurologist MD and myself a small business owner at the end of a career took our places at table. The discussion topic for the evening: “Does Consciousness Cause Quantum Collapse,” and Integrated Information Theory. That was our intention anyway. Somehow we never got so far as our intended subject.
What seemed more relevant, interesting, was the agreed upon principle that in the advanced years of life, there is one overriding concern: that of preserving one’s health. Well-being of mind and body, –trumps everything else. The many interests and activities that add meaning to life all depend upon sustaining one’s physical mobility, and acuity of mind. We swapped stories of engagement with medicare, with insurance companies, tales of conflict with bureaucracy to secure effective, necessary treatment for an aging body. I was reminded of Homer, his great tale of conflict on the wide plain of Troy. Jeff, Tom, and I are hardly Achilles, –but the same indomitable spirit is required from time to time, to overcome the obstacles to our well-being.
We will keep Quantum Mechanics on hold for discussion on another evening.
2 thoughts on “Thursday Evening”
Interesting that in the time of Homer there were no obstacles to medical care, insurance or otherwise, to complain about. I think we should be glad we have the medical advancements we now have. I’ve heard folks say, “I’d give a million dollars if I could do something about this condition.” Then a cure is found for $1,000 and they complain about the cost. Such is the human creature.
Agreed.