Friday, November 21, 2008

Bolt from the White

There's a new Disney Pixar film out, about a dog tv star who discovers
that he does not actually have the talents of the super dog he plays
in the movies. The New York Times says this about the plot of "Bolt."
The dog "must learn that what he thinks of as his true identity is an
artifact of make-believe."

That sounds familiar to students of Jan Cox, even before you factor in
that the realization the dog must make is actually happens in an
animated film -- the layers of reality, onion thing.

These tasty crumbs are everywhere on the path.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Studying the sun

Looking back on the history of science you see that any accurate knowledge of the center of our solor system, came very late in the history of  humanity---that is assuming we do now have MUCH reliable information about the sun. Galen came before Newton.  

This came to mind when I considered the very consistent human questions about what men call god, and these questions have only  remained steady or increased throughout  human history---anyone who thinks we do not live in a theological age has not listened out to what is being chatted about.  In the past day the idea of men putting god on trial, has been verbalized, and also I just read that Isaac Bashevis Singer, an adorable thinker,  had said he was "angry with god."

Most all mention of god, in human history,  ignores one salient fact (and I am not including in this list Jan Cox, Gurdjieff,  the anonymous author of "The Cloud of Unknowing," or other mystic scientists)---but the parade of human thinkers we typically include in an intellectual history of humanity---they all ignore a certain detail---they are asking about god before they have answered THIS question---what is man.

You start with what you can access, you start with the possible, the local terrain, the planet you know, this terrestial study must preceed a study of the sun, or galaxy.  You must know what rocks are before you can study thermonuclear equations---  You start questioning what you have a chance of answering, and keep asking, pushing intellectually. This kind of radical empiricism is the path of honesty and hope.

To proceed courageously, persistently, objectively, in a study of WHAT IS MAN, is to be on the path to a summit from which real answers could be glimpsed.