<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">I find this
discussion very intriguing and after having read many of the emails, especially
the last one of Paul, I would like to take part in.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">To begin
with, Paul claims</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> ,amongst others,</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> that "</span><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-style: italic;">the authentic life is always a subversion, a
resistance, a revolution, against some attempt by someone else to bind it, to
bound it, to define it, to constrain it…</span>" whereas afterwards he states that "<span style="font-style: italic;">to
live authentically means to create in each moment something that cannot be taken
and used for other purposes because it is necessarily invisible to those who
would attempt such a theft</span>". To be honest I cannot follow this syllogism as I
find it a bit of oxymoron. More specifically, supposing that authentic life is
a revolution against some attempt to bind it, we simultaneously accept that
authentic is visible to its opponents or in other words to its exploiters. <br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Furthermore,
Paul's final conclusion, which I find brilliant, is that "<span style="font-style: italic;">the really
interesting and revolutionary things going on in the world are invisible to
those who would oppose them</span>". <span style=""></span>Therefore, I believe
that the really revolutionary things are visible to their opponents, who,
however, fail to spot and feel the real essence of them - resembling humans despite that they can
see the flower and even smell it, they are incapable
of taking real advantage of it: humans can only cut (by "killing") it, while bees succeed in channelling
bliss from it. <span style="">In that case both bees and humans can see the flower (it is not invisible) , but, to put it in Paul's terms, </span></span>the true substance of the experience -the authentic- belongs entirely to bees, and the superficial one to humans.
<span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"></span></p>
Best,<br><br>Vasilis<br><br>--<br><font size="1"><br><font size="2">Blog: <a href="http://vasilis-thesis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://vasilis-thesis.blogspot.com/
</a><br><br><span class="sg">The P2P Foundation researches, documents and promotes peer to peer alternatives</span>:<br><a href="http://p2pfoundation.net/Main_Page" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://p2pfoundation.net/Main_Page</a><br><a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/</a><br><a href="http://bloggr.p2pfoundation.net/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://bloggr.p2pfoundation.net/</a> (under construction)</font><br>
</font><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 12/08/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Nicholas Ruiz III</b> <<a href="mailto:editor@intertheory.org">editor@intertheory.org</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I appreciate the romance of this post; it is<br>utilitous, nonetheless...<br><br>If one chooses to romanticize and aestheticize<br>existence--this sentiment too, is utility pointed in a<br>certain direction, with a certain desire, for a
<br>certain outcome...an appropriation of utility.<br><br>Even the dead are utilized...<br><br>To dwell on utility, however, would for many be among<br>the least satisfying of existences. Then again,<br>financiers and market traders might disagree.
<br><br>NRIII<br><br><br>--- "Paul B. Hartzog" <<a href="mailto:paulbhartzog@gmail.com">paulbhartzog@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br>> After reading Sobol and Waxman, I thought I would<br>> chime in. So far, I
<br>> find this list incredibly useful to my own work and<br>> am really enjoying<br>> the discussions. That said, I continue thus....<br>><br>> First, utility is tautological. If you decide that<br>> human beings do
<br>> things only for utility, then you will always find<br>> the utility in any<br>> action. Even suicide can be described as a<br>> utilitarian action.<br>><br>> Second, the authentic, and to my mind<br>
> non-utilitarian, experience of<br>> life, has and always will be, beyond theft or<br>> co-optation by "the bad<br>> guys." When I go to coffee with my friend and<br>> discuss Aristotle,<br>> money goes to those it perhaps shouldn't (
e.g. evil<br>> coffee bean<br>> slavers). Nonetheless, the substance of the<br>> experience belongs<br>> entirely to me and my friend.<br>><br>> My difficulty with the analysis so far in this<br>> thread is that I find
<br>> it to be preoccupied with current online tools<br>> rather than abstract<br>> concepts. An alternate attempt might go something<br>> like this:<br>><br>> Suppose that every moment of your life were visible,
<br>> capturable,<br>> collatable, analysable, (etc.) to others. Suppose<br>> that EVERY act in<br>> your life, that YOU tried to live authentically, was<br>> also being used<br>> for other purposes by someone else. How would you
<br>> live? The answer,<br>> possibly paradox, is that you would ignore it, and<br>> in so doing you<br>> would live in such a way that anyone who was<br>> watching would be<br>> incapable of seeing your true life at all. They
<br>> would only see your<br>> superficial movements, but all the while your inner<br>> movement would<br>> channel bliss.<br>><br>> The authentic life is ALWAYS a subversion, a<br>> resistance, a revolution,
<br>> against some attempt by someone else to bind it, to<br>> bound it, to<br>> define it, to constrain it. To live authentically<br>> means to create in<br>> each moment something that cannot be taken and used
<br>> for other purposes<br>> because it is necessarily INVISIBLE to those who<br>> would attempt such a<br>> theft.<br>><br>> Consequently, in my own academic work (i.e.<br>> logically), and also in my
<br>> personal preference (i.e. aesthetically), I prefer<br>> to keep my eyes<br>> turned towards new forms of subversion, resistance,<br>> and revolution<br>> enable by new technologies. To my mind, the really
<br>> interesting and<br>> revolutionary things going on in the world are<br>> invisible to those who<br>> would oppose them.<br>><br>> Peace,<br>> -Paul<br>><br>><br>><br>--------------------------------------------------------
<br>> <a href="http://www.PaulBHartzog.org">http://www.PaulBHartzog.org</a><br>> <a href="http://www.panarchy.com">http://www.panarchy.com</a><br>> <a href="mailto:PaulBHartzog@PaulBHartzog.org">PaulBHartzog@PaulBHartzog.org
</a><br>> <a href="mailto:PaulBHartzog@panarchy.com">PaulBHartzog@panarchy.com</a><br>> <a href="mailto:PHartzog@umich.edu">PHartzog@umich.edu</a><br>><br>--------------------------------------------------------<br>
> The Universe is made up of stories, not atoms.<br>> --Muriel Rukeyser<br>><br>> See differently, then you will act differently.<br>> --Paul B. Hartzog<br>><br>><br>
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