Philosopher's Grindstone

Vampires, Werewolves, and Myth.

2006-06-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

I realize that this topic pretty much sits at the top of the culture heap right now. Not as en vogue as it was during the mid 1990s, but it seems not to have slowed up in the literary sense. I cannot walk into a bookstore with seeing shelves and shelves about vampires and werewolves. From the romance historical to the comedies. Maybe it tickles me to see such mythic figures of horror and terror becoming iconic status symbols in our culture. But I think people miss the underlying horror of what these mythic figures stand for.

I'm not talking about the blood and gore of the horror flicks these creatures inhabit. That is horror in the most superficial, visceral way. The horror I want to dig into is the horror of the mythic figures superimposed against civilization. What exactly do these figures represent in our civilized unconscious?

Vampires evoke the cold and logical exteriors with calculating eyes and an obsession with sex and violence mixed with their hunger for blood. Werewolves live in the duality of passive-aggressiveness. They wear two masks of vunerability as human and in their terrible lycanthrope forms, they revel in the destruction and potent rage in them. They are the two ends to the human unconscious spectrum. They are yearnings to release from the constraints of civilized society. One in the cold beauty and logical hunger and the other in the fury of passion. Neither is desirable in society but they bubble to the surface in these icons. How these icons relate to us deals with how we see beneath the facade of civilization and into our inner natures.

In us is the ability to be either a Vampire or a Werewolf. We can be consumed by our vices and feed off of each other emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually. Or we can fall prey to unrestrained emotions to destroy the life we have or the lives around us. Sometimes we can even be a hybrid of both. This the horror that these icons truly express. The inability to walk a middle path and avoid the pitfalls of our inner natures.

Myths may not exist, but the seed of their creation and reality can manifest itself in us. These two may be creatures of darkness but they also are the faces we face in the mirror each day.

What do these cultural icons mean to you? Let me know what they represent in your eyes.

Not all that wander are lost.

2006-06-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

I've been spending quite a few days away from the blog. In conclusion, I think I need to try a change of tack. Lot of it is that I'm dissatisfied with my approach. Possibly tackling too much ground with too little foundation. Also, I think I caught myself in trying to be too literary. Even bloggers can feel the writer's sting every once in a while. I will every once in a while still post about philosophy, but I'm going for a more overall approach in ideas and abstractions. I encourage everyone to comment and discuss if you find a post interesting otr insightful. Thanks for your interest.

The Foray into Reason

2006-06-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

Passion persuades me one way, reason another. I see the better and approve it, but I follow the worse. - Ovid

Apart from the the force of Faith is the beacon of Reason. It's the darling of Sciences and the foundation of the technological discoveries we possess. Whereas, Faith has endowed humanity with the ability to appreciate nature, Reason has allowed us to conquer the ravages of Nature's fury.

Can logic and Reason illuminate the way to the next progression?

I do not think or feel that Reason alone can provide the way. It has done well with the sciences to raise humanity's standards and longevity of life. It has also emboldened us to look outside ourselves through the lenses of philosophy and astronomy. But it also proves to be a double edged blade for us. For as we rid ourselves of diseases and make accessible comforts, it has also enabled us now to be able to commit grander fashions of destruction.

It was once thought that by the brilliant light of Reason, men would be set free and humanity would creep out from it's caves of ignorance. But ignorance proves an elusive dragon to slay. It sweeps and glides along the multi-layered levels of unconcious. In each of us, lies the capacity to learn by Reason and educate ourselves to walk out from that ignorant darkness. The only way we can slay it and bury it is to use the Forge of Faith tempered with the Hammer of Reason. In the end, it will fashion alloyed blending of heart and mind. This is the Weapon of Truth we carry while down the road paved with Reason.

Reason or Faith by themselves cannot lift us, but the two combined might give us the advantage to face the fears we harbor and the life we seek to live better.

Faith can move mountains. (Because if she can, I want to too!)

2006-06-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Faith. It's a topic and an idea that invites awe and reverence and at the same time vitriolic criticism. But given the sharpest debates about it, faith is what moves people to apogee of their existence and sometimes complicit in the worst of deeds. But does faith have any place in the rational, scientific world?

Faith is a wonderful insight and can be a boon to all those who share in it. It's not without it's pitfalls though. Misplaced faith and even blind faith is not something to be considered a good thing. Faith can fill in where logic and reasoning is not likely to give the solution. Reasoning and logic has done wonders in the world, but it cannot suffuse me with purpose. I think faith and reasoning, in tandem, can allow one to overcome difficulties in one's life. Every day, I awake to a sense of purpose and with the hope that I will learn more, humanity will mature and grow. Also that we can harness out inner natures to lead a life of passion, tempered by reason and infused with significance in all we do.

Faith is often attacked as being backward and by the cynical as held by those who cannot deal with reality. But reality is a tenuous grasp at best and we have to deal with it the best we can. Reason can and has lead us down many avenues and opened new worlds of thought. Science because of reasoning allows us to even use the computers that we post with. But for all the technology in the world, it cannot lead us to the next step. It is the synthesis of the two that will provide humanity with the stepping stones over the chaotic pond of time.

In the end, faith may not literally move mountains and I haven't found a woman with that name who can either. But the lesson learned is that it can drive us to take a step beyond the literal. Push into the fantastic and lead our imaginations and hearts into the future. For the greatest gift is to know thyself and have faith that you will live to be a better person.

Freedom of Religion... What a Concept!

2006-06-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I've had a lot of time to read. In fact, I hope to step up my progress because I'm currently juggling 5 books at once. But the one I have been managing to plough through is one called American Gospel by Jon Meacham. A fascinating read so far. But the topics which it discusses leads me to how important freedom of religion is. Or more accurately the free exercise thereof.

To not have a state imposed or mandated religion is something I think we (Americans) take for granted. All too often easily. Through my studies in history, I have read of too many bloody events occuring on the flimsy political premises of faith and belief. Maybe this is what makes the ideas of the Founding Fathers so profound. That they understood history and the human capacity of tyranny of faith. To emphasize man as moral agent did not require religion as a prerequisite to a good, sound political state. To them, they felt humanity should have the freedom to approach God or their creator or their conscience on a deeply personal level. By doing so, it allowed for humanity to be the good moral agent. Rather than sing the platitudes of a dictated creed of a state sponsored religion.

So, what I draw from this is that we should appreciate that we are not coerced or forced to believe. Whether to believe that there is a Ultimate Creator in the cosmos or that the schmuck down the road is the next incarnation of Buddha. Or even to believe in nothing at all. Even yourself. (Although that gets into some very sticky philosophical territory which I will leave for another time.) Because a good spiritual journey does not start in the chains of another man. Only yourself can confront moral person within.

The Power of an Idea.

2006-05-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

From the smallest tool to the highest skyscraper and even to the space shuttle, an idea was there from the start. Even the greatest experiment we have the privilege to enjoy, the freedom of a representative, republic form of government. This also started as an idea or even on the foundation of ideas. Built over the course of hundreds of years, by people who would never imagine where it led to. Ideas have built fortunes, created empires, started revolutions and changed the course of human existence. But what does this mean for the common person?

In no other time in history, has the idea enjoyed the dominance it has today. Often we are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information at our feet. With the proliferation of the internet, we have allowed ideas to disseminate at cosmic speeds. It's as if the printing press has been reborn, little over 500 years later. That invention, would slowly cause a tectonic shift in thinking; leading to the Reformation, The Renaissance in classical thinking, and the blossoming in the fruits of the Enlightenment. With seeds of those fruits, the sapling of human potential grows on the hill of Time; guided by ideas enhanced by will. We live as an Idea embodied. Every facet of our lives is shaped by the ideas held by others and by ourselves. Our faith or lack of, in an idea, guides our moral compass. It also guides our perceptions in how we live, how we want to die and who we share this life with.

So, give a yourself a moment to think and an idea will sit there, ready to rise. That idea itself, coupled with will and a conviction to implement, might very well shape your life forever. Even this post, started with the tiniest of ideas.

Consistency of Purpose

2006-05-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping to achieve on here is a way of expressing my ideas and views on various topics of mostly philosophical nature. Some may involve current event topics and their impact of ideas. By sharing this, I look forward to discussion, possible enlightenment and education in the realm of ideas, concepts, theories and matters of the mind. Also, how they manifest themselves into our mundane lives. Hope you will enjoy this journey with me.