… on philosophical thinking
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on May 12th, 2012
1. “Wij wensen de moeders een onvergetelijke moederdag” (logos). Al de rest betreft de ethos van de spreker en de manier waarop de emoties of onbewuste overwegingen van de kijker worden gemobiliseerd, de pathos. 2a. “Wij lachen de moeders uit (kijk eens hoe mooi wij mooie jonge meiden nog zijn)” / of: 2b. “Wij zijn [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Mar 15th, 2012
There is something attractive in the thought that our language of universals was preceded by an Adamitic language which makes use only of proper names. Such a language acknowledges the importance of individuals, as they are perceived, as opposed to the categories they fall under. We are more interested in our friend Mary than in [...]
Posted in authenticiteit, Dim Lit Philosophy, Perception, Shoah on Oct 26th, 2011
Crimes make images Perceptions do not produce images, or mental representations, in the mind. The images are out there. We see the things before us and the events which take place around us directly. If we remind ourselves of an event from the past somehow we re-perceive it. Even in such cases, it makes no [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Oct 9th, 2011
(Found this on the internet.) Dear Mr. President, I cannot imagine that you do not know what to do. You have my full support in doing it (which is easy to say, I know).
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, Inleiding filosofie van de kunsten, Kort Commentaar (nl.), Kunst en het Kwaad on Jun 22nd, 2011
(English down) Oproep voor bijdragen aan een expertmeeting bedoeld om promovendi en postdocs in de filosofie van de kunsten bijeen te brengen. Gevolgd door een dag met publieke lezingen over de Grenzen van de Esthetica. Utrecht, 17-18 november. (Gevorderde Masters-studenten met een ambitie om te promoveren kunnen ook reageren). Download voor je eigen gemak de [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Jun 1st, 2011
So, we are our brains? And everything we think, feel and do has a neural counterpart? Is it the brains which cause us to think, feel and do things? Wittgenstein once remarked
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on May 25th, 2011
Deconstruction is not a Method. It is, rather the tragedy of philosophical thinking, and meant as such by its name-giver Jacques Derrida. See, if one demolishes a television-set with an axe, say,
Posted in Arts, Dim Lit Philosophy, Kunst en het Kwaad, Music on Apr 12th, 2011
Art has something to do with communication, as Anthony Savile (2001) argued. Richard Wollheim (2001) objected explicitly against treating art as communication. Yet Savile’s claim seems compatible with certain other arguments in Wollheim’s thought (1988, 1993). The connection would be this:
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, hum 291, WFC on Apr 10th, 2011
Pro-active Explanation and Retrograde Understanding The difference between the natural sciences on the one hand, and, on the other the social sciences and humanities is in their subject matter. Yet, people’s evaluations of the two groups of sciences is based in a difference in methodologies.
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, Inleiding filosofie van de kunsten, Kant on Apr 10th, 2011
Aan het einde van de “Analytik des Schönen”, in een “Allgemeine Anmerkung”, onderscheidt Kant mooie dingen van mooie uitzichten met het argument (in mijn verwoording) dat mooie uitzichten alleen op empirische gronden mooi genoemd worden, louter omdat ze het vrije spel van de verbeelding aan de gang houden. Ze doen dat echter niet vanwege de [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Mar 14th, 2011
If you want to see what the Cloud on the internet thinks about Libia, and Ghadaffi, you might want to check the Guardian. Scrolling over the terms provides you with a list of relevant links pointing to pieces including … these terms. Isn’t it beautiful, and responsive to the latest? Sure it is. But what [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Mar 14th, 2011
When disaster strikes the stocks go down. Within days, people’s guilt feelings about living on without “doing much of anything to help” is cashed in through national fundraising efforts. We dig deep into conscience. At the same time and without second thought, we support an immoral system (that allows people to “remove” their cash from [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, WFC on Feb 14th, 2011
Astrology Astronomy describes in scientific manner the state and history of the universe. We cannot but acknowledge that the state and history of the universe form the necessary conditions of everything that happens in our lives: Our lives are determined by what happens and happened in the universe, how can they not be? Yet, we [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, Film, Music on Feb 11th, 2011
Listening to the radio is not just about the music. JazzFM, SkyRadio, and many other radio stations broadcast randomly chosen selections from a selection of music. Perhaps the initial selection (of what should be in the database) was made by humans—or maybe they used an algorithm such as iTunes’ Genius. …With computerised radio stations the [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, Kort Commentaar (nl.), Photography on Feb 10th, 2011
How does one photograph “what it means to be absent”? These pictures are meant to help mourn the recent past we just left behind. We recently moved from this place (Bestuursgebouw) to inner city Utrecht.
Posted in Argumentatieleer, Arts, Dim Lit Philosophy, Kunst en het Kwaad, Perception on Jan 20th, 2011
Banksy makes public art. (If you don’t know his works, please Google.) It is public; the works are out there, on the streets, for all to see. They are accessible to all, and make ample use of circumstances available on the streets (empty walls, holes, sidewalks). The pictures are always carefully, and beautifully rendered and [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy, Kunst en het Kwaad, new art forms on Dec 10th, 2010
One problem with the “roadside monuments” in Jonas Staal’s “Geert Wilders Werken” is that initially, i.e. when their effect was still of maximum height, they did not make themselves known as art. As a consequence, they did not induce the passers-by to take up an artistic attitude, but lured them into believing the “roadside monument” [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Nov 15th, 2010
Op 26 en 27 november 2010 organiseert het Van Abbemuseum The Artistic Device, een tweedaags symposium met Brian Holmes. Holmes is een Amerikaanse cultuur- en kunstcriticus, die met een wat activistische inslag schrijft over de relatie tussen kunst, de samenleving en nieuwe media. Zijn vorig jaar uitgebrachte publicatie Escape the Overcode, Activist Art in the [...]
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Jun 25th, 2010
At last we can prove the secret connection between Nietzsche and Kant. “The Transcendental Anti Christ” © Sam van Gerwen, 2010.
Posted in Dim Lit Philosophy on Jun 24th, 2010
chatroulette.com offers people the possibility to check in with someone anonymous, exchanging live footage from the webcams of both people involved, and a switch-button allowing either of the two to stop the interaction at will and without explanation. 1. I am convinced chatroulette has an addictive aspect. 2. It also tampers with Kant’s Practical Imperative: [...]