The Philosopher's Attic

Dr. Mark Johnson at Thomistica.Net made an interesting point a while ago when he published a list that explained to the world (and his peers) why he was not to be considered a Thomist. (Sidenote: A thomist as in either a specialist for the theories and writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas or a follower of said Mediaeval thinker)
In relation with the above Sidenote such a declaration begs a question: so what kind of Non-Thomist is he? A non-follower or a non-specialist?
The list makes it quite clear that it’s the second option. And then you get to thinking… Mark Johnson (reading his CV and Bibliography makes that cristal clear) is a CHIEF specialist for the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. And he’s really screaming his doubt about the non read books into the blogosphere…

So what on earth am I then? I guess I am just picking up the breadcrumbs of some non existent metaphysical bread. ANYWAY… back to Saint Thomas Aquinas. What is philosophy and what is theology? What are all the academic theories worth anyway?
The answer can be quite simple: they’re a shot a the right and the most accurate way to explain the world. Which basically makes the History of Human thought a huge Mall where you get to choose the theory that personally suits you the best or is the most attune to your own way of figuring out the world and the comings and goings within it.
By choosing it of course you expose yourself to being filed under some “-ism” or “-isticism” or any other filing tag that suits your opponents. And at one point you go out there and shout “I am not a …” to anyone who wants to hear it.
Truth is (as far as text knowledge for qualifying as a specialist in something goes): it’s impossible! We go on the things we know and the Hermeneutic Circle states clearly that the process NEVER stops. Never. Ever. It can’t. It’s a perpetuum mobile that once it has been set off, cannot be stopped. And I guess that after some runnings of the Hermeneutic Circle the time calls to some pretending…
Let’s face it. You go to school, to college, you start a PhD and somewhere in between people start to notice you. Suddenly what you say matters. Just because you have the degree making obvious that you’re smart. And the you want to live up to it and you start pretending. That’s why it is virtually impossible for academic professionals to confess to not knowing something or a text. In that way I am quite refreshed by Mark Johnsons ‘confession’ and his ten reasons that make him a non-thomist.
And for some unfathomable reason, I am NOT sent into eternal doubt over his statements. I have long accepted the fact that the world is a box of chocolates… not in a Forrest Gump sort of way. But rather like this: eat the first top layer of the chocolates at ease… there’ll always be a next one after that.

yseult Work

So, I found my new home over here at Mediaevaliter and changed the base of this blog to WordPress. Puh… feels much more comfortable like this, since I have somehow gotten used to doing some custom things in my blog and it was a real pain not being able to work like that over at blog-city.
Another point: I am paying for the webspace so I might as well use it properly. With all the space I have over at dreamhost, I could host 10 separate pages and still have enough space for the workrelated pdfs I am shipping around.

So here’s to another step and some new inspiration!

yseult Personal

Is there anything more frustrating than a full-blown misunderstanding?

It doesn’t matter what the reason is to begin with… it might be a linguistic problem, it might be some absence of idiosyncratic sarcasm markers or it might be even a total absence of understanding for your fellow being’s sense of humour. It might of course be also the casual “you know what she said about you…” knock over the head where gossip turns your relationship with anybody south. It can also be something so trivial like hormones (yes, they do exist, you know) what will make you hear things that were not intended.
Let’s stick with the easier version here: the linguistic misunderstanding. The big catastrophe where you fail to understand properly what someone is telling you and start second guessing what the actual meaning was. What’s the error here? Of course: the “what did you just say?” or the “you really mean that?” salvation didn’t spring to your mind. But the real fault? Vanity. Again. Ever. Always. And there is Al Pacino in the Devil’s Advocate again, with that sardonic grin: “Vanity always has been my preferred sin…” and the Rolling Stones are rolling in.
And when after the shouting and the explaining you’re faced with the simple white wall that has MISUNDERSTANDING written all over it. Anything more frustrating?
And there you are, with your justified anger because you felt insulted or annoyed, and *poooof* no reason at all be insulted in the first place. Frustrating? Teeth-grindingly frustrating.
Guess what? For someone who has studies rhetoric and conversational methods, conflict dialogue etc. it is even more frustrating. With this knowledge in the back of your head something adds itself to the frustration. A really silly question: did I just get outsmarted? Did this girl just make me pass a real insult for a misunderstanding?

Guess what… there is something more frustrating than a missunderstanding: not knowing if it really was one.

But then again, what does it matter? If the person went to the trouble to outsmart you…

yseult Personal