| Visual Philosophy |
Most philosophy concerns
words and meanings, arguments and debates. But wisdom is also a matter
of perception and intuition. Images can convey what words cannot.
Here are my reflections on a particular image. Please feel free to
e-mail me your own, and I will include them (provided they are
reasonably brief!).
As new images are included
each month, existing ones will be available (and open to your comments)
by clicking the links on the left.
March
I'm currently working on a book on
Existentialism, and am struck by the responsibility of choice. We are not
responsible for our circumstances, for they are determined by factors over which
we have no control, but we are inescapably responsible for what we make of them.
Existentialism, less fashionable now than at its height in Paris in the 1940's,
is not restricted to those who join Sartre with cigarette in one hand and a
glass in another, expounding the philosophy of freedom in smoke-filled bars. It
is a philosophy that starts with the simple fact that, in life, we are
constantly challenged to affirm values and to shape our own future. To dodge the
issue and try to blame one's circumstances, or to play a conventional role, is
to fall into 'bad faith'. When I reflect on my life, I am constantly
amazed at how decisions, sometimes taken quite lightly, can have an astonishing
impact on the future. In the words of the Buddha, our present thoughts build our
life of tomorrow. In that at least, Siddhartha and Jean-Paul Sartre (a
most unlikely pair!) would agree.
February
Reading a photographic blog
recently, the author (Ken Rockwell) discussed the importance, in taking a
photograph, of focusing in on details. He used the example of a car, and so -
being snowy at the time - I decided to do just that, and took a picture of one
corner, rather than of the whole of my car. But it reminds me of the
argument that our senses are very selective. Much of what we see is ignored, for
we have a natural ability to seek out and focus on what appears to us to be of
particular interest. The significance of the whole is revealed in the part. That
is true of religion, where events, people and objects are seen as having a
self-transcending significance; or in art, where an art object conveys more than
the material in which it is embodied. As every advertising agency known,
you only need to suggest and offer hints; people will always see more than you
show them.
January
Although not a Christian, I always
enjoy hearing the Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King's Chapel,
Cambridge. Why? Nostalgia? The craving for innocence? Re-connecting with a
tradition which spans centuries (although the service itself only started in
1918)? Even a touch of the numinous, cutting through the mundane? For me, it
marks a clean, pure space of time on Christmas Eve, a world apart from the
commercial and gastronomic hassle which constitutes most preparations for the
midwinter festival that spans Christmas and New Year.
In fact, for me, the festival starts
earlier in December, with the Advent Carols sung in that other King's Chapel -
in the Strand, London - followed by a typically Dutch celebration of St
Nicholas. Now that's the time to do the present giving, the filling of shoes
placed round the fire in anticipation of 'St Nick's generous visit! When it
comes to celebrations, there are advantages in having a Dutch wife!
All images on this
site © Mel Thompson
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