Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ding an Sich

. . . or the Thing-in-Itself.

Kant used the term in his Critique of Pure Reason and it's stuck in my head ever since that freshman survey of philosophy class with Dr. Gould back in 1960.



If I understood the meaning of the term then, however briefly, I've surely forgotten it now.

But those words are what spring to mind when I see a close up picture that focuses on the essential 'thingness' of things, be they eggplants or pepper seeds . . .

. . . or a fallen poplar leaf.



Then, of course, thinking of Kant leads me to Monty Python and the Philosophers' Song.

And it's downhill from there.
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7 comments:

Victoria said...

LOL, I love Monty Python. Well, except for the exploding man in "The Meaning of Life." I laugh...but I just don't look at the screen.

Martin said...

Vicki

Strange isn't it, how some things stick with us from our formal learning.

I studied aesthetics for a year at degree level. That left me puzzled about 'significant form'. The question I keep coming back to from those days is 'when does music become music?' Is it in the head of the composer, as interpreted by the musician or as perceived by the audience?

Anyway, I digress. That's philosophy for you.

Tess Kincaid said...

Somehow things always boil down to Python at the manor, too.

Vicki Lane said...

Hi, Victoria - I remembered being appalled by the knight in THE HOLY GRAIL -- when his various limbs kept being severed and he was spouting blood. What's funny about this? I wondered. But then I got over it. Python skates pretty close to the line for me at times but all in all I love them.

Martin -- Philosophy does indeed lead to digression. Case in point, I begin with Kant and end up with Python.

Willow -- Pythonese is a second language here. ("I'm not dead yet!" "Is your name not Bruce?""Ohhhh ... the cat's got it.")

Miss_Yves said...

To answer to your question about my post"Petit coin"
If
outhouse -- an outdoor privy means "outside water -closet"the answer is "yes"or "maybe".
In fact, this cabin (exhibited by the pupils of a secondary school ) is certainely used for the pump of the fountain outside, but it make we think to the old W-C (my title suggest that fact )
Sorry: this comment is very far from philosophy !
About Monty Python (and "Holy Graal"), it's interesting to understand why we laugh ...So we have to read Bergson !

Merisi said...

Oh yeah, MP. *smile*

I have been scrolling through your latest posts. Dang, you are getting the hang of the camera fast! I tried to figure out what lens you got yourself, couldn't read the box. Those close-ups are mighty good, I have a hard time with mine! Filter? Are you referring to the optical glass protection for your lens? I feel so giddy about your new camera, almost as if it were mine. ;-)

Vicki Lane said...

Well, Merisi, it's entirely due to your magnificent pictures and your suggestion that I was ready for a SLR that I made the leap! Many thanks!

The lens is an 18-200 -- yes, I mean the glass protector thing.

I haven't had a lot of time to get to know the camera yet -- I'm shooting on the P setting most of the time and haven't fiddled with all the extra stuff. Eventually, I hope, I'll really explore its capabilities.

Again, thanks for the shove!