{ Sunday, December 11, 2005 }
Interview with Peter Watson, a former psychiatrist who wrote who seems very crabby, but in a good way. These questions struck me, especially in view of each other:
Without question, ethical monotheism. The idea of one true god. The idea that our life and ethical conduct on earth determines how we will go in the next world. This has been responsible for most of the wars and bigotry in history.
He then paraphrases English philosopher John Gray, who says "it is more sensible to lo0ok out on the world from a zoo than from a monastery. Science, or looking out, is better than contemplation, or looking in." This struck me as odd, coming from a former psychiatrist and a writer. He then goes on to discuss the novel:
The rise of the novel generally is a great turning in. But I don't think it has given a lot of satisfaction to people. It has not achieved anything collective. It's a lot of little personal turnings that lots of people love to connect with. But these are fugitive, evanescent truths. They don't stay with you very long or help you do much.
I completely disagree. Not a lot of satisfaction! I think I might have to read his book. And the delamination of the inner life from collective action? I can't think of anything more terrible, it's like mindless automatons, The Borg, totalitarian regimes.
Another book I have been reading, sent to me by my friend Scott is The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren, an evangelical Christian. Rick Warren's church, The Saddleback Church, has grown to tens of thousands of members distributed all over the country, but he came to prominence with The Purpose Driven Life, which itself got all over the news after hostage Ashley Smith read it to her kidnapper. Warren sells sermons to pastors all over the world through his web site at Pastors.com and his strategy of decentralization has enabled his church to grow at an enormous rate.
This is not my usual reading fare, not being an evangelical Christian myself, but it is an amazing book on building communities, which is, of course, one of my favorite subjects. You should see my Amazon recommendations now. The same day I received A Purpose Driven Life in the mail, my copy of Kiss and Make Up arrived. Huzzah!
LINK | 10:07 PM | TB
Funny to look back at the John Gray quote in light of Rick Warren's book. The first thing Warren says is "It's not about you" -- for some folks, faith is indeed a way to look out, to be freed from the 'bondage of self.' Or at least people like Mother Theresa never struck me as navel-gazers--but then what do I know? I like novels.
Shannon | December 12, 2005 7:51 PMThis is a fascinating link. I'm not quite sure what he means by satisfaction. The problem with the novel comes, doesn't it, when it stops working like a conversation (this is what life feels like to me, what about you?...) and instead encourages escapism? Do novels simulate in us emotions and experiences that the lives we live don't (but should) contain?
In the interview, Watson seems to be saying not that inner life should be delaminated from the external, but rather that the stance of our inner lives should be towards the external � or that which can talk back to us.
Novels allows us to imagine, rather than do, interaction and I don�t think that is enough. Perhaps the satisfaction of novels comes from the real conversations they prompt people to have, such as the ones you write about here.
> Science, or looking out, is better than contemplation, or looking in." This struck me as odd, coming from a former psychiatrist and a writer.
i think in this, and the next statement he's coming from the angle that psychology's aim isnt to aid in introspection, but to gain outward contexts for the introspection, and additional vocabulary to help break apart the assumptions the introspections are built on.
i'd interpret his "non-satisfying" statement to mean that large truths, or insights into the human condition, are more rewarding than insights into the character of a single protagonist in a single situation. How Romeo acts is a truth of the human condition, but the epiphany of eg."All great truths begin as blasphemies."(George Bernard Shaw) is much deeper, more complex, and useful to rationalizing the world as a whole.
nick | December 17, 2005 3:54 PMHello Peter, I disagree with you, but I understand your reasons. The worst single idea in history is unconsciousness. If you are conscious, you will never fear or condemnate "ethical monotheism". What is the problem of people behaving good in this life? That shouldn't bother anyone. Even if the result is not for afterlife, but for current life.
The problem is, I guess, the fear generated by the by-products of "e-m". And fear is possible only where unconsciousness reigns.
If Love was a God, or perhaps the only God, should I condemnate monotheism? And what about "ethical monotheism" (ok, I must say I don't really see the meaning of this expression). Beyond that, should I tag *Loveism* as the worst single idea in history?
Of course no.
About the Virginia Woolf part, I disagree again, and again I understand his reasons. Perhaps better now: he has a problem of clear communication. I mean, he hasn't clear communication. I sense much fear in you, Mr Watson. Fear leads to angry.
Problem with Virginia Woolf is that her "inner sensibility" often translates as rejection of the outer world, and not really as deep looking in. But in the beggining lots of looks in are not fully healthy, they're just self discovering. Now he's just being ethical monotheistic about his own vision of what-world-should-be. My God is not his. The world is free.
nando | December 19, 2005 11:00 AM> Science, or looking out, is better than contemplation, or looking in." This struck me as odd, coming from a former psychiatrist and a writer.
It strikes me (as a recovering scientist) as a perhaps popular, but wildly incorrect understanding of the enterprise of "science." Science is fundementally a creative pursuit, and the observation of the world through experiments is simply testing hypotheses. This is the dull, quotidian part--often reserved for graduate students and technicians.
The real work is the formulation of hypotheses and experimental designs--all "internal" work. There is a profound art to creating questions that matter. I refer to not just the high-level, conceptual stuff, but the entire set of decisions about what skills to have on the team, what apparatus to use, which tests to employ, and how to evaluate the answers.
Good science is great design, and that comes from inside!
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{ Post a comment }
The Purpose Driven Church is an interesting look at building community.
Interestingly, his purpose of have a loosly coupled organization has not diminished his influence, but actually increased it (by allowing the organization and ideas to grow more).
Letting go a bit can have huge rewards.
ryan king | December 12, 2005 2:09 AM