end of an epoch....

critical thinking is over. god is dead. i am free.


The overman/superman: The overman is the one who finds the truth in the eternal return and finds comfort in it. Since the overman is the one who is free from the restraints of moralistic oppression and finds value in life and its happening, there is no greater joy than being able to relive that joy for eternity. And the overman is able to live without regret and disappointment because he realizes that he is living out every possibility for eternity.

This course has been an enlightening experience. It has been a short period of grappling with very large ideas, unlike anything I have ever had to do before. As we have proceeded through the texts I have gradually enjoyed them more for several reasons.

I feel it is wilfully belittling to suggest that this cyclical process will mean the next great epoch will necessarily revert back to some previous one. More likely, it will be something completely new. Evolution is not a steady process, but a quasi linear process full of reversions loops and dead ends... this is the nature of everything.

one should not attempt to cajoil or influence through negative representation of an alternative viewpoint to that they hold. A balanced argumet should speak for itself.

decline and fall...

'People get ideas about a thing they call life. It sets them all wrong.'

A line offered by the obscure character Prof. Otto Silenus. Genius. Architect and all round oddity. Paul Pennyfeather is the protagonist of the entertaining 'Decline and Fall', charting an unbelievable year of his life, death and renaissance.  Despite this, it is Silenus who proves to be the most complex and interesting character.

The line above suggests a certain fatalism or existentialism inasmuch as the perceived aversion to planning suggests that it would be essentially futile. This inevitability has been explored previously in the reading series and it further enhanced but the title of this book making reference to a 'Decline of the West' who's raison d'etre was to highlight the inevitable rise and fall of cultures.

I must say I really enjoyed the book. I am huge fan of the Cohen brothers films and I feel that this has all the hallmarks of one of their screenplays. A character whose situation is plunged into chaos and spirals out of control, always with the reader tantalised into believing that things will straighten out, often opportunities missed through other peoples decisions, generally a mix of frustration and excitement... finds himself in unfortunate situations which are not necessarily of his making....
this proves the authors view that the best laid plans go to waste... so why bother.... neitzche

but more than the Cohen brothers, I was often reminded of John Fowles' The Magus; an astounding novel dealing with questions of control and perceptions of reality. The protagonist, Nicholas [an Oxford educated teacher who finds himself on a Greek island following a personal crisis] has a year of huge upheaval followed by a rebirth of sorts. His journey is defined by experiences orchestrated by other etherial characters, the outcome is often negative or hurtful yet you get the sense that it healthy for Nicholas' personal development. Familiar? The main perpetrator is Conchis, a complex character in the Silenus mould but far darker and mystical.

I wouldn't call it funny, but maybe that is harsh... at most I mustered a grin but I still found it really enjoyable. As a quasi-satire on the public school attending, bolli' swilling upper classes. While being scornful of their behaviour and the tone being generally negative, Paul finds himself happily moving within those same circles with Margot Beste-Chetwynde, and it is ultimately these upper-class old boy networks which gives him back his freedom. Maybe this is a commentary on the rich always winning despite their actions, and a wider observation of the inequitable reality of a capitalist society. As we have explored in some detail previously, the capitalist economy is based on the principal that money will follow money. There is also a  undercurrent of the futility of planning
It is an interesting conflict within Margots character that she is very much a member of the leisure class, yet part of her disdain for the old King's Thursday Hall was the iconography of the architecture;

'I can't think of anything more bourgeois and awful than timbered Tudor architecture.'

Margot tore down this monument to the bourgeoisie in favour of a starkly modern design from the  Corbusier-ian hand of Professor Silenus. Replacing the grandiose scale which necessitated an army of servants with a modernist house. The only problem that Silenus saw with the house was the awkward incumbent of man. A reworking of Corbusier's idea of the house being a machine for living in. Silenus goes further, suggesting that no residential buyidling can be beautiful, because the 'human' element can not be eliminated. Explicitly ststing that all ill comes from man. This characterisation rather feels like the author is poking fun at this contemporary attitude which is massively exaggerated.

There is a fair amount of scorn poured on the steretypical idea of propriety in English society, some of which has subsided since Evelyn Waugh wrote this book, but not all. It makes

suggesting modernism is less principled .. margot justifies her job [to herself] by asserting that the ends justify the means; prostitution is fine if the outcome is success. She is a Faustian character and  a capitalist whereas Paul displays characterisations of Nietzsche's happiness will only be ahieved as a by-product of sucessfully achieving one's aims. The means are more important than the ends.

margot ends up marrying someone she doesnt love to free paul... though his freedom is not total...
full circle... cyclical... decline of the west... inevitability... pow

Decline of the West...

The final reading in this lecture series proposes a comparison between the epoch tables contained in Spengler's 'Decline of the West' and the general tone / message of John Lanchester's writing.

I will start with with describing the curiously titled 'epoch tables'. These three tables cover various contemporary states and their constituent 'epochs', namely spiritual, cultural and political. It it the right of the author to choose the start and end of these epochs which places a great deal of power in their hands. 

The very notion of the inevitable fall of every epoch is anathema to some. This fatalist attitude that Spengler projects is, I think, hard to argue against. This innate cyclical process is woven into the very fabric of everything. It does not, as some purport, suggest a divine conductor or indeed a hopelessness in the futility of everything. [or even a reckless abandon ] Does accepting the ultimate fate of the sun and the accompanying death of all life on our planet mean we should live with no regard for the future? Ridiculous. No? Does this belief make it an 'organic' process? To argue [in simple terms] about birth, gestation and death? And if so, I would see no negative connotation with the word organic.

We are not cats. We are more. But to think that we are the finished product is not only ignorant but is hugely naiive complaicent... This does not make me a subscriber to the enlightenment project. Marx believed in the continuity o


 I think it is weak and a little defeatist to only derive ....

I am very interested in physics and the basic idea that the universe and everything in it is subject to the same innate cycle of rise and fall, or bang and crunch. Who is to say this is not an infinately long process? Within everything there is pattern and cyclical behaviour.... for example, chaos theory can be used to understand [as previously explored] the behaviour of turbulence, the rise and fall of populations, behaviour of commodities prices and many more. A very basic understanding of chaos theory allows us to understand that even where there is no perceived periodicity, there can be some semblance of order.

Lanchester writes in opposition of Spengler. He is more positive and ultimately believes in the an enlightened path to emancipation. He writes in the Marxist vein of continued worthwhile struggle against the Capitalist system... or at least argues the worth in the struggle as a concept. That we have it at outr disposal to be progressive, and can place faith in technology and politics to progress along the right path.







I must say I am with Nietzche when it comes to this.

Dos Passos on the U.S.A...

Reading Dos Passos' USA confirms my belief that events are cyclical. Bust will follow boom in the same way that seasons will give way to change, people will behave like animals, greed will prevail and cash will be crowned king.

As soon as I started this book I was reminded of my own experiences of moving to a new city. USA starts by capturing just this complex emotion. Excitement and trepidation, opportunity and potential failure. This mix of feeling is specific to a particular zietgeist. In USA it was the boom years of the 20's which saw a huge transition in lifestyle and economics, with relocation to cities on an industrial scale. Feeling that you could change your future but also feeling that you have to battle against the innumerable others in the same position as yourself. 

a very specific combination of emotions...

Some places make you walk a foot taller.

This was my experience of moving back to London. The competition and buzz that surrounded me made me straighten my back and raise my chin as I walked through the crowds with a smile on my face. This is the impression I get when I read some of the passages from 'USA'.

USA charts the American history of the first half of C20 primarily through the people who helped shape its development. There are other [more interesting] devices used to tell the story, but we will concentrate on the accounts based on real figures.

The chapters/people of interest are; Tin Lizzy - Henry Ford. The Bitter Drink - Thorstein Veblen. Adagio Dancer - Rudolph Valentino. Architect - Frank Lloyd Wright.

First I must draw attention to the seeming lack of professional diversity in this period of America. Farming and preaching were clearly the law and PR of the day, incredibly popular vocations which all of our examined characters were surrounded by and influenced them.

There are other common themes in the selection too. They all took advantage of the transient zeitgeist and prospered, drawing similarities with Faust as previously discussed; then in later life sought redemption through regression to an earlier time. Whether this was a result of their particular characters or is simply part of the human condition associated with ageing and possibly gaining a different perspective; they all returned to family farm land in their later years, except for Valentino who's entire short life in America was seeking redemption.

Henry Ford was both a Faust and a perfect Capitalist. He sought to immerse himself in something which he loved and avoid the hard manual labour of typical farm work. He was chasing the same american dream as his contemporaries and helped to change the industrialised world. He was such an efficient capitalist and pragmatist that he owned every part of the assembly process and even owned the raw materials. A quite unbelievable 81 hour process could see ore mined from the surrounding hills turn into a finished Model T driving off the assembly line. This kind of efficiency makes little sense to a Socialist as huge compromises must be made in relation to workers conditions to make this possible.

'every ounce of life was sucked off into production and at night the workmen went home grey shaking husks.'

Ford took the necessary decisions, not the decisions which benefited the workers. A Faustian developer. Further evidence of this is when the delusional pacifist who was intent to send a ship into WWII to stop the war by showing the futility of their actions started to manufacture munitions for the war effort. He was also a anti-Semitic who blamed the Jews for myriad problems.

Australian English?

So, I got so sick of seeing the red squiggle below perfectly spelled English words that I actually motivated myself to try and do something about it. Shockingly, as it turns out, its easy. Right click on the squiggle, and choose spell check options.... the choose your language.... however, the only options are English [AMERICAN], or English [AUSTRALIAN]..... AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH! REALLY?? Why have bastardised versions of English become the only options. Quite ridiculous. As an aside, for the none of you who are interested 'Australian English' seems to be a less fussy version of English...that little-known archaic language. 

Where at least the Americans at least know their mind... and know when they think your are wrong even though you are right... the Australian dictionary really doesn't give a shit and lets anything pass as 'English'...

...also tried to make the changes to google directly... American English is the default, fair enough. 'English' = 'This language cannot be used for spell checking'.

a m a z i n g 

architects in films: the fountainhead...

I recognise that there is more to the fountainhead than an unintentionally hilarious film which is set in a transient period of American history [roughly the second quarter of the C20]. But, that does not mean that we should ignore the obvious and point out that it is a very entertaining watch! It is wonderfully simplistic in its character development with each character being totally one dimensional and the crudeness of each visual metaphor feeling like a slap across the face, however, this manages to be completely charming. The big drill... enough said!

Despite the period in question it is not saturated with commentary of economics which I find surprising. It is rather a piece detailing with attitudes and personal politics, and ultimately allows Ann Rand to suggest what she deems to be the way we should behave.

The protagonist, Howard Roake is an architect. He is is the architectural caricature who we would all like to see in our heads when we have to deal with dim-witted clients and planners, we would never behave like him, we just like to think we are capable of doing so. He has all the best lines and is absolutely the embodiment of creative integrity. He set's his own standards and will not accept any assistance in any matter. He judges mere consideration of public opinion to be weak. So far, so good Mr Roake, I applaud you.

However, this strength of character starts to suggest a darker, more questionable aspect of his character. He doesn't recognise the value of society, he feels it is a weak illusion. He is the archetypal Faust who lives by his own rules and doesn't give or ask for for help.

'A man who works for the sake of others is a slave'

This is Roake's assertion, a clear rejection of collectivism in favour of individualism. An endorsement of capitalism over socialism. But celebrating Roakes individualism suggests a dictatorial sympathy which can not be ignored.

Like many of the texts in this series, the writer dismisses the will of the masses; in The Fountainhead they are characterised as pawns at the mercy of Gail Wynand, another Faustian character and a capitalist. Wynand uses his sensationalist newspaper much in the way Murdoch does today... the characters are interchangeable save for the fact Wynand goes through a redemption phase and ultimately commits suicide... maybe there is time yet for fact to follow fiction to a degree.

Toohey is the socialist in the pack, weak to the assertions and opinions of the masses, it is revealing that he is calculating and power-hungry in his ambitions and is ultimately unsuccessful.

Dominique on the other hand is principalled yet in many instances she is weak and tragic. She wallows in the futility of life and decision making. Her first scene is the dramatic and ham-fisted attempt to sum up her nihilism by destroying a marble statue simply because she loves it and doesn't want to be attached to it. She has a similar attitude towards Roake for the most-part.

The final scene shows Dominique ascending Roaks latest masterpiece  which ironically is Wynards posthumous monument.... let that soak in... It shows a triumphant Roake, assessing his work and his kingdom... the low camera shot used employed to the same effect as used by tyrannical dictators the world over.

swap you my soul for a barrel of beer...

OK, random start granted but reading this text about Faust has got me thinking about the value of things [not in a lefebvre-ian way] and got me thinking of another piece I recently read about the construction of a great railway bridge in England. There were hundreds of men employed, working very long, hard hours in dangerous circumstances. They would gather at the end of the day and drink, and gamble. One such exhausted drunk, was so desperate and so short-sighted he actually swapped his WIFE for a barrel of beer! ... our perception of value is easily skewed.

Around Christmas, values get warped in the face of accepted behaviour and time and stress constraints and really cause me to question the sanity of this institution... clearly we are being controlled, Burroughs would have a field day, but even as I am painfully aware I am being manipulated, I have a irresistible compulsion to comply. Why? Well Faust too was compelled to broker a deal with Mephisto against maybe more reasonable judgement. I too willingly engage in this short-termist pact every Christmas against my better judgement, all the time knowing it is a compromise... that is the difficulty. Life is a compromise. There is very little of life which is black and white, we have to make judgements on the gamut of greys and shape our world, maybe then man can change. But there must be people ready and willing to make the difficult decisions, willing to upset those around them for the greater good.

This short-term-ism, opportunism and greed are themes within Marshall Berman's 'All That Is Solid Melts Into Air'. They are both, indictments on capitalism and truisms of the system. They are necessary constituent parts of a system which wants to tear itself apart but at the same time also wants to prosper. These are all recurring questions and themes of this lecture series.

Acceptance of contradiction is a modernist approach; present in the writing of Nietzsche and Marx. This attitude is explored in the opening phase of Faust: Dreamer. It is argued that destruction is part of creation and that situations must be exploited for maximum return. This makes us consider a question; Does a crime ever become justifiable? What if it is done for the perceived greater good? This question is pertinent throughout Faust where choices are morally ambiguous. Through Mephisto Faust develops as a man; self-absorption gives rise to interest in others. He learns to trust himself and goes through a metamorphosis... an awakening... the metamorphosis goes through two further developments: Lover + Developer. In these phases Faust learns about the consequences of his actions. He ends up causing Gretchen's death, though indirectly, they are borne out of his actions. He allows her to see there is more to life than her small existence  much like Faust's earlier development. But where her ambitions involve Faust, his ambitions are bigger and don't involve Gretchen. 

His growth promotes recklessness, his success makes him greedy for more and he goes after this with a wild determination... when something stands in his way, he coldly 'deals' with the obstacle. This is the key facet of the Developer phase. This phase can be viewed as a metaphor for capitalism and the behaviour of market makers. Unquenchable thirst for more. Merely getting greedier rather than becoming satisfied. This endless struggle will inevitably have victims along the way but as with Faust the perpetrators will argue that the ends justify the means.