Consciousness: The Realization of Self, Death and Chaos
According to Wilson(1998) human conscousness is the realization of three things. First, that we are going to die. Second that the universe is chaotic and hence unpredictable. Lastly, it is the realization of self. That is we recognize ourselves when we look in the mirror and see ourselves as distinct from others. Some of you may say that chimpanzees also recognize themselves and so are therefore conscious. This is true (Listen to Meredith Small: All Things Considered: Consciousness )but it is unlikely that they contemplate their mortality or their self image and plan for future as we do. Being conscious is this sense leads human beings to act.
What do we do to cope with these three realizations? The answer is that we create culture, and culture encompasses the arts and the sciences. I should at this stage define what I mean by 'the arts'. The arts refer to the visual arts such as painting and sculpture, music, literature, religion, philosophy, economics, sociology etc. Basically, they include all things that are not as yet considered sciences.
The Paintings at Chauvet
The paintings studied might have been painted and repainted as an expression of sympathetic magic. The subjects chosen were usually fierce aimals feared and respected by the painter. The artist and the spectator believed that they were in some way in better control of the dangerous animal in Nature by magic.
They may also be an example of totems. That is symbols of strength that unite the tribe. They remind the tribe that beyond the village perimeter are dangers, and that as individuals we are relatively weak and vulerable, but as a group we are a force to be reckoned with.
Hamlet
In Hamlet's famous speech the three elements of human consciousness are represented. We could argue that in writing about these subjects Shakespeare felt in some way in control of them. The same would explain the play's popuarity with audiences over the centuries in that the spectator on hearing the words participates in their recreation and also feels somehow (magically) in better control of the problems of the realization of self, death and chaos.
Epigenetic Rules
Wilson(1998) introduces the notion of epigenetic rules as an explanation for culture. They are deep genetically inherited tendencies to do and think things. Sympathetic magic is considered to be such a rule. The full collection of these things makes up the foundations of human culture.
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Saturday, February 3, 2007
Ariadne and Theseus
Ariadne (1898) by John Williams Waterhouse
The Story of Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur
In Greek mythology Ariadne was the beautiful daughter of King Minos of Crete. She fell in love with Theseus. Theseus was chosen amongst other young men to be sacrificed to the Minotaur (a creature with a bull's head and a man's body) that resided in a labyrinth. To enable Theseus to find his way out of the maze Ariadne gave him a ball of colored thread. Theseus manages to kill the Minotaur and find his way back to the outside world. Despite the Ariadne's devotion, Theseus abandons her boarding a ship secretly while she was sleeping. Theseus' flight is depicted in J.W.Waterhouse's painting shown above.
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