‘Yet if it stands only a little while,’ said Huor, ‘then out of your house shall come the hopes of Elves and Men. This I say to you, lord, with the eyes of death: though we part here for ever, and I shall not look on your white walls again, from you and from me a new star shall arise. Farewell!’
* * *
There are two words whose meanings reflect our somewhat warped attitudes toward levels of commitment to physical or mental activities. These are the terms amateur and dilettante. Nowadays these labels are slightly derogatory. An amateur or a dilettante is someone not quite up to par, a person not to be taken very seriously, one whose performance falls short of professional standards. But originally, “amateur,” from the Latin verb amare, “to love,” referred to a person who loved what he was doing. Similarly a “dilettante,” from the Latin delectare, “to find delight in,” was someone who enjoyed a given activity. The earliest meanings of these words therefore drew attention to experiences rather than accomplishments; they described the subjective rewards individuals gained from doing things, instead of focusing on how well they were achieving. Nothing illustrates as clearly our changing attitudes toward the value of experience as the fate of these two words. There was a time when it was admirable to be an amateur poet or a dilettante scientist, because it meant that the quality of life could be improved by engaging in such activities. But increasingly the emphasis has been to value behavior over subjective states; what is admired is success, achievement, the quality of performance rather than the quality of experience. Consequently it has become embarrassing to be called a dilettante, even though to be a dilettante is is to achieve what counts most–the enjoyment one’s actions provide.
[“A phenomenological model of consciousness based on information theory”] is phenomenological in that it deals directly with events–phenomena–as we experience and interpret them, rather than focusing on the anatomical structures, neurochemical process, or unconscious purposes that make these events possible. Of course, it is understood that whatever happens in the mind is the result of electrochemical changes in the central nervous system, as laid down over millions of years by biological evolution. But phenomenology assumes that a mental event can be best understood if we look at it directly as it was experienced, that than through the specialised optics of a particular discipline. Yet in contrast to pure phenomenology, which model we will explore here adopts principles from information theory as being relevant for understanding what happens in consciousness. These principles include knowledge about how sensory data are processed, stored and used–the dynamics of attention and memory.
“Don’t aim at success–the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue… as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.”
Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning
When I’m writing, I think of the whole academic world; I know what they think, and they don’t think what I think. I just have to say, Let the guillotine come down; you’ve got me kid, but you’re gonna get this message. I always feel as though I were going through a Simpeglades that’s just about to close, but I get through before I let that thought come to me. And it’s a very strange feeling of holding–actually, intellectually, holding–that door open to get this thought out. Now that’s, that’s the way to do it. Don’t think about the negative side. There are going to be negatives and they are going to come down and that’s like washing the dishes, you know? You’ve got to hold the door open to do anything that hasn’t been done before. You have to do your thing, you have to hold all the criticism in abeyance. I’m sure that that’s an experience that everyone has in life. In writing, you have it all the time in a minor way, getting that sentence out.
The asshole fails to recognize you to your face… The asshole is especially outrageous, because, whatever his private motives, he can’t even be polite. And when he is polite, or even charming, fundamental respect is not the reason why. Other motives are in play.
Aaron James – Assholes: A Theory
The beginning of a mythic world or a mythic tradition is a seizure – something that pulls you out of yourself, beyond yourself, beyond all rational patterns. It is out of such seizures that civilizations are built. All you have to do is look at their monuments, and you’ll see that these are the nuttiest things that mankind over thought of. Look at the Pyramids. Just try to interpret them in terms of rational means and aims or economic necessities; think of what it meant in a society with the technology of Egypt – which is to say practically nothing – to build a thing that massive. The cathedrals, the great temples of the world, or the work of any artist who has given his life to producing these thing – all of these come from mythic seizure […]. That awakening of awe, that awakening of zeal, is the beginning, and curiously enough, that’s what pulls people together.