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| | | -- By GregOrr - 17 Apr 2009 | |
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< | In Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, a group assembled from Austrian society is given the opportunity to choose an idea to spur the world to a better future, but they have difficulty reaching consensus among different subgroup perceptions and interests. This provides foreground to a personal search for answers by the title character, Ulrich, who sees two sides in everything. Situations have contrasting components, and even individual components evoke contrasting interpretations, “Like watching someone eat silently, without sharing his appetite: You suddenly perceive only swallowing movements, which look in no way enviable.” | >
> | In Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, a group assembled from Austrian society is given the opportunity to choose an idea [to spur the world to a better future (or something like 'represent content/value', in the sense of what mountain, probably something like the author's wonder of life, practically/curiously/interestedly/personally/correctly)], and they survey/develop though have difficulty reaching consensus among various things and subgroup perceptions and interests. This provides foreground to personal experience/search/development of the title character, Ulrich, who sees two sides in everything. Situations have different/contrasting components, and even individual components evoke different/contrasting experiences/interpretations, “Like watching someone eat silently, without sharing his appetite: You suddenly perceive only swallowing movements, which look in no way enviable.” | | | He concludes, “Meaning lies roughly halfway between reasoning and capriciousness,” with common forms of capriciousness including “how we privilege particular interpretations through cultural or personal preunderstanding” and “how we unquestionably seek the firm and solid in life as urgently as a land animal that has fallen into the water.” Ulrich further interrogates conditions of semi-certainty by seeking contrary and unaccounted for internal and external evidence in hopes of greater truth. Yet reasoning appears, even in its best light, to be asymptotic, and some level of capriciousness contributes to decisions that are made (or not made) in finite time. | |
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< | I intend to further explain the structure underlying these ideas and consider implications. I will argue that misunderstandings are pervasive and often insidious, and people can become more ‘creative’ through openness and reflection in communication, though this leads to a problem of parsimony. | >
> | I intend to further explain the structure underlying these ideas and consider implications. I will consider content and reality, understanding and misunderstanding, people's participation in and creative development through openness and reflection in thinking and communication, and issues of range and parsimony. | | |
Intersubjective Reality and the Communication Problem | | | Creative Communication | |
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< | Nietszche said, "Woe to him who hides wastelands within." Ideally, we would trust each other enough to make our inevitably flawed expressions, especially those exposing misunderstanding. Heidegger said, “We ourselves are pointers pointing toward what calls to be thought about.” While we can't quite say what we hope to say, we at least point the direction. | >
> | Nietszche said, "Woe to him who hides wastelands within." Ideally and commonly, as children and adults, with some sense and value of good appropriateness, we would and do trust each other enough to participate expressively, including exposure of lack or misunderstanding as it goes. Heidegger said, “We ourselves are pointers pointing toward what calls to be thought about.” In actuality/experience/pertinence/interest... , we participate in and point to reality and direction. | | | Openness to changing one's views coupled with active reflection on others' expressions allows access to a greater slice of intersubjective reality, which leads to new and more complete ideas. Moreover, greater empathy to others’ expressions helps one to be a clarifying and productive communication partner. |
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