30 July, 2006

first post, looking forward

Here we are then. Another bit of sound in the echoing chamber. I approach this project with some ambivalence -- a terrible way to approach something one is about to do of one's own accord -- and I expect that I am not alone in this disposition. But I am inclined to say, in that vein, that what I most wish to explore here is the idea of being alone or not being alone today. How do you describe a mass of increasingly indistinct individuals?

I'll leave that there: I'm hoping more for feedback -- dialogue, ideally -- than a podium.

That said, if you feel you've already got enough to get the ball rolling, please do so. But while the question above is and will remain a guiding light, I hope to approach its illumination gradually. So I will offer a different question:

How coherent is history as a progression of ideas? That is, how well can we understand or describe the condition of a given people (I'm talking western, here, but feel free to apply your thoughts as and where you see fit) if we use as our point of reference its most refined statements of self-awareness? What do we know about the voting public of the United States, or Denmark, for that matter, by reference to Plato, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Heidegger?

Take care, and good luck out there.