13 November 2011

CLM again

"the delaminated view of the earth that characterizes western science." p. 112.  Nice turn of phrase.

27 September 2011

Techne, Phronesis, and Archery

Working through Gadamer's Truth and Method today, specifically his account of techne and phronesis in Aristotle (Ethics Bk 6).  It occurs to me that the differences within the archery community are often differences between those  who see archery as a techne and those who see it in terms of phronesis.  That is, some archers are after a product, a high score.  The means for achieving that score are largely separable from the score itself.  So, any modification in equipment is open for consideration in order to achieve accuracy and consistency.  Others are after a certain experience or the execution of certain action performed well.  Almost everything about the experience may be deemed crucial to performing the action well, so that the means and the end are inseparable.  Archers of this school will tend to be conservative in the equipment choices and resistant to change, because what is open for negotiation is much smaller.  It seems to me that both "traditional archers" and Japanese kyudo archery fall into this second camp.
  

16 April 2011

Notes on Requests and Freedom

One alleged point of difference between “Western” cultures and the cultures of indigenous hunter-gatherers (glossing over for the sake of simplicity the differences within both Western cultures and those we describe as hunter-gatherers) is this: When Westerners need something, they directly ask someone to get it for them; when hunter-gatherers need something, they state their own need, but they do not directly ask someone to provide for that need.

This difference is then glossed with an interpretation: Westerners don’t hesitate to tell others what to do, to give orders, to take charge, to assume that their needs are the ones that need to be met; hunter-gatherers leave their companions free to respond or to not respond to the stated need because nothing is directly asked of them. Westerners treat other people like domesticated animals; hunter-gathers treat the environment and other animals as persons deserving of respect. (See V.R. Cordova, How it Is: The Native American Philosophy of V.F. Cordova, p. 25-6., and Tim Ingold, The Perception of the Environment: Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling, and Skill, p. 69-70.)

Put in the terminology of speech act theory, requesting is an illocutionary act; in hunter-gatherer societies requesting is an indirect illocutionary act. The perlocutionary effects of requesting in these ways are exactly opposite: the effect of the one is to feel imposed upon, coerced, not trusted; the effect of the other is to operate in trust, freedom, and harmony.

The differences indicated and the meaning of those differences rely on associating direct requests with manipulation and indirect requests with autonomy and freedom.

In my experience these terms are correlated in the exact opposite way. That is, a direct request makes it clear what exactly is needed. It leaves the one asked free to respond with a “Yes, I can do that” or “No, I’m sorry I can’t.” It sets a parameter so that everyone can know whether the request has been filled or not. Conversely, an indirect request remains vague as to the nature of the need and so requires considerable powers of divination even among married couples, it does not call for a response as to whether meeting the need is within the power of the one within earshot, and finally it remains indeterminate as to whether the need has been met, for nothing has been directly requested and no interpretation has been confirmed. That is, direct requests seem more aligned with granting freedom to the respondee and indirect communication is more likely to feel manipulative.

21 March 2011

Augustinian Phenomenology

Yet, though they [trees] and all corporeal things have causes which lie hidden in their nature, they do display their forms ... for perception by our senses; and so it seems that, even though they themselves cannot know, they nonetheless wish to be known. City of God, xi.27.

17 March 2011

Programing

Why is "program" such a powerful metaphor when speaking of mental phenomena? I've never truly programed anything. Neither have most people. I'm reading a book published in 1974, and already it is talking about "programing the mind." 1974!