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Descartes wrote, "I think, therefore I am." Of course, good old Rene left off the qualitative part: What you are depends on how well you think. My thinking has never been as sharp as his, nor have my ideas been as original as Einstein's. But the further along in life I go, the more taken I am by the philosophical project and the world of ideas. "Cogito ergo sum" for me should probably be adapted: "I think moderately well, therefore I'm about as good as an armchair philosopher." So, that's why I've chosen this whole "philosophy" theme for my site.
The armchair, however, isn't just a comfy place to sit and escape from reality. Philosophy is not merely the leisurely pursuit of dusty men in tweed jackets. It is a way of engaging life. "Engaging" means being actively involved in life as it happens. Much of philosophy is about asking questions, but I would take things a step further. There are entire canons of philosophical tradition. Philosophers have been asking questions for thousands of years, and from year to year, they build upon the questions of those who came before them. We wouldn't get very far if we simply asked the same old questions in the same old way. Philosophical traditions give us new ways of thinking about questions. They give us some answers and, more often than not, more questions. But our understanding of reality becomes more sophisticated.
When we think of philosophy, we think of ideas abstracted from everyday life, but I want to see a discipline of "Applied Philosophy" emerge that makes philosophical insights applicable to everyday life. This is the "ampersand" -- a conjunction of thought and practice. Jewelnel Davis, former Chaplain of Carleton College and currently Chaplain at Columbia University, sat down with me before her departure from Carleton and called upon me to be a "nexus" -- that which unites or binds. Since that time, over ten years ago, I have tried to be true to her exhortation. The ampersand symbolizes that call, and it is a reminder to me when I lose sight of the nexus or when I stray from its path.
I can't help it, but I must confess to being a postmodernist, but aren't we all? It's an unescapable aspect of reality in the 21st Century. Like it or not, we are all subject to the postmodern condition these days. Roland Barthes, one of my favorite postmodern philosophers, wrote a nice little book called the Empire of Signs, which resonated with me when I first read it, and its message still influences how I interpret much of the world around me.
The book essentially uses Barthes impressions of Japan and Japanese culture to play around with semiotic concepts such as signs, signifiers, the signified and intertextuality. The original allure stemmed from my own experiences living and studying in Japan, but even as my interests have evolved since then, I still find Empire of Signs to be a powerful book--regardless of context.
What do I mean by "an ampersand in the Empire of Signs"? To be honest, I haven't completely figured it out myself, but that is part of being "philosophical," right? The postmodernworld is inherently a place of confusion and contradiction. I am trying to find my place in that world. On the one hand, I want to remain true to Chaplain Davis' call to be the nexus. On the other hand, we live at a time when meaning is obfuscated by the disjointed connection between the signified and the signifier. The ampersand is a symbol that signifies conjunction and union. That union requires exploring meaning, perhaps even destroying meaning, but eventually restoring harmony.
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