A blog on understanding your 'self' – and for lovers and teachers of interfaith as inter-spiritual living. It's an ongoing stream of interspiritual Nondual & interfaith resources for realizing happiness by finding our way home to our true Self.
Examined Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. The film features eight influential contemporary philosophers walking around New York and other metropolises and discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture.
Reception has been generally favorable (Rotten Tomatoes gives it 76%),[1] however Martha Nussbaum subsequently complained in The Point that although Examined Life displays “a keen visual imagination and a vivid sense of atmosphere and place” it nonetheless “presents a portrait of philosophy that is … a betrayal of the tradition of philosophizing that began, in Europe, with the life ofSocrates“.[2] (WikiPedia)
What a sourpuss Ms Nussbaum is – ignore her negativity and check out Examined Life – it’s a bloody triumph to get any feature length documentary on philosophy in the can – let alone on Netflix which is where I saw it.
Professor Matthew Lipman – founder of Philosophy for Children (PFC)
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Videos of PFC Philosophy for children
NB – I have been asked by Dr McCall to point out that ALL the videos are HERS not Prof. Lipman’s – and there was me thinking that she had learned PFC from Lipman!
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Lots more on YouTube under ‘Philosophy for Children’
ACCEPTING – “You are accepted!” … accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask the name now, perhaps you will know it later. Do not try to do anything, perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything, do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted. – – Paul Tillich
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AMBIGUITY – The awareness of the ambiguity of one’s highest achievements (as well as one’s deepest failures) is a definite symptom of maturity. – Paul Tillich
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ANGER “Anger is a noble infirmity; the generous failing of the just; the one…”
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ART AS SUBJECTIVITY – Since the last decades of the nineteenth century, revolt against the objectified world has determined the character of art and literature. (Paul Tillich)
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ASTONISHMENT – Astonishment is the root of philosophy. (Paul Tillich)
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AUTHORITY – The passion for truth is silenced by answers which have the weight of undisputed authority. – Paul Tillich
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AWARENESS – The awareness of the ambiguity of one’s highest achievements (as well as one’s deepest failures) is a definite symptom of maturity. – Paul Tillich
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BECOMING AS FULFILLING PERSONAL DESTINY – Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfill his destiny. (Paul Tillich)
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BEING AVOIDANCE – Neurosis is the way of avoiding non-being by avoiding being
~ Paul Tillich
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BEING GRASPED – Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of a meaning of our life. – Paul Tillich
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BEING RELIGIOUS – “Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt.” – Paul Tillich
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BOREDOM – Boredom is rage spread thin. (Paul Tillich)
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CONCERN – Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of a meaning of our life. – Paul Tillich
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COURAGE – The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable. – Paul Tillich
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COURAGE TO BE – The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt. (Paul Tillich)
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CRUELTY – Cruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves. ~ Paul Tillich
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CYNICISM – Cynically speaking, one could say that it is true to life to be cynical about it. (Paul Tillich)
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DECISION-MAKING – Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free. (Paul Tillich)
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DEPRESSION – Depression is rage spread thin. – Paul Tillich
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DEPTH – He who knows about depth knows about God. (Paul Tillich)
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DOING SMALL THINGS – We can do not great things – only small things with great love. (Paul Tillich)
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DOUBT AS FAITH – “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith” – Paul Tillich
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FAILURE – He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being. – Paul Tillich
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FAITH – Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned. – Paul Tillich
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FAITH AS BEING GRASPED – Faith is an act of a finite being who is grasped by, and turned to, the infinite. – Paul Tillich
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FEAR – Fear is the absence of faith. – Paul Tillich
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FEAR v ANXIETY – Fear, as opposed to anxiety, has a definite object, which can be faced, analyzed, attacked, endured… anxiety has no object, or rather, in a paradoxical phrase, its object is the negation of every object. (Paul Tillich)
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FREEDOM – Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free – Paul Tillich
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GOD – Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith. – Paul Tillich
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HELP – There is no love which does not become help. – Paul Tillich
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HUMAN BEING – The character of human life, like the character of the human condition, like the character of all life, is “ambiguity”: the inseparable mixture of good and evil, the true and false, the creative and destructive forces – both individual and social.- – Paul Tillich
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HU-MAN-ITY – Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfill his destiny. – Paul Tillich
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KNOWING GOD – He who knows about depth knows about God. (Paul Tillich)
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LANGUAGE, LONLINESS & SOLITUDE – Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone. – Paul Tillich
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LISTENING – The first duty of love is to listen. (Paul Tillich)
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LONLINESS – Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone – Paul Tillich
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LOVE AS HELP – There is no love which does not become help – Paul Tillich
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LOVE AS THE BLOOD OF LIFE – For love … is the blood of life, the power of reunion in the separated.- Paul Tillich
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MEANING – Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. – Paul Tillich
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MEANING OF EXISTENCE – Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. – Paul Tillich
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MEANING SEEKING AS FAITH – Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith. – Paul Tillich
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NEUROSIS – Neurosis is the way of avoiding non-being by avoiding being (The Courage To Be) – Paul Tillich
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NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION – We can speak without voice to the trees and the clouds and the waves of the sea. Without words they respond through the rustling of leaves and the moving of clouds and the murmuring of the sea. – Paul Tillich
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PHILOSOPHY – Astonishment is the root of philosophy. – Paul Tillich
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QUEST FOR MEANING – Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith. – Paul Tillich
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QUESTIONING – Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. (Paul Tillich)
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RAGE – Boredom is rage spread thin – Paul Tillich
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REALITY – Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith – Paul Tillich
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REFLECTION AS FAITH – “Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.” – Paul Tillich
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RELIGION AS ULTIMATE CONCERN – Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of a meaning of our life. – Paul Tillich
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RISKING – He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being. (Paul Tillich)
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SINGING YOUR SONG – If my tongue were trained to measures, I would sing a stirring song. (Paul Tillich)
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SOLITUDE – Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone – Paul Tillich
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SPEAKING OF GOD – I hope for the day when everyone can speak again of God without embarrassment. (Paul Tillich)
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SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION – Man’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate. (Paul Tillich)
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ULTIMATE REALITY – Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.” – Paul Tillich
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WORK AS PLEASURE – The joy about our work is spoiled when we perform it not because of what we produce but because of the pleasure with which it can provide us, or the pain against which it can protect us.- Paul Tillich
As years go by, even from an early age, we all make adjustments, we all accommodate, we all shift to make ourselves more comfortable.
The UK Guardian newspaper online carried a wonderful article, and an even more wonderful photograph, about a shift in the life of Tom Leppard, the leopard man of Skye, now that he’s 73.
The leopard man has been domesticated. After 20 years of living in the wilds on a remote part of Skye, the man made famous for his leopard tattoos has changed his spot for a one-bedroom apartment. At 73, Tom Leppard was starting to feel his age, and the weekly kayak trip across the fast-flowing Kyles of Lochalsh for supplies was taking its toll. He was “one big wave away from disaster”, and when a friend offered him the chance to leave the shore of Loch na Bèiste for the comfort of four walls in the village of Broadford, he leapt at the chance.
So Tom Leppard has shifted to new accommodation.
The brilliant article and even more brilliant photograph leave me with two lines of thought that I would like to follow up in subsequent posts.
The first line of thought is about all those dualities that we have to balance and adjust to maintain our sense of who we are. There are many – here are just a few; me-not me, my space-not my space, embrace-intrusion, willed change v. forced change, now-not now, my identity as derived from my memories-the terror of not being, identifying with v. dis-identifying with, being inside v. being outside, a sense of perfect place v a sense of alienating place, my group-not my group, being part of a salad v. being part of a soup, and many, many more.
All of these dualities around the issue of identity go much further and deeper when we compare and contrast this discussion with the pereenial nowness, no-dual philosophy of such writer-teachers as Ken Wilber or Eckhart Tolle.
The second line of thought concerns the genius of the photograph per se.
Both lines of thought I see as fascinating for philosophical inquiry and creativity lessons with children or adults – starting with this article and photograph.
You can find an interesting range of essays – some 60 or so – a lifetime’s academic work – by Trevor Pateman by clicking HERE
Trevor says:
This site publishes my lifetime’s academic work. Click on any of the Sections to access around sixty individual essays. New material is added to the site at approximately monthly intervals.
Anything may be downloaded for personal use. When listing my work in a bibliography, please give the place of publication as: http://www.selectedworks.co.uk.
I hope you enjoy what you read
Trevor Pateman
Art, Aesthetics, Criticism
Creative Writing – Theoretical issues
Education
Language, Linguistics
Media Studies
Philosophy, general
Pragmatics, Semiotics, Critical Linguistics
Psychoanalysis, Pedagogy
Social and Political Theory
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All postings to this site relate to the central model in the
Soul Needs - One Garden 