Hi Nic et al. Thanks, Nic. I hadn't heard this talk. What a powerful address by David Foster Wallace, directly relevant to our ToK discussions. Of course, I'm already 'biased' toward Wallace b/c of his masterpiece Infinite Jest (and his year of birth!). Just a few points, though, that struck me as especially salient...
1) He talks about us being at the center of the universe, which is ground zero that I referred to the other day in terms of measuring social distance (i.e., the fact that we're so unavoidably intimate with ourselves, with "zero distance").
2) That we often get so lost in our self-centeredness that we do not pay attention to the beauty (my word) or reality of what's right in front of us, but also missing out in learning how "to exercise some control over how and what we think."
3) Most important, in my view, is his observation that it's much easier for us to lapse into our default settings of our internal conversations that privilege the "I am the center of the world" perspective rather than consider the many alternative narratives & possibilities. That's the type of thinking that I unwittingly somehow "knew" in choosing to become an ethnographer of the human condition using a sociological lens. It always intrigued me that there was this whole "exterior" social world to the individual that surely must be exercising "force" or "influence" just as surely as gravity must be adversely affecting my ability to dunk a basketball.
4) And, most powerfully, Wallace concludes: "And the real world will not discourage you from operating on your default settings because the so-called real world of men and money and power hums merrily along on the fuel of fear and anger and frustration and craving and the worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation... The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline and being able truly to care about other people."
And, perhaps somewhat ironically I'd submit, the benefits will be far greater to one's own self, should we have the courage to be truly aware and genuinely care. That's sometimes hard for people to see -- and do. So, I've tried to convey some of this in a song I'd written some time ago, but then decided to publish publicly on my channel a few months back. It's called "The Hands of Life" and the lyrics appear in the description of the video. No, I won't be appearing on "The Voice" ever, but i just decided long ago that it'd be fun to write songs that I wish were playing on the radio, preferably by really talented musicians! Here's the link, if interested in committing a few minutes ("don't forget to hit 'like' and subscribe"...LOL!):
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DeXzBLSrCyfA&d=DwIF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=z5Bk9jtZRc-u0MD8zetsANRWn1-VW-eCvCOE9LbNCbI&s=6ZGLYGau4uSZRVzoeXOsby_fRoatKmmD41EwIgWm8Dg&e=
[https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__i.ytimg.com_vi_eXzBLSrCyfA_hqdefault.jpg&d=DwIF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=z5Bk9jtZRc-u0MD8zetsANRWn1-VW-eCvCOE9LbNCbI&s=qHqGPtVO8kC8H6pZ0EFW0IEEmr-24bfa2nhXLBawIPk&e= ]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DeXzBLSrCyfA&d=DwIF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=z5Bk9jtZRc-u0MD8zetsANRWn1-VW-eCvCOE9LbNCbI&s=6ZGLYGau4uSZRVzoeXOsby_fRoatKmmD41EwIgWm8Dg&e= >
Hands of Life<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DeXzBLSrCyfA&d=DwIF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=z5Bk9jtZRc-u0MD8zetsANRWn1-VW-eCvCOE9LbNCbI&s=6ZGLYGau4uSZRVzoeXOsby_fRoatKmmD41EwIgWm8Dg&e= >
“The Hands of Life”© by J. H. Michalski Ever thought of living somewhere far away Where the rules would not apply and you could live your way? A place of sol...
www.youtube.com
Dr. Joseph H. Michalski
Professor
King’s University College at Western University
266 Epworth Avenue, DL-201
London, Ontario, Canada N6A 2M3
Tel: (519) 433-3491
Email: [log in to unmask]
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From: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2020 3:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: TOK Great David Foster Wallace Excerpt
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Though I'd share a fantastic speech of one of my larger influences in life, with attention-holding illustrations of course. Would love to dialogue about the highly relevant take on our society.
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_OsAd4HGJS4o&d=DwIF-w&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=z5Bk9jtZRc-u0MD8zetsANRWn1-VW-eCvCOE9LbNCbI&s=acF7vdY3UncDDFdHK3g8hZdNovSqQrWDU5dGQkNv3Bw&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_OsAd4HGJS4o&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1iv4RJ8dE4ymhQTsyYhfMrIgn76MIcFAMyDITGVA6pM&s=-6TAZKL1Gfpe5obvoOXGXeqSzDZtzIfsb4x1kq1zQXU&e=>
Regards,
Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.
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