I always return to this thought: that is, life is being lived longer in a much more complex environment. Therefore, the phases of development have to be extended out and a clean distinction made between growth, productivity, and the end-game.

It was also evident to me that I needed a meditative setting to do my work. That the city provided enormous noise and confusion that did not permit the development in the direction I wanted to go. The city provided raw material without question; it provided adrenalin much needed in the young. It proposed the central questions of the day.

I am still perplexed by things. I still am not sure about the "modern world." I connect and respond, that is about all I can do. I do think there is vitality to it but, as well, I think there is a good deal of dysfunction. I have no answers. The modern world still operates through the dominant concerns of POLITICS, RELIGIOUS BELIEF, and CAPITAL. It is CAPITAL that dominates and creates the world as I know it. Politics and religious beliefs are, in fact, habits of thought easily adapted to the dominant concern. The other factor in the modern world is specialism. The central question is, "what can intelligence work on outside the realm of specialism?" That is a very dicey question.

The question that initiates the adventure of mind at this time is, "why does it appear that the world is out of control?" A good beginning is this: "It is out of control since the new and central factor is the unleashing of desire in order to create the need for capital. And we ask a further question, "does the unleashing of desire have consequence?"

Well, there is a good history of critique of this - philosophical and literary.

Here is an excellent theme: capital destroys something in the human being that cannot be recovered through capital. Another excellent theme: Mediocrity is king right alongside capital. The creative sort must be rather clever and escape the terrible, wrathful king who hunts down what attempts to be superior. This is a central fight among the creative sort. That is the morality of the creative sort.

1986

Back to Essay Page

Back to davideide.com

© 2016 David Eide. All rights reserved.