[lit-ideas] Re: News via the web
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 13:32:19 -0500
Eric wrote:
"No matter how thoughtful we consider ourselves, most of us only look at
the world through a couple defining images at any given time. So the
tendency of groups to rally their members by summoning key images is not
surprising. The cross, the crescent, the star, the flag, a few defining
images that shield us from complexity."
It seems to me that Eric has it assbackwards. The more thoughtful we
become the better able we are to recognize defining images that help us
understand the complexity of the world. Without these defining images,
the world is an undifferentiated blur of actions. What effective
defining images do is orient states of affairs in the world so that
knowledge and understanding are possible. To say that we are better off
without defining images is akin to saying that we are better off without
maps.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns,
cartographile,
Toronto, ON
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