Camus in 2007 - A Writer

Some more observations on Albert Camus' life:

Camus earned his dissertation by conducting a study of the influence of Plotinus and neo-Platonism on the thought and writings of St. Augustine. Just an observation - the study of philosophy provides us with a thread from the start of time. Camus started his observations of life's meaning by studying the early philosophers.

But as his career started and continued, he always considered himself a writer. After suffering TB most of his life and living a political activist life, he died at age 47 in a car accident.

According to historians, "it is also worth noting that at no time in his career did Camus ever describe himself as a deep thinker or lay claim to the title of philosopher. Instead, he nearly always referred to himself simply, yet proudly, as un ecrivain – a writer.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy continues: "This is an important fact to keep in mind when assessing his place in intellectual history and in twentieth-century philosophy. For by no means does he qualify as a system-builder or theorist or even as a disciplined thinker. He was instead a sort of all-purpose critic and modern-day philosophe: a debunker of mythologies, a critic of fraud and superstition, an enemy of terror, a voice of reason and compassion, and an outspoken defender of freedom – all in all a figure very much in the Enlightenment tradition of Voltaire and Diderot."

"For this reason, in assessing Camus’ career and work, it may be best simply to take him at his own word and characterize him first and foremost as a writer – advisedly attaching the epithet philosophical for sharper accuracy and definition."

As you know, many writers contemplate life's conditions without devoting years to training in the discipline of philosophy - but to give us insights into its meaning - like Camus has for us.

Reflections on a Winter Day - 1957

Today I decided to reflect on a childhood experience - just to experience the memory.

It is winter of 1957, and I am in the second grade at Noble Road Elementary School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Most days I would walk to and from school over snowy sidewalks along side mountains of snow piled by the side of the road from the snowscraper trucks.

One of my favorite things to do was to stop at the corner store by the school each afternoon after school. This year I would take pennies my Mom, Susie Goodwin, had given me to use in the gumball machine, and if you got a marble instead the clerk would give you a rabbit's foot.

All year I had been collecting, and had a string of them in bright colors - red, blue, yellow, and green. They were different sizes and they had soft fur, and I like to rub them.

I would take them to school and put them in my desk that had a top and closed. Now and then I would put my hand in and rub them. One day, my teacher warned me not to play with my rabbits' feet, but I must have continued and she took them away. She said she would give them back at the end of the week, but when the time finally came, she could not find them.

I was extremely upset and hated my teacher for it. My most prized possession was taken and my heart was broken to lose it.

It's funny how this kind of thing makes an impression that lasts a lifetime. I have loved rabbit's feet ever since and kept a collection of sorts in a box to admire when I feel like it now.

Camus in 2007 - His Ideas, His Philosophy

Why are writer Albert Camus' thoughts and ideas important to our times? Let's explore his work in a series.

I was prompted to do this when I saw a new book out on Camus -

David CARROLL
Albert Camus, the Algerian. Colonialism, Terrorism, Justice
New York, Columbia University Press
2007, 256 pp. ISBN : 978-0-231-14086-7

Url de référence : http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/index.html

"In this original reading of Albert Camus' novels, short stories, and political essays, David Carroll concentrates on Camus' conflicted relationship with his Algerian background and finds important critical insights into questions of justice, the effects of colonial oppression, and the deadly cycle of terrorism and counterterrorism that characterized the Algerian War and continues to surface in the devastation of postcolonial wars today."

The statement above comes from a Frenchman's blog where he says he wants to disucss literature and the Internet:

Le projet et l'équipe Qu'est-ce que Fabula?
Fabula est une association de chercheurs (régime loi de 1901 des associations à but non lucratif) s'intéressant à la théorie littéraire en général et à la question de la fiction en particulier, ayant choisi de fonctionner grâce à un site Internet et d'expérimenter les possibilités offertes par ce média. A cette mission de recherche s'ajoute une mission de diffusion d'information, le site Fabula étant mis à la disposition de tous les chercheurs de langue française, quel que soit leur champ de recherche. Pour en savoir plus sur nos objectifs scientifiques, vous pouvez consulter cette page.

Paintings - April 9, 2007

Conrad Lisco Painting - April 7, 2007

Reflections on a Summer Day - 1955

Today I decided to reflect on a childhood experience - just to enjoy the memory.

It is the summer of 1955 in Cleveland and today is the Universal Engraving employee picnic. My Dad, Rodger Goodwin, is a four-color engraver for the company. Today he has brought my Mom, Sue, and sister, Deedie, and me to the picnic near Lake Erie.

The day is just about as perfect as it can get with a clear, flat summer cerulean, and a breeze bringing the countryside fresh-mown grass our way. I am floating around from one activity to the next looking for fun and adventure.

The next game I happen upon is for children my age - essentially the goal is to kick your shoe as far as you can and you win a watch. I line up with the others to prepare for the contest. I have a red leather sandal with a buckle, so I unfasten it. I am excited, my heart is racing with the prospects of winning the contest.

When the man at the end tells us to kick our shoes I kick as hard as I can. My shoe seems to fly forward and I think it was the farthest out, but the man says I was only second and someone else won the watch.

I guess some kids would shake it off, but I wanted to win and I wanted that watch.

Next thing I realize is that I am sobbing and my caring Dad sweeps me up and comforts me in his arms. I know he is tall because I always seem far off the ground when he holds me. His long arms around me make me feel better as I wipe my tears on his shirt collar.

Dad tells me not to worry, like he always does when something happens to upset me or I suffer one of my many scuffs on the playground of childhood.

Thanks, Dad.

Our Memories, Past Lives and Fiction

I like to check out Scientific American every week - it has the most interesting and innovative coverage of science and medicine, and the best writing. I decided to include it in WendSight today, since it really crosses over to science as well as a study of time.

Today's list of stories includes one on memories, so I have pulled the first of it and you can read the whole story at Scientific American.

Says SciAm: Do you sometimes have memories of a mysterious past life? Recall odd experiences such as being abducted by aliens? Wonder where these memories come from and if, in fact, you were really once whisked off in a flying saucer by ETs?Seems the answer may be simpler than you think—or remember. A new study shows that people with memories of past lives are more likely than others to misremember the source of any given piece of information.

Study author Maarten Peters of Maastricht University in the Netherlands tested patients of "reincarnation therapists," who use hypnosis to help their patients remember "past lives," which the clients believe are at the root of their current problems.

"Once familiarity of an event is achieved, this can relatively easily be converted into a belief that the event did take place," Peters says. "A next possible step is that individuals interpret their thoughts and fantasies about the fictitious event as real memories."