[FRA:] Marcuse question

[matthew piscioneri]

Simon,

>What does this mean? You've stopped thinking critically about all this 
>horror?

Yes, as much as I can.

>If you choose to reify 'Critical Theory' into a given set of doctrines or 
>systems of thought that people feel they must worry about for some reason, 
>then you may indeed want to lead yourself away.

In some respects i believe that thinking critically about oppression et al. 
does fulfil this sort of role for some people. As part of critically 
thinking about myself i realized that my *meditation* on human suffering was 
satisfying under-productive, even regressive, tendencies in my way of being 
in the world.

>Critical theory is a response to the world you describe - a means to help 
>you understand it.

Yes, I agree - critical theory has helped me to understand the world.

>Where 'masochistic fretting' comes in, I don't know. If you give up on 
>critical thought, you give up.

well, some of us are predisposed to wallowing in the hopelessness of it all 
for strange masochistic reasons that betray 1000s of years of religious 
inculcation probably. I'd like to read more of where the F.S theorists 
turned the blowtorch of critical self-examination on the 
cultural-psychological background of their participation in the 
(masochistic) frettings over the human condition.

Now, I'll read the F.S writings till the cows come home...but the critical 
disposition embedded in their/our stance toward the world says something 
about us. What is it? i don't think that's giving up at all. Marcuse's essay 
on _Reality_ (see Ralph's link prior post etc.) links often to the Socratic 
paradigm of the unexamined life etc as well as the Know Thyself tenet. I 
think it is always worth asking why *we* engage in the fretting, and also 
worth considering the possibility that meditating on fear and oppression is 
counter-productive. As Foucault considered, the overt critical disposition 
and resistance feeds power. Always the practical challenge appears to be 
more cunning than the reason's cunning. I am not sure it is possible, that's 
all ;-).

For I think that many very caring and well-intentioned people put their own 
journey toward Enlightenment on hold or in the service of the interests of 
helping others, of helping the world to move beyond the finitude of negative 
energy and into the realm of happiness and abundance. Yet in their 
well-intentioned work they come to meditate wholly on the manifestations of 
negative energy that they hope to ameliorate, or to dissolve. Their 
‘negative’ meditation creates despair. Their despair feeds the circulation 
of power. In the end, the consciousness that seeks to alleviate the 
oppressive manifestations of power actually helps instead to maintain it. On 
this point, I agree strongly with the Buddhist teacher Tarthang Tulku who 
writes:

“The teachings of Buddhism, called the Dharma, tell us that to understand 
the hopelessness of samsara [our everyday experience] is to enter the path 
to nirvana, or liberation from suffering.”

“The moment you completely let go of samsara, nirvana is there.”

Alleluia


best regards,

mattp