Boomeritis in a nutshell.
"Islamic absolutists [or those of any tradition --paul] have exploited an aporia in the philosophical logic underpinning multi-culturalism. This logic, cultural relativism, quickly leads to a paradox, in that it is forced to defend the very cultures which would totally reject the tolerance to which it is constitutively committed."
-k-punk
Also: the dictatorship of relativism
-k-punk
Also: the dictatorship of relativism
posted by Paul S. at
2:06 PM
5 Comments:
Nice find on the quote. Very useful. I've been checking out k-punk more and more, per your tip.
But that shit ain't 'boom-itis' in a nutshell. Instead, it is what it says it is -- the downside of multiculturalism or pluralism, in a nutshell. No need for the extra tag when the sticker says it all.
"Boom boom-itis in a nutshell" is best illustrated by its creator (which was the point of the book) and supported by plenty of examples of people with a high level of cognitive intelligence and a high-level of self-absorption (which itself is an unfortunate symptom of both imbalanced masculine/feminine in the parents, as well of the explosion of media and technology without the realization that all media is an extension of our human bodies, nervous systems, and consciousness).
My point is that boom boom is a relatively smaller-scale phenomenon than the backside of pluralism. The boom boom folks can take care of themselves. But we have to figure out and then midwife, in a stable form, a worldview that can handle and process multiculturalism in a healthy way. That is our task, for those that choose to accept it.
'Multiculturalism' itself is amplifed by the increase in technology and access to it. The world has always been a diverse bed of cultures. The penetrating lens of electricity beamed by satellites in mere instants puts the philosophic problems of multiculturalism front and center, for those that look.
So artwork that explores and seeks to trascend the total experience of electricity can, in my view, offer hints of an authentic and unpretentious post-pluralist worldview. But we have to do our work, first, with the present mode of electric art.
Instead of 'let's get physical', our motto as integral artists ought be 'let's get total'.
I don't think Wilber himself would call this Boomeritis. He's been pretty explicit in his use of Boomeritis as a label - pluralism, coupled with narcisissm, found most commonly in Baby Boomers - which is one of the conditions that allows pluralism to fall down.
'But we have to figure out and then midwife, in a stable form, a worldview that can handle and process multiculturalism in a healthy way. That is our task, for those that choose to accept it.'
I think the problem has been to assume that each worldview only has one 'sickness' or pathological form, and so the MGM and Boomeritis have been conflated into this great social evil, or scapegoat if you're not a fan. It's part of the deadening or shrinking of the world to SDi terms that sits so uncomfortably with a lot of people.
I think Matthew's emphasis on findind the solution is the right one; that's the Integral cross to bear, not pointing out the problem (any conservative blogger of some note has already pointed out this exact problem many times).
cripes guys, lay off. i wish i could get this sort of response to posts i spend MORE than 10 seconds throwing together.
Sorry there. Not wanting to pick on you as much as everyone else. Call it misplaced passive-aggression.
paul, me hear you.
alas, in my experience, ANY sort of artistic consciousness-extension -- beit music, blog, photo, etc -- that is of the 'ten-second variety' of which you speak tends to get the most play/response from others. stuff i think the most about gets the least.
really weird, but it seems true.
so you should have seen it comin'. :)
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