Dec 28 2021 - Santas Existence

 

To be or not to be - that is the question.  Did Shakespeare have to deal with the existence of Santa? Seeing as the story "stretches all the way back to the 3rd century", one might think he too had the dilemma of deciding how to represent Santa to his children.  But I doubt it. I also doubt my parents had a philosophical discussion on Santa's to be or not to be.  Things were simpler then - less sophisticated education, more engagement with pleasure and fun wherever it could be had, particularly the consumerism that got hold of the 20th century. And of course, simpler parenting methods - physical rewards and punishments to train behaviours.  The migration of Santa into naughty vs nice was unlikely to be thought about then.   Think of naughty and nice as a conversation starter for Santa in Malls or at events...who would have considered where this might go?   Think of this:  if the Wright Brothers had foreseen that the airplane would have caused more casualties in war rather than the elimination of war itself, they would not have invented the airplane.  So here we are today- I found this 21st Century example of the Santa to be or not to be question.  This is a Toronto Star article on the philosophical meaning of Santa Claus HERE. "My son had a play date to the zoo in December and his friend’s mother called and said there will be reindeer at the zoo. “Reindeer will prompt a discussion of Santa and since your son doesn’t believe in Santa and my son does I don’t want my son to be skeptical, so I don’t think your son should come along.” I thought, “That is weird,” because she seemed to be sacrificing a relationship with someone who is real, my son Ari, with someone who isn’t real, Santa. Then I began to think: how do I know Santa isn’t real? Just because I haven’t seen him? I haven’t seen that Israeli model Bar Refaeli but I know she exists. And that is the start of a deep dive into an examination of Santa from a philosophical viewpoint.   No worries - he pulls up quickly with this conclusion:  "We need to have things in our lives, certain things. Maybe Santa is one of those ways to teach children about gifts. You tell the kids there is a magical evening when Santa comes down the chimney and it allows them to participate in gift-giving."   Our existential questions in pictoral form today.

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June 16 2020 - Pandemic Existentialism

I haven't seen the term existential used this much since my literature classes in University. Here are some of the headlines: The existential crisis you should be having... Triple crisis of pipelines, pesticides and pandemic is an existential threat to... The response to the coronavirus pandemic holds some critical lessons for the other existential crisis facing the planet: climate change. California public transit services face existential crisiswith COVID-19 pandemic... The MBTA faces "existential" long-term budget challenges as the pandemic's impact on revenue... NYC's urban model faces existential crisis in post-pandemic world Pushing mid- and small-sized hospitals into existential crisis .. We hear the term so much, but what is an Existential crises? It is when individuals question whether their lives have meaning, purpose, or value.  There are four key areas:  death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness, according to definitions.   Perhaps it is mostly death and isolation that has taken centre stage in the pandemic. However, there's a second word showing up a lot:  Nihilism.  This is the philosophy where all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.  The definition says that it is associated with extreme pessimism and radical skepticism that condemns existence.  A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.  We know who is being associated with this philosophy: Trump Toys With a Let-Them-Die Response to the Pandemic ...Do we embrace therapeutic nihilism and just shrug our shoulders in the face of a pandemic, hoping that it will quickly extinguish itself? The nihilism of Mitch McConnell ... more money to state and local governments as they are dealing with the fiscal catastrophe of the pandemic. I think that the Police Brutality/Black Lives Matter movement has overpowered the pandemic existentialism crisis.  I interpret this to be a war for freedom and meaningfulness.  So while I thought existentialism might drift off, it now seems it will be more and more in the news.  We're back to Marion Jarvie's garden in Toronto, with a few more views.

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