tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post6941972121890695741..comments2023-10-31T09:59:21.680-07:00Comments on 91st Place: Railroad ZenZalman Paktorovicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13383750584135076080noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-18953936497566776292009-03-25T02:12:00.000-07:002009-03-25T02:12:00.000-07:00Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. I might add t...Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. I might add that although I admire cheerful resignation in the face of limitations, there is another part of me that prefers the attitude adopted at the ending of "Repo Man". There, you might remember, our hero, Otto (played by the redoubtable Emilio Estevez), willingly gives up all earthly obligations (and pleasures!) in order to tool around the universe in a radioactive '64 Chevy Malibu. Ah, the dreams of youth...now, if only it could be more than just a movie!Steven Leveryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14268765220149738204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-89481941339160998622009-03-23T04:23:00.000-07:002009-03-23T04:23:00.000-07:00"Will we ever get off the tracks?" Yes. All thin..."Will we ever get off the tracks?" Yes. All things change; we just may not like the timing or the process. Eventually, in time, the tracks will wear away; but probably, before then, we'll die. In our world today, in general, we do not like to wait--our fast food mentality: we don't like the timing. Also, we don't like to view death as freedom.<BR/>For me, I liked Hegel's comment. Must be the Piscean part of me....ciao, Steve. from rachelLa vita Alessandriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686989424919182334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-39498010730132487842009-03-23T04:07:00.000-07:002009-03-23T04:07:00.000-07:00As usual, clever, witty, and funny, Steve.And for ...As usual, clever, witty, and funny, Steve.<BR/>And for the record, I viewed Chuang's last comment as cheerful resignation (the interpretation obviously reflecting more of this reader's state of mind)- so very Zen.La vita Alessandriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686989424919182334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-44036372903141556412009-03-22T12:13:00.000-07:002009-03-22T12:13:00.000-07:00& Did Hegel really say that? What a load of bu...& Did Hegel really say that? What a load of bunk!Steven Leveryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14268765220149738204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-65272880045622524862009-03-22T12:12:00.000-07:002009-03-22T12:12:00.000-07:00LCN, great to hear from you, and with a cogent com...LCN, great to hear from you, and with a cogent comment no less. Note that one tentative title I thought of for this was "One Dimension of Freedom".<BR/><BR/>One question that remains unanswered in my mind is whether it's realistic to think we have any chance of getting off the "tracks" and attaining "higher degrees" of freedom. Put another way, a question to ask about Chuang's final rejoinder is whether he's expressing a cheery hopefulness that the tracks can be escaped, or a cheerful resignation to their potentially inescapable constraints.Steven Leveryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14268765220149738204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-69487483031978838722009-03-21T10:29:00.000-07:002009-03-21T10:29:00.000-07:00Now, if we could just get off these tracks...I lik...Now, if we could just get off these tracks...<BR/>I like it.<BR/>There is no freedom, only movement from one 'place' to another and further movement is constrained dependent upon destination/starting place. The ability to move without constraints is freedom. <BR/>Unless you're Hegel "in duty the individual finds his liberation...In duty the individual acquires his substantive freedom. In doing my duty I am by myself and free." What a load of bunk!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-61286798031066695962009-03-15T06:54:00.000-07:002009-03-15T06:54:00.000-07:00Thanks, Jeanne, but notice I didn't have the confi...Thanks, Jeanne, but notice I didn't have the confidence, courage, or patience (choose whichever term you like) to test this in the open marketplace. But I have to admit the words form an actual pattern that might be a story.Zalman Paktorovicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13383750584135076080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20205194.post-61936253089795427362009-03-14T22:59:00.000-07:002009-03-14T22:59:00.000-07:00I'm glad to see words from you, even if they give ...I'm glad to see words from you, even if they give me a guilty conscience.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18219601594175740819noreply@blogger.com