Koan

A note I jotted to myself sometime in the past.  I don’t recall the circumstances, but the question posed feels universal. The spiritualists cringe and argue against any description of self-conscious life as mechanism, that any mere machine is necessarily only an accumulation of parts and processes that can never…

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What is a human “body”?

In his 2008 book, The Meaning of the Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding, philosopher Mark Johnson makes a strong argument that "meaning is grounded in the body" (p. 274). That assertion, however, invites the question: "What is a human "body"? Johnson implores us to not slip into mind/body dualism. He…

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Labels, Living, Categories, Culture

Here is a link to an excellent essay by two of my best friends.  It talks about how labeling plays out in both art and real life and how labels are both irrelevant and destructive. I attended that workshop they refer to, Clarion, and that's where I met them.  That…

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The Morning After An Eight Year One Night Stand

In the dim light of the bar, it seemed like such a good idea.  Things had been dull, though financially there'd been some improvement.  Time to relax, maybe have a fling.  The stranger sauntered over, holding a longneck, and leaned against the counter, smiled, and said "Hi.  Come here often?"…

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