Ever heard of the phrase "steam- punk"? Steam-punk is an evolution of the cyber-punk movement, which, I guess evolved out of punk music some 30 (can you believe!!) years ago. "Punk" takes a dystopian view as its roots. Cyber punk has a technological overlay to a philosophical view of the future ... also dystopian. "Steam" brings us to a romantic view of the future (with technology considered) which always brings me to the concept of "modern philosophy".
I remind myself often, that "philosophy" (which literally means lover of knowledge) is more than religiosity at its most elevated (best or worst) level. It is about a set of societal norms or guidelines, about our day-to-day moral compass.
Actually, it was Spinoza that I thought about the most when I thought about Steam-punk as a philosophical change agent on which society is manifesting. Benedict De Spinoza was a Jewish "thinker" who eventually was "categorized" as one of three major Rationalists. Descartes also being considered one of his major sources of inspiration as well as a rationalist. It was Spinoza, maybe because of his associative roots to psychology that made me think about philosophy in the context of both " theoretical" and "applied". Steam-punk is "applied philosophy" much like Spinoza's great literary opus ... Ethics. Ethics was about applying "literate (free) thinking" (a very dangerous idea in the 1670's) as simply applying reason (read philosophy) to everyday life.
His great work was so radical that it had to be published after his death (and banned very quickly thereafter) but he covered:
- Metaphysics
- The mind as the idea of body
- Imagination
- Knowledge trichotomized into three essences
- The guidance of reason
- Intellectual love
He connected god to nature, but, not to love ... of nature. He believed that everything that existed is god ... but, he did not hold the converse to be true, that god is no more than the sum of what exists. He connected god-likeness to the everyday ... to explain the every day lifestyle within this emerging context of a romantic view. Maybe it's coming back? Maybe we are at a tipping point advocating the end of dystopian thinking.
Have a great month. My favourite day is at hand!!
W2
 | Benedict De Spinoza |
| Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |
| Is This Earth Your Spiritual Home? |
| Niccolo Machiavelli |
| Rene' Descartes |
| Scientific Pantheism: |
| Spinoza - Pantheist |
| Thomas Hobbes |
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