"Autobiographies of great nations are written in three manuscripts – a book of deeds, a book of words, and a book of art. Of the three, I would choose the latter as truest testimony." - Sir Kenneth Smith, Great Civilisations

"I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine." - Leo Tolstoy

I have never believed that one should wait until one is inspired because I think the pleasures of not writing are so great that if you ever start indulging them you will never write again. - John Updike

"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it." - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - Lawrence Ferlinghetti


[Note - If any article requires updating or correction please notate this in the comment section. Thank you. - res]


Thursday, April 16, 2020

John Prine - Boundless Love



John Prine, Boundless Love


BOUNDLESS LOVE

by Jay McDaniel

Appreciation for the American country folk
singer-songwriter and for boundless love


Thank you, John Prine.

An angel from Montgomery, now residing in the boundless love of the great forgiveness, received one of her own into her arms on April 7, 2020: the singer-songwriter John Prine.

Missing you, John. And sending love to your family. By the way, the great forgiveness, is another name for what process theologians like me call the consequent nature of God. This is the side of God that is totally accepting. My own mentor, John Cobb, experienced it one night, and describes it as an experience of total transformation, boundless love, and full acceptance. Legend has it that this side of God is filled with more angels than even Montgomery can hold. As you find your rest, John, please send some more our way. But wait! You already sent so many, didn’t you, with your songs. Thank you so much.

John Prine: Boundless Love




I woke up this morning to a garbage truck
Looks like this old horseshoe's done run out of luck
If I came home, would you let me in?
Fry me some pork chops and forgive my sin?

Surround me with your boundless love
Confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in the sea, lost as I could be
When you found me with your boundless love

Sometimes my old heart is like a washing machine
It bounces around 'til my soul comes clean
And when I'm clean and hung out to dry
I'm gonna make you laugh until you cry

Surround me with your boundless love
Confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in the sea, lost as I could be
When you found me with your boundless love

If by chance I should find myself at risk
A-falling from this jagged cliff
I look below, and I look above
I'm surrounded by your boundless love

Surround me with your boundless love
Confound me with your boundless love
I was drowning in the sea, lost as I could be
When you found me with your boundless love
You dumbfound me with your boundless love
You surround me with your boundless lov

- John Prine


Joan Baez: For John and Fiona Prine
March 2020: Shared while John was critically ill
with  COVID-19 and Fiona had also tested positive





John Prine and his wife/manager Fiona Whelan Prine at Prine’s album release party
for The Tree of Forgiveness in Nashville in 2018. | Photo: Neilson Hubbard


John Prine’s Wife Fiona Whelan Prine
Shares Message Following Legendary
Singer-Songwriter’s Passing

by Jessica Nicholson
April 8, 2020


John Prine‘s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, shared a post on Facebook following John Prine’s death on Tuesday (April 7) at age 73 due to complications from the COVID-19 coronavirus.

She shared that she was able to be with Prine in the hours before his passing, and urged readers to follow the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She also asked that in lieu of gifts or flowers, that readers donate to organizations including Thistle Farms, Nashville Rescue Mission and Room in the Inn. John and Fiona wed in 1996; John Prine is also survived by three sons, Jody, Jack and Tommy, as well as two brothers and three grandchildren.

Message from Fiona Whelan Prine - 

Our beloved John died yesterday evening at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville TN. We have no words to describe the grief our family is experiencing at this time. John was the love of my life and adored by our sons Jody, Jack and Tommy, daughter in law Fanny, and by our grandchildren.
John contracted Covid-19 and in spite of the incredible skill and care of his medical team at Vanderbilt he could not overcome the damage this virus inflicted on his body.
I sat with John – who was deeply sedated- in the hours before he passed and will be forever grateful for that opportunity.
My dearest wish is that people of all ages take this virus seriously and follow guidelines set by the CDC. We send our condolences and love to the thousands of other American families who are grieving the loss of loved ones at this time – and to so many other families across the world.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of love we have received from family, friends, and fans all over the world. John will be so missed but he will continue to comfort us with his words and music and the gifts of kindness, humor and love he left for all of us to share.


For the Love of John Prine « American Songwriter 



* * * * * * * * * *



Wikipedia - Who Is John Prine

John Prine (October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American country folk singer-songwriter. He was active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer from the early 1970s until his death and was known for an often humorous style of original music that has elements of protest and social commentary.

Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at the age of 14. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.[1] After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs first as a hobby, and then becoming a club performer.

A member of Chicago's folk revival, Prine credited film critic Roger Ebert and singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson with discovering him, resulting in the production of Prine's eponymous debut album with Atlantic Records in 1971. The acclaim earned by this LP led Prine to focus on his musical career, and he recorded three more albums for Atlantic. He then signed with Asylum Records, where he recorded an additional three albums. In 1981, he co-founded Oh Boy Records, an independent record label with which he would release most of his subsequent albums.

Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, as well as serious songs with social commentary and songs that recollect melancholy tales from his life. In 2020, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.



John Prine: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
March 2018





* * * * * * * * * * * * *




Amazon Link


"Surround me with your boundless love.
Confound me with your boundless love.
- John Cobb

In his Theological Reminiscences John Cobb tells readers about a time in his life when, for perhaps a minute or so, he felt surrounded by God as a pure, boundless love. He was in the army in WWII, living in a room in Arlington, Virginia. He had recently undertaken the discipline of directing positive feelings toward everyone he saw; and one night, as he knelt beside his bed for a “relatively perfunctory prayer," the experience fell upon him. Unbidden, and to his surprise, he had a feeling, a feeling of being loved totally accepted, just as he was. “The room was transformed, it was filled with spirit, it was filled with love.” Don't we all seek to be totally accepted, just as we are. Even and maybe especially when our horseshoes have run out of luck, and we're at risk of falling off a jagged cliff. Isn't it at this point, if not many others, when we seek that angel from Montgomery. And isn't it good that she arrives in so many forms? - Jay McDaniel

Book Blurb

In these remarkably intimate and forthcoming “reminiscences,” theologian and philosopher John B. Cobb, Jr., reflects on major theological developments of the last sixty years, from the Latin American, feminist, and black liberation theologies, to Vatican II, the “death of God,” and the shift from existentialist to process philosophies. A major conviction of Cobb’s work—amply displayed in these reflections—is that theology must engage contemporary issues. To that end, he followed a transdisciplinary approach throughout his career, integrating insights from many different areas of study and bringing different specialized disciplines into fruitful communication. As a result, Cobb has been influential in a wide range of disciplines, including theology, ecology, economics, biology and social ethics. His descriptions of these encounters are rich in personal detail and refreshingly honest.



Boundless Love
by Henry Van Dyke

O Thou whose boundless love bestows
The joy of life, the hope of Heaven;
Thou whose unchartered mercy flows
O'er all the blessings Thou hast given;
Thou by whose light alone we see;
Thou by whose truth our souls set free
Are made imperishably strong;
Hear Thou the solemn music of our song.

Grant us the knowledge that we need
To solve the questions of the mind;
Light Thou our candle while we read,
And keep our hearts from going blind;
Enlarge our vision to behold
The wonders Thou hast wrought of old;
Reveal thyself in every law,
And gild the towers of truth with holy awe.

Be Thou our strength when war's wild gust
Rages around us, loud and fierce;
Confirm our souls, and let our trust
Be like a wall that none can pierce;
Give us the courage that prevails,
The steady faith that never fails,
Help us to stand in every fight
Firm as a fortress to defend the right.

O God, make of us what Thou wilt;
Guide Thou the labor of our hand;
Let all our work be surely built
As Thou, the architect, hast planned;
But whatsoe'er thy power shall make
Of these frail lives, do not forsake
Thy dwelling. Let thy presence rest
Forever in the temple of our breast.



Saturday, April 11, 2020

Remembering The Beatles







Himesh Patel - Ob-la-di,Ob-la-da
(From "Yesterday"/2019)




Beatles quotes - We Need Fun



poetry | The Fest for Beatles Fans

Beatles photographer looks back on career

Five Mistakes Found in Beatles Recordings ~ 910 public relations

Believe in Yourself! Have Faith in Your Abilities!



Eagle Cheats + Caro Kann Traps



15 John Lennon Quotes On Love, Imagination, Peace And Death



Jim Morrison's poem for Pamela ❤ (I just melted) | Jim morrison ...



The Beatles Greatest Hits Full Album
- Best The Beatles Songs Playlist





20 Best John Lennon Quotes & Lyrics From The Beatles Songs About ...



Paul McCartney Breaks Down His Most Iconic Songs | GQ



1 - Paul McCartney talks about the moment he realized George Harrison could ALSO write songs!
2 - Paul McCartney on Who Broke Up the Beatles


Ringo Starr Remembers Being Asked to Join the Beatles


Rare John Lennon Interview Footage


The Life and Career of John Lennon



20 Best John Lennon Quotes & Lyrics From The Beatles Songs About ...



25 Quotes On Love, Life, Friendship And Peace By John Lennon



The Beatles Greatest Hits Full Playlist
- Best Of The Beatles Full Album 2018





All You Need Is Love | The Beatles #lyrics #words #quotes | Music ...



John Lennon meets Paul McCartney


Paul McCartney on “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”



The Beatles - Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Music Video)




20 Best John Lennon Quotes & Lyrics From The Beatles Songs About ...







Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Remembering Battlestar Galactica





BattleStar Galactica Theme




In a distant part of the universe, a human civilization has extended to a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies, to which they have migrated from their ancestral homeworld of Kobol. The Twelve Colonies have been engaged in a lengthy war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons, whose goal is the extermination of the human race. The Cylons offer peace to the humans, which proves to be a ruse. With the aid of a human named Baltar, the Cylons carry out a massive attack on the Twelve Colonies and on the Colonial Fleet of starships that protected them. These attacks devastate the Colonial Fleet, lay waste to the Colonies, and virtually destroy their populations. Scattered survivors flee into outer space aboard a ragtag array of available spaceships. Of the entire Colonial battle fleet, only the Battlestar Galactica, a gigantic battleship and spacecraft carrier, now retired as a fifty year old museum artifact of Colonial War Days, appears to have survived the Cylon attack. Under the leadership of Commander William Adama, the Galactica and the pilots of "Viper fighters" lead a fugitive fleet of survivors in search of the fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth.






From the darkness you must fall

Failed and weak, to darkness all.






Virtual Six: "It is what makes you human."

Baltar: "Is it? Not conscious thought?
Not poetry, or art, or music, literature?
Murder. Murder is my heritage?"

[Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis),
Battlestar Galactica, Season 2: Fragged]


---


Number Six: "You, your race, invented murder.
Invented killing for sport, greed, envy.
Its man's one true art form."

[Number Six (Tricia Helfer),
Battlestar Galactica, Season 2: Fragged]


---


When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies,
the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of
humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.



Battlestar Galactica



All This Happened Before
by R.E. Slater [adapted]


"All this has happened before
and will happen again,"
thought the Admiral;
What do you hear, Starbuck?
"Nothing but the rain."

"And it will happen again,"
thought Adama, fleet commander,
of decommissioned warship Galactica,
following "the rain across galaxies,
with fleeing maiden ship's in tow.

Remnants of the Colonies,
led by haunted tones echoing
Galactica's steeled chambers,
where Tyrol, among the five,
lied the enemy they've created.

Awakening from slumber, Kara,
war goddess, harbinger of death,
rises its music, hearing its call,
reliving a time before time began,
remembering distant lands.

She, who led lost colonies,
to homelands far and distant, before
time had begun, lost to memory;
whose grand cities mirrored
their many mistakes to be made.

Leading her lost colonies, to
a distant place; Earth, say some.
"What do you hear, Starbuck?"
"As in the beginning, so in the end,
this has happened before and will again."

- R.E. Slater

*Adapted with gratitude from Poem Link;
original poem by Pop Culture











Dreams of Earth

-Lysandros of Caprica

Beloved of the Gods, the happiest mortal I seem,
Sitting before thee, rapt at thy sight, hearing
Thy soft laughter and thy voice most gentle,
Speaking so passionately.

Them in my chest, my heart wildly flutters,
And, when on thee I gaze ever so ardently,
Bereft am I of all power of utterance,
My tongue [lies utterly] useless.

There rushes at once through my flesh, a tingling, fire,
My eyes are deprived of all power of vision,
My ears hear nothing but sounds of winds roaring,
And all is blackness.

And then, like as with Ambrosia, sweetly green,
Fire burns racing beneath my skin, intoxicating,
And Love, the ineluctable, with bitter sweetness,
Shakes my being.

Down courses in streams the sweat of emotion,
A deep trembling overwhelms me, leaves me,
From all sense and reason bereft,
Mad in your eyes.

Come to me then, Beloved, loosen me from my torment,
And wrap me sweetly in thy limbs, dewed in passion,
Consummate a mortal's yearning, and Love,
From aching flesh, set free.

And like a God, I shall die within thy lap,
Content to fall before thee, trembling,
All my heart's fullment found,
[Full within] thy [adored] grace.




Théodore Géricault - The Raft of the Medusa, Sketch [1818]… | Flickr



The raft was not as seaworthy,
as I had hoped. The waves
repeatedly threatened
to swamp it.
I wasn't afraid to die.
I was afraid of the
emptiness
I felt inside.
I couldn't feel anything.
And that's what scared me.
You came into my thoughts.
I felt them.
It felt good.






Stay Safe.
Because I like
being alive
at the same time
as you.






The Cylons were created by man.

They evolved.

They rebelled.

They look and feel human.

Some are programmed
to think they are human.

There are many copies.

And...

They have a PLAN....












REFERENCES








To Be Played with Poem Below:
"Caprica in Autumn" by Pat Harkin



"Caprica in Autumn"
by Pat Harkin


My fondest memory of home
Is of Caprica in autumn,
When the frost first came,
And in the mornings,
The trees were red and silver
And the grass was diamonds
And the water was a glass mirror
To the flocks above
And the air was crisp
and smelled of harvest.

My fondest memory of home
Is of Caprica in autumn
With the still-strong sun
Warming the days
And we'd run in the light
And roll through the leaves
And watch the bright birds
Who made homes in the branches
And flew through the last days of glory.

My fondest memory of home
Is of Caprica in autumn,
When the evening chill came on
As the sun went down
And the shadows crept over
The thornforest hills
And the flower colors faded
As the stars above
Came out in the sky
from a bottomless well.

My fondest memory of home
Is of Caprica in autumn...




ACTORS DISCUSS ROLES &
SERIES-ENDING THOUGHTS


Battlestar Galactica's James Callis
on How HE Wanted Baltar's Story to End 





Tricia Helfer on the end of Battlestar Galactica





Battlestar Galactica Final Episode Thoughts
"The Frackin' Best Job I Ever Had!"




Farewell Battlestar Galactica. The Journey Is Over






Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Son of Protagoras - "Standing Between Wisdom & Destruction"


Son of Protagoras by MTO




The Son of Protagoras




Go down ye burning church
to the Cathedral of St. Anne's,
look along its burdened byways
an angry boy cradling dead dove.

Pierced by two arrows of religion
brotherhoods to the same God,
whose self-same heart lies pierced
on flung pathways o' broken peace.


See pained eyes in boy's glare

wincing away his slain discovery,
now fixing upon Christ's church
studying its faiths, its torn truths.

Ye bonded churchmen of God, ye
sacred sepulchers - nay it were love!
Are you looking? Have you seen?
At lowly dove lying twice pierced?

Was yon dove of the Lord
too slight a sacrifice?
Too frail a thing to honor
O'er churchly altars ruptured?

How comes this practice if it has
no eyes, no lips, nor wisdom?
Ever raging yet emptied

of love forbearing divine?


R.E. Slater
January 8, 2020;

Edited Jan 11, 2020; Feb 26, 2020
April 22, 2020


@copyright R.E. Slater Publications

all rights reserved





* * * * * * * * * * *


"One of the things that interests me most is the way that [the artwork] is located across from the Cathedral. As you stand there viewing it, you find yourself midway between the Cathedral [of St. Anne's] and the figure. If the building can be seen as representative of the priest, then the artwork symbolizes the fiery prophet. One is concerned with protecting the accumulated wisdom and rituals of the ages, the other is concerned with pointing out how they have turned dogmatic and destructive." 
- Peter Rollins
* * * * * * * * * * *


Son of Protagoras
by Peter Rollins

I'm currently working on my upcoming Atheism for Lent practice, and one of the reflections is from the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras. It reminded me of a powerful piece of graffiti that you can see in Belfast, N.Ireland (if you've been to WAKE you'll likely have seen it on our graffiti tour). It's called Son of Protagoras and was painted by the famous French Graffiti artist MTO. The large and brooding figure is located right across the road from St Anne’s Cathedral. The angry gaze of the son of Protagoras is directed at cathedral, which can be seen through a gap in some buildings.

The figure cradles a dead dove that has been pierced by two arrows bearing the cross of the Knights of Malta and the Latin cross. The artist made this work as a comment on the conflict that once raged between Irish Catholic nationalists and the Protestant unionists. A conflict that was bound up in religious identity.
The piece is rich with powerful symbolism. A dove - representing peace - has been killed by two arrows - representing the Protestant and Catholic sides of the divide. The son of Protagoras looks with anger at the Cathedral, which represents institutional religion.

One of the things that interests me most about this piece (which I'll include as supplemental material in AfL) is the way that it's located across from the Cathedral. As you stand there viewing it, you find yourself midway between the Cathedral and the figure. If the building can be seen as representative of the priest, then the artwork symbolizes the fiery prophet. One is concerned with protecting the accumulated wisdom and rituals of the ages, the other is concerned with pointing out how they turn dogmatic and destructive.

While we might be find ourselves more often closer to one of these sides than the other, standing between them is a good reminder of how these two figures are intertwined, and how we must allow space for both.

The video I've included allows you to explore the artwork by dragging your mouse across the screen. I've also included two pictures of St Anne’s Cathedral.


* * * * * * * * * * *

St Anne’s Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is unusual in serving two separate dioceses Connor and Down and Dromore, and is the focal point of the Cathedral Quarter in Northern Ireland’s capital city


St. Anne's Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland

St Anne's Cathedral, Northern Ireland 2019
St. Anne's Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland




"Songs Of Praise Saint Anne's Cathedral Belfast" - Broadcasted on Pentecost (Whit Sunday) 7th June 1981 on BBC One. Even though the cathedral's foundation stone was laid in 1899, the cathedral was completed in phases around where the old church stood. Interruptions by the world wars and "the troubles" caused many delays. It was not until 1981, the whole cathedral fabric could be dedicated, and "Songs of Praise" was broadcast to celebrate the event.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"The Son of PROTAGORAS"

by MTO

International artist, MTO was in Belfast recently attending the “Hit the north”, Culture night and created this inspirational mural as a way of passing his message to the local community. Titled as ”The son of Protagoras”, MTO, brings some indirect mythology to offer his position on human conflict. A true masterpiece!

Located in the yard of “Northern Ireland War Memorial,”
21 Talbot Street, BELFAST, NORTH IRELAND.

The peace lines or peace walls are a series of border barriers in Northern Ireland that separate Irish nationalist and unionist neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast, Derry, Portadown and elsewhere. The stated purpose of the peace lines is to minimise inter-communal violence between Catholics (most of whom are nationalists who self-identify as Irish) and Protestants (most of whom are unionists who self-identify as British).

Protagoras was a proponent of agnosticism. he wrote: “Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life.”


Son of Protagoras by MTO, Belfast Art Show


* * * * * * * * * * *

MTO ’s work is mostly known and characterized by incredibly detailed renditions of famous and cult-y actors and musicians with a dash of red as his signature usually on a red outline of his work. It also works well as a boundary. He has launched a series of projects in the US and Europe. He has managed to reinvent his style and content by stepping up and evolving his techniques! Unpredictable as well as troubled, he never fears of challenging ideas and stereotypes.
* * * * * * * * * * *


Urban Art


WHO IS MTO?

Mateo aka MTO is a French artist known for his grey scaled photo-realistic works of art, mostly portraits, which stand out from the masses because of their high quality, that led him to become a respected artist in the Graffiti and Street art scene.

MTO is a Mystery

He was born in France, and then moved to Berlin in 2006, just to leave if 7 years later. And, that pretty much sums all that he is willing to discover about himself. Visiting Barcelona was the kick-start for MTO’s work on the streets. The vibrancy of the city’s exterior culture inspired him to create. Yet his work, although labeled street art, goes way beyond graffiti.

Ciao, Berlin!

Berlin is the city where he has represented some of his best work throughout his career so far – black and white graffiti with a touch of red and pink of mostly famous pop culture icons, but also some really known movie scenes. He has left Berlin in style – by painting Ciao, Berlin on its walls. In just 7 Berlin years the French Street Artist MTO, known for his grayscale photorealistic works of art, mostly portraits, which stand out from the masses because of their high quality, has become a respected artist in the Graffiti and Street art scene.

The last time Berlin “saw” MTO was on the 11.10.2013, when he was painting a new work of art during the “Street Art Meeting” which took place at “Yaam Berlin“. At the time, we, like most other people, had no idea that his decision to leave the city had already been made.

MTO’s grayscale and red outline portraits

MTO sprays his portraits with a typical red outline (that is part of the artwork and his signature at the same time) – usually of people who inspired him. For that reason he started painting musicians like the young Michael Jackson, Ray Charles or Jimmy Hendrix but also movie actors and their most interesting film scenes, like Jack Nicholson from “Shining”, Robert De Niro from “Taxi Driver” or Angelina Jolie from “Tomb Raider”.

Some of the most interesting works of MTO for street art lovers are definitely the portraits of Berlin based street artists like Emess, Alias or 4rtists (aka. Mr.6). Of course he proofed his skills also by painting objects like big turntables or showed a lot of humor by painting the German chancellor Angela Merkel as a punk in the old art house Tacheles.

The portraits are 8-9 feet high and wide and it takes him about 2-5 hours to finish one piece which sounds amazing when you take the quality of his work in consideration. His art also interacts with the environment around it.

The current location of MTO is unknown. Or, as he says: Currently living in “Nowhere”, Planet Earth.


* * * * * * * * * * *


~ By MTO ~ Photo: twistedsifter.com
~ By MTO ~ Photo: twistedsifter.com

Jack Nicholson from “Shining” ~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany - Photo: streetartbln.com
Jack Nicholson from “Shining” ~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany – Photo: streetartbln.com


WHO IS MTO?

https://streetartrat.com/2015/11/04/who-is-mto/


The street artist MTO, which is the short form for Mateo, was born in France and allegedly moved to Berlin a couple of years ago, his current location is unknown. There is not much information about MTO since he likes to keep his identity hidden. His artworks are often very elaborate and realistic. He likes to create large black-and-white murals, like this one in Riga.



~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany - Photo: streetartbln.com
~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany – Photo: streetartbln.com

Angelina Jolie ~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany - Photo: streetartbln.com
Angelina Jolie ~ By MTO ~ Berlin, Germany – Photo: streetartbln.com


* * * * * * * * * * *


What is A Sophist?

A sophist (Greek: σοφιστής, sophistes) was a specific kind of teacher in ancient Greece, in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Many sophists specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric, though other sophists taught subjects such as music, athletics, and mathematics. In general, they claimed to teach arete ("excellence" or "virtue", applied to various subject areas), predominantly to young statesmen and nobility. The term originated from Greek σόφισμα, sophisma, from σοφίζω, sophizo "I am wise"; confer σοφιστής, sophistēs, meaning "wise-ist, one who does wisdom", and σοφός, sophós means "wise man".


* * * * * * * * * * *


Who is Protagoras?

Jump to search
Protagoras
Salvator Rosa - Démocrite et Protagoras.jpg
Democritus (center) and Protagoras (right)
17th-century painting by Salvator Rosa
in Hermitage Museum
Bornc. 490 BC[1][2]


Diedc. 420 BC[3]
EraPre-Socratic philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolSophistic Movement
Main interests
languagesemanticsrelativismrhetoricagnosticismethics
Notable ideas
'Sophist' as teacher for hire, 'Man is the measure of all things'
Protagoras (/prˈtæɡərəs/GreekΠρωταγόραςc. 490 BC – c. 420 BC)[1] was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue Protagoras, Plato credits him with inventing the role of the professional sophist.
Protagoras also is believed to have created a major controversy during ancient times through his statement that, "Man is the measure of all things", interpreted by Plato to mean that there is no absolute truth but that which individuals deem to be the truth.
Although there is reason to question the extent of the interpretation of his arguments that has followed, that concept of individual relativity was revolutionary for the time, and contrasted with other philosophical doctrines that claimed the universe was based on something objective, outside human influence or perceptions.

Biography

Protagoras was born in Abdera, Thrace, opposite the island of Thasos (today part of the Xanthi regional unit). According to Aulus Gellius, he originally made his living as a porter, but one day he was seen by the philosopher Democritus carrying a load of small pieces of wood he had tied with a short cord. Democritus realized that Protagoras had tied the load together with such perfect geometric accuracy that he must be a mathematical prodigy. Democritus promptly took him into his own household and taught him philosophy.[4] Protagoras became well known in Athens and even became a friend of Pericles.[5]
The dates of his lifetime are not recorded, but extrapolated from writings that have survived the ages. In Protagoras Plato wrote that, before a gathering of SocratesProdicus, and Hippias, Protagoras stated that he was old enough to be the father of any of them. This suggests a birth date of not later than 490 BC. In the Meno he is said to have died at approximately the age of 70, after 40 years as a practicing Sophist.[6] His death, then, may be presumed to have occurred circa 420 BC, but is not known for certain, since assumptions about it are based on an apparently fake story about his trial for impiety in Athens.[7]
Plutarch wrote that Pericles and Protagoras spent a whole day discussing an interesting point of legal responsibility, that probably involved a more philosophical question of causation:[8] "In an athletic contest a man had been accidentally hit and killed with a javelin. Was his death to be attributed to the javelin, to the man who threw it, or to the authorities responsible for the conduct of the games?"[9]

Philosophy

Even though he was mentored by Democritus, Protagoras did not share his enthusiasm for the pursuit of mathematics. "For perceptible lines are not the kind of things the geometer talks about, since no perceptible thing is straight or curved in that way, nor is a circle tangent to a ruler at a point, but the way Protagoras used to say in refuting the geometers" (Aristotles, Metaphysics 997b34-998a4). Protagoras was skeptical about the application of theoretical mathematics to the natural world; he did not believe they were really worth studying at all. According to Philodemus, Protagoras said that "The subject matter is unknowable and the terminology distasteful". Nonetheless, mathematics was considered to be by some a very viable form of art, and Protagoras says on the arts, "art (tekhnê) without practice and practice without art are nothing" (Stobaeus, Selections 3.29.80).
Protagoras also was known as a teacher who addressed subjects connected to virtue and political life. He especially was involved in the question of whether virtue could be taught, a commonplace issue of fifth century BC Greece, that has been related to modern readers through Plato's dialogue. Rather than educators who offered specific, practical training in rhetoric or public speaking, Protagoras attempted to formulate a reasoned understanding, on a very general level, of a wide range of human phenomena, including language and education. In Plato's Protagoras, he claims to teach "the proper management of one's own affairs, how best to run one's household, and the management of public affairs, how to make the most effective contribution to the affairs of the city by word and action".[10]
He also seems to have had an interest in "orthoepeia"—the correct use of words—although this topic is more strongly associated with his fellow sophist Prodicus. In his eponymous Platonic dialogue, Protagoras interprets a poem by Simonides, focusing on the use of words, their literal meaning, and the author's original intent. This type of education would have been useful for the interpretation of laws and other written documents in the Athenian courts.[11] Diogenes Laërtius reports that Protagoras devised a taxonomy of speech acts, such as assertion, question, answer, command, etc. Aristotle also says that Protagoras worked on the classification and proper use of grammatical gender.[12][13]
The titles of his books, such as Technique of Eristics (Technē Eristikōn, literally "Practice of Wranglings"—with wrestling used as a metaphor for intellectual debate), prove that Protagoras also was a teacher of rhetoric and argumentation. Diogenes Laërtius states that he was one of the first to take part in rhetorical contests in the Olympic games.[12]

Relativism

Protagoras also said that on any matter, there are two arguments (logoi) opposed to one another, and according to Aristotle, Protagoras was criticized for having claimed "to make the weaker argument stronger (ton hēttō logon kreittō poiein)".[12]
Protagoras is credited with the philosophy of relativism, which he discusses in his work, Truth (also known as Refutations).[11][14] Although knowledge of his work is limited, discussion of Protagoras' relativism is based on one of his most famous statements: "Man is the measure of all things: of the things that are, that they are, of the things that are not, that they are not."[15][16] By this, Protagoras meant that each individual is the measure of how things are perceived by that individual. Therefore, things are, or are not, true according to how the individual perceives them. For example, Person X may believe that the weather is cold, whereas Person Y may believe that the weather is hot. According to the philosophy of Protagoras, there is no absolute evaluation of the nature of a temperature because the evaluation will be relative to who is perceiving it. Therefore, to Person X, the weather is cold, whereas to Person Y, the weather is hot. This philosophy implies that there are no absolute "truths". The truth, according to Protagoras, is relative, and differs according to each individual.[11]
As with many fragments of the pre-Socratic philosophers, this phrase has been passed down through the ages, without any context, and consequently, its meaning is open to interpretation. His use of the word χρήματα (chrēmata, "things used") instead of the general word ὄντα (onta, "entities") signifies, however, that Protagoras was referring to things that are used by, or in some way, related to, humans, such as properties, social entities, ideas, feelings, judgments, which originate in the human mind. Protagoras did not suggest that humans must be the measure of the motion of the stars, the growing of plants, or the activity of volcanoes.
As many modern thinkers will, Plato ascribes relativism to Protagoras and uses his predecessor's teachings as a foil for his own commitment to objective and transcendent realities and values. Plato ascribes to Protagoras an early form of what John Wild categorized as phenomenalism.[17] That being an assertion that something that is, or appears for a single individual, is true or real for that individual.
However, as described in Plato's Theaetetus, Protagoras's views allow that some views may result from an ill body or mind. He stressed that although all views may appear equally true, and perhaps, should be equally respected, they certainly are not of equal gravity. One view may be useful and advantageous to the person who has it, while the perception of another may prove harmful. Hence, Protagoras believed that the sophist was there to teach the student how to discriminate between them, i.e., to teach "virtue".
Both Plato and Aristotle argue against some of Protagoras's claims regarding relativity; however, they argue that the concept provides Protagoras with too convenient an exemption from his own theory and that relativism is true for him yet false for those who do not believe it. They claim that by asserting that truth is relative, Protagoras then could say that whatever further theory he proposed must be true.[18]
Because knowledge of most of his work is limited or missing, modern attempts to apply the Protagoras theory of relativism tend to result in disagreement and refer to scientific reasoning. Carol Poster states that with a modern preference toward scientific reasoning and objective truth, for example, rather than considering individuals evaluating their sense of comfort, a modern philosopher would look at a modern instrument, the thermometer, objectively to see the scientific measure of the temperature, whereas the Greek method would entail looking at larger philosophical implications.[19]

Agnosticism

Protagoras also was a proponent of agnosticism. Reportedly, in his lost work, On the Gods, he wrote: "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not, nor of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life."[20][21] According to Diogenes Laërtius, the outspoken, agnostic position taken by Protagoras aroused anger, causing the Athenians to expel him from the city, and all copies of his book were collected and burned in the marketplace. The deliberate destruction of his works also is mentioned by Cicero.[22]
The classicist John Burnet doubts this account, however, as both Diogenes Laërtius and Cicero wrote hundreds of years later and as no such persecution of Protagoras is mentioned by contemporaries who make extensive references to this philosopher.[23] Burnet notes that even if some copies of the Protagoras books were burned, enough of them survived to be known and discussed in the following century. A claim has been made that Protagoras is better classified as an atheist, since he held that if something is not able to be known it does not exist.[24]

Spectrum of topics

Nonetheless, very few fragments from Protagoras have survived, although he is known to have written several different works: Antilogiae and Truth. The latter is cited by Plato, and was known alternatively as, The Throws (a wrestling term referring to the attempt to floor an opponent). It began with the "Man is the measure" (ἄνθρωπος μέτρον) pronouncement. According to Diogenes Laërtius other books by Protagoras include: On the GodsArt of EristicsImperativeOn AmbitionOn Incorrect Human ActionsOn those in HadesOn SciencesOn VirtuesOn the Original State of Things and Trial over a Fee.[12]

See also