Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
Beyond Reason in Philosophy
Most of true philosophy involves reason, but not all. I like this following quote from one of my favorite philosophers, Alfred North Whitehead (1869-1947), who wrote near the end of his book, Modes of Thought: “The use of philosophy is to maintain an active novelty of fundamental ideas illuminating the social system. It reverses the […]
Posted in Follies, Spirituality and Philosophy, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
The Lure of Irrational Hope
A friend asked, “Why are people so inclined towards irrational hope?” I pondered and here are some thoughts. You are welcome to comment. First, some hope is semi-rational in the sense of it doesn’t hurt to look for the best, and it’s no help to imagine negative consequences—unless you can do something realistic to change […]
Posted in Current Events, Follies, Psychological Literacy | No Comments
“A World Too Wide For His Shrunk Shank”
This age-ist phrase was used by William Shakespeare in a little speech given by the character Jaques in the play, As You Like It (Act 2, Scene 7), to describe the 6th of the “Seven Ages of Man.” This sixth age is older than the “Justice” (the 5th age), and senility, the seventh, age. The […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Essays and Papers, My Favorite Things, Spirituality and Philosophy, Wisdom-ing | 1 Comment
Paradigm Changes in Our Time
I’m aware that this phrase, paradigm change, has become somewhat cliché’d, but I think it useful to recognize what we are going through many cultural trends or shifts of world-view. It occurred to me that while the years around 1901 have been called “fin de siecle,”—meaning the end of the century, our own era, the […]
Posted in Current Events, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
Creativity & the Arts Therapies
In response to a request to speak to some students of one of the arts therapies at a college in the USA, I contemplated what such students need to hear. I asked about improvisation as a theme and the teacher noted that developing skills to promote improvisation in art media—music, dance, art, poetry, etc.—is indeed […]
Posted in Play and Spontaneity, Psychological Literacy, Psychology, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
“Being Yourself”—Some Thoughts
A contemplation on two poems from the early-mid 20th century poet, e. e. cummings: — "may I be I is the only prayer— not may I be great or good or beautiful or wise or strong." – – "to be nobody-but-yourself—in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody […]
Posted in Current Events, Spirituality and Philosophy, Wisdom-ing | 2 Comments
The Great Story (Video)
In 2010 I gave a lecture series (posted on my website) about the history of the cosmos as far as we know. It’s called “The Great Story.” Recently someone sent me a video montage only 2 minutes long that recaptures the drama to some degree. Take a look, and then visit my webpages that explain […]
Posted in History, Spirituality and Philosophy | No Comments
Social-Depth Psychology
J. L. Moreno developed a method called sociometry that involved more systematically asking people about their interpersonal preferences according to specified criteria. Diagramming the responses brings into view the intangible matrix of the social field. It operates in a way analogous to what a microscope does. But more, the social field thus exposed deserves attention […]
Posted in Psychological Literacy, Psychology, Social-Depth Psychology (Sociometry) | 1 Comment
The “Garden” as Metaphor for Selecting Friends
Only a few people resonate that much with our interests, so we should disclose ourselves more fully only to those who seem to care. Young children cannot understand this. (And it took me too long to figure this out—well through my college years and beyond!) I’ve found the following metaphor serves as a mental filtering […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Psychological Literacy, Psychology, Social-Depth Psychology (Sociometry) | No Comments
Singin’ and Dancin’
I’m having a good ol’ time in my community. We dance several types of dancing—square and round, folk (I probably know over 1ooo dances and in the last 56 years done 1000 or more others), and ballroom dances. For over 14 years I’ve sung in our Sun City Texas chorus and this fall we’re rehearsing—all […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Play and Spontaneity | No Comments