"The Missing Shade..." (+2)

Kurt Philip Behm

Is the self

“a mere bundle

of perceptions”

 

If Hume’s right,

are the rest of us

wrong

 

When stimuli exits,

do we then

disappear

 

Existence abeyant,  

too weak

—to live on

 

(Villanova University Library: April, 2021)

 

 

Hollow & Silent

 

If a poem doesn’t live up

to its title

The moment is reclaimed

by time

 

Its chance to anoint

when read disappoints

A bell  

—unable to chime

 

(The New Room: April, 2021)

 

 

Thank You Dr. Spock

 

Over parenting…

the child undone

 

A cardinal sin

—lost millennium

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2021)

  • Author: Kurt Philip Behm (Offline Offline)
  • Published: April 14th, 2021 09:19
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 40
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Comments +

Comments4

  • L. B. Mek

    what a fun read,
    firstly I think Hume's prose is really underrated, much like Freud and Nietzsche, the fact that they're so easily quotable - distracts, from the sheer talent they had for sentence structuring prowess..
    as for theory, I think a lot of Hume is a reaction to that logic-first mindset of late 17th - 18th century enlightenment era, reflecting the same environment that birthed Rosseau's call for regression from our growing dependency on science
    but I like how you worked it into the poem, stimuli based on our innate emotionality probably determines a lot, for first impressions - but we usually get a chance at analysing and thereby making second and third more informed judgments, hence why reasoning will always prevail: if we can only cultivate a state of rationality for us to decipher the relevant data (easier said than done in the heat of the moment, I know)..
    Also, I think dr. spock is like 'the positive reinforcement, cop'
    to Dr. Gabor Maté's 'harsh - realist, analytical cop', lol

  • Kurt Philip Behm

    Thanks LB. In fairness to him, I've always been a fan of Hume's. Like Descartes, he was
    a giant of his time.

    IMHO, Benjamin Spock was responsible for ruining more children than measles or polio.
    My mother had his baby blue bible 'Baby And Child Care' on her nightstand until she threw
    it out in disgust as a result of my Grandmother telling her that Spock was deluded.

    After spending a lot of time with the Oglala Tribe in Pine Ridge while writing 'Searching For Crazy Horse, I can tell you that their definition of rationality is radically different (and attractive to me) from what almost all of Western thought represents.

    Always great to hear from you.

    Kurt

  • L. B. Mek

    may I humbly ask what 'their radically different definition' of rationality is? (scholarly curiosity only, so no problem if you can't divulge)

  • Kurt Philip Behm

    Their philosophy/ religion is integrated and they live within it. Western (Greek) philosophy is more objective where truth lives outside the believer and becomes a standard to live up to or adhere to.

    Indians don’t receive their real names (like Crazy Horse) until they either have a vision or accomplish an important deed. They don’t see nature outside themselves, but rather themselves as part of the natural world with no confusion or contradiction. That is why so many of them were able to integrate Christianity with their own native beliefs.

    They would not have understood at all Plato’s treatise on forms and in fact would have found that duality absurd.

    Contradiction, whether the Trinity or Mind/ Body dualism would have been lost on them. Their God, Wakan Tanka was in all things, unlike the Greek gods.

    Thanks as always for the great commenting.

    Kurt



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