How do you think?

[konbit]

It's always interesting having these political, religious, racial, ethical discussions on the DHP. And it's definitely shown me how differently other people think. I am curious to know who or what are the foundations for the WAY that you think. I'm not talking about WHAT you think...but instead, the way in which you work through ideas. (For example, I don't always agree with the conclusions that Plato comes to, but I definitely think through issues in the same way he seems to. Similarly, Chomsky has heavily influenced WHAT I think....but his technique, his WAY of thinking isn't particularly revolutionary or influential on me).

Please don't list your parents...as that is obvious. But feel free to list songs, artists, authors, plays, etc. that have had an impact on the way in which you think. Whether you think through your emotions, through logic, through abstractions, etc.

Some of the people that have shaped the way that I think:

Plato: I often internally go through the question/answer dialog style that he employees, and I often reduce things in order to see large ideas the way he does.

Marshall Mcluhan: I love his ability to use pattern recognition and metaphor to come up with very unique ideas.

Jorge Luis Borges: Every story of his makes me see the world in whole new ways.

Woody Allen: I think I have similar mix of cynicism, fear, logic and aesthetic appreciation. But his sexual problems...he's on his own. His films have definitely influenced the way I approach art.

The Dhammapada: definitely influenced my ethical outlook and perspective of spiritual matters.

There are a ton more...these are the first that come to mind.

I'd love to hear other people's. (I'm especially eager to see the pro-war peeps).

[12th house]

interesting thread

aside from my parent (duh) here are a few that come to mind:

Carl Jung and the concept of archtypes. Archetypal/symbolic experiences as a way to understand our commonalities. Also astrology, dream language, I Ching, tarot.

Sustainable development/agriculture movement. No one particular person specifically, but as a whole, this movement's platform makes lots of sense to me as a way to live in harmony with the earth under current economic/social conditions.

Buddhism: reincarnation and freedom from attachment/the presence of suffering due to illusory concepts. also, very important, compassion and loving kindness.

Vedism: karma, reincarnation, and duality (male/female, dark/light etc. forces of the universe)

straight-edge hardcore: no drugs/alcohol/take good care of yourself lifestyle

Oprah: it's true! communication, sharing on a mass level, giving value to individual stories as being teaching tools to help the next person.

Edward Gorey: dark humor

Taoism/the Tao Te Ching: intuitive awareness, paradox

social democratic movements, or often, socialism in its pure theoretical form

the Utne Reader, Mother Jones, and a host of other progressive/lefty magazines

many more...some too personal to mention here and now

[drilla]

Originally posted by 12th house:
interesting thread

straight-edge hardcore: no drugs/alcohol/take good care of yourself lifestyle

yeah, me too. that's chill.

[Monny JcIntosh]

I'd love to be able to say I've learnt to avoid theory construction from Wittgenstein, to be on the look out for elevating my faults into principles from Nietzsche, to avoid deductive seduction from Imre Lakatus, a feel for paradox from Borges and Godel, humanity from Nabakov and scepticism from Hume and Montaigne. But really I just learnt that making facile gags helps you to avoid getting into fights for "thinking you're clever, eh ya bas'?" at school.

[kayotv]

Plato, Chomsky, Manning Marable, Malcom X, Kris Parker, Nathan McCall, Rev. Houston, Karl Marx, Stevie Wonder, Frankie Crocker, Scorcesse, Spike Lee and Richard Pryor.

[And]

Joseph Campbell - I like how he uses myth and folklore to assert that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. Problem arise when we start letting the superficial differences between us deter us from what essentially are similar aims in life; living the best way we can, succeeding - not just you but your community. I'm simplifying but that's also what I love about Campbell's style. I took some critical thinking courses on lacan, derrida, blah, blah, blah and maybe I was too young to process what they were saying at the time, but Mr. Campbell made more sense to me.

How else do I think?

I love reading - Fiction especially. My way of thinking has been affected (and I can't clearly outline how) by characters I relate to, thoughts penned using words I couldn't come up with that convey everything I feel. For example the story of Alice in Wonderland has stayed with me ever since I read it at a young age. There was just something about Alice that I could relate to. The tea party with all the crazy characters, Alice's befuddlement? Perceptions of reality, "dream life" or "awake life." Over the past year, I've done some reading and have actually been able to figure out what message I was to get from the story.

Did any of you ever watch that show Northern Exposure? One of my all time favourite shows. I loved that show because of how the characters were able to interpret the symbols in their lives. The manner in which they viewed events that happened, interpreted their dreams. Incorporating more realms and dimensions into their view of daily life. Symbols are all around us. I choose to believe that learning to identify them and understand their impact on me is essential to my growth.

Finally, and the more I think of it, the more it makes sense my background greatly affects how I think. I'm Igbo (Nigerian) and we communicate through stories (at least in my family). Answering a question wasn't all about yes or no. There was so much more to that. Sometimes if my dad was really saying "no" to a request, I'd never hear the word no, I'd get a story which I'd have to piece together to get.
Okay now I'll stop... smile.gif


http://www.jcf.org/

[12th house]

*

[ April 10, 2003, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: 12th house ]

[Woody Rosen]

Originally posted by konbit:


Woody Allen: I think I have similar mix of cynicism, fear, logic and aesthetic appreciation. But his sexual problems...he's on his own. His films have definitely influenced the way I approach art. I was named after this guy ^ I feel the same way about him as you do pretty much.

As for the other stuff, I consider myself to be somewhat well traveled for a 19 year old. From this I have learned that you cannot judge things as right or wrong. Because to another person, it is something different entirely.

or something like that
:D

[mhd]

Red Ross, he was a pimp that lived on 61st and Indiana next door to the grade school i attended in chicago

[naeema_from_toronto]

this is an interesting thread.

a few that come to mind that have had an impact on my way of thinking:

g i gurdgjieff
siddharta - hesse
alexander crowley
phil hine
gnosticism
wicca and the goddess
reincarnation
religious systems in general
agriculture
carl sagan
tgf parts I and II
georges seurat


a thought to ponder - how has your taste in music progressed throughout your life(from what genres to what genres)? are there connections between that progression and your personal progression in your outlook on "life-the-universe-and-everything"?

[naeema_from_toronto]

oh and iceberg slim, specifically "pimp"

[DeesKo]

for me, everything boils down to the block

peace

[Dr. Freud]

George Carlin

[And]

Originally posted by naeema_from_toronto:
a thought to ponder - how has your taste in music progressed throughout your life(from what genres to what genres)? are there connections between that progression and your personal progression in your outlook on "life-the-universe-and-everything"?Good one ...
Now I think ... smile.gif

[The Buddy Love Show]

some influences
ma and pa
Orwell
Stranger in a strange land
Farenheit 451
The Dark Brothers
Noam Chomsky
Frankie Crocker
Fidel Castro
Isaac Newton
Keynes
FDR
Winston Churchill
David Mancuso
Larry Levan
Clint Eastwood
Mario Puzo and the Godfather Trilogy
Scarface
Gabriel Suarez
Jeff Cooper
Stephen Covey
Stephen Heiman
Bill Phillips
Alan Flusser
Kenneth Blanchard
Alfred Hitchcock
Sam Peckinpah
Sergio Leone
Wall Street
Oliver Stone
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
The Nation
Why should white guys have all the Fun
Frank Castle aka Charles Fort aka The Punisher

too long and twisted to explain some of them (and some are contradictory in nature)

[konbit]

Originally posted by Dr. Freud:
George Carlin He's brilliant! Once he gets past his fart jokes, he's the closest thing we to a modern day philosopher. Free from the restrictions of academia...he really has a unique approach to language and social issues.

Great choice!

[konbit]

MarkB....good lookin' on all the films allusions. Films and television probably shape the way we think way more than we give them credit for. From Fellini to Disney, from Seinfeld to Smurfs, I'm sure my thought processes have been highly influenced by the screen. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, though.

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by your idol, Buddy Love:
The Dark Brothers
graemlins/lol.gif

[Sharp Eye Washington]

-Elijiah Muhammad
-El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X)
-Redd Foxx
-Marcus Garvey
-Huey P. Newton
-Jim Brown
-Elaine Brown
-Tousaint L' Overture
-Paul Mooney & Richard Pryor
-Stephen Fetchit
-Patrice Lumumba
-Emmitt Till
-Nat Turner
-Freedom Summer
-The Paradise Garage
-Larry Levan,Tee Scott
-Frankie Crocker
-Muhammad Ali
-A Man & A Woman (movie)
-Shaft (the original)
-Nina Simone
-Donald Bogle
-Issac Hayes
-Spike Lee
-Hank Aaron
-The Negro Baseball League
-Bill Russell
-Kareem Abdul Jabbar

[The Buddy Love Show]

Originally posted by konbit:
MarkB....good lookin' on all the films allusions. Films and television probably shape the way we think way more than we give them credit for. From Fellini to Disney, from Seinfeld to Smurfs, I'm sure my thought processes have been highly influenced by the screen. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, though. i cant front...as a latchkey kid my life is like the series "Dream On"..movies and pop culture have shaped my thoughts as much as literature and newsprint......and the ideas are as relevant as those gained through book learning - i think the key is to have a balance between the two as the written word helps to shape our ability to expres ourselves through writing and rhetoric

and in that vein i left out one influence

e b white's elements of style

[jillbee]

Not at all or too damn much.
graemlins/jpshakehead.gif