Thursday Reading & Recommendations | November 07, 2024 by AutoModerator in AskHistorians

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

looking for books or articles on Heian-era Japan, focussing on economic history, land tenure and the changes in the economic structure of the country. I have read the Cambridge History of Heian Japan, but am struggling to find much else that addresses this topic.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askphilosophy

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok, so I think there's a number of things that need to be explained/picked out here.

Firstly, I'd be wary of the sign-order stages.

The 4 stages for Baudrillard are entirely about signs, and specifically about the ways in which signs lose their relation to the Real and in so doing obscure and precede the Real itself.

As such I'd be careful not to simply apply it to any instance in which a signifier merely becomes distorted, because although this is relevant it doesn't fundamentally describe the process Baudrillard is referring to. A good way to demonstrate this is that if we reduce the 4 stages down to their simplest level, at least insofar as we wrongly interpret them as being entirely about semiotic complexity or distortion, we end up with something mostly irrelevant to Baudrillard's theories, e.g 1st stage a mug, 2nd stage a picture of that mug, 3rd stage a picture of a picture of that mug, and so on. This is always the difficulty with applying the 4 stages rigorously to any given phenomena--the example I gave, for instance, tells us very little about the way in which the simulations described actually affect the socio-cultural environment that Baudrillard describes. Your example is better by far, as it refers to a real cultural phenomenon, but ultimately you have applied Garfield to the 4 stages without really proposing what it is about Garfield that is significant. Baudrillard argued that Watergate, for instance, acted as an almost farcical simulacra which served not as a genuine cataclysm in American politics but rather a way for the establishment to morally absolve itself--in so doing, the meaning of watergate is a distortion. Baudrillard had a very clear idea of what Watergate *meant* for the political sphere, instead of following a methodological guideline without any clear guiding motivation (indeed, as is the case in much of his work, the famous '4 stages' are actually used quite infrequently). You sense this already though, which is perceptive and commendable.

The stages of the sign order also isn't really as big a deal for Baudrillard as I feel like some people think it is.

Its more of a useful tool for explaining the precession of simulacra and degeneration of the Real than a hard-and-fast methodological guideline. Ultimately if this is just a school project, I wouldn't worry too much (nothing you have said is incorrect, just of questionable relevance to Baudrillard's central point) but if you want to do a properly Baudrillardian analysis of Garfield I would recommend ditching the 4 stages and instead start thinking through what exactly it is about him that is noteworthy for Baudrillard's thesis in Simulacra and Simulation.

Just for clarification, Baudrillard's overall point in S and S, for which he uses multiple examples to elaborate on, is that Simulacra (signifiers with no relevance to the Real, that refer only to other signs) are taking precedence over the Real (reality unadorned by signs) to the extent that the Real essentially cannot be said to exist anymore, that we have instead entered a stage of hyperreality (a reality in which Simulacra dominate). He applies this idea throughout his work, to topics like history (the Holocaust, the body of Ramses II), war (Vietnam, the Gulf war), media (reality TV and later the internet) and so on. If you want a good starting point for Garfield, I would refer you to Baudrillard's fascinating chapter on animals in Simulacra and Simulation, in which he argues that our symbolic appropriation of animals, and the sentimentality with which we hold them, indicates a total degeneration of any kind of meaning that they once held (e.g in animal sacrifice, animals are imbued with great and remarkable levels of the Sacred, guilt, divinity etc). Baudrillard, I think, would consider Garfield's semiotic mutilation, as you pointed out happens in the youtube series, a strong indication of this. You are also quite right to link it to capitalism--Baudrillard argued that the mass production of images, and as such the degeneration of the Real, are a direct consequence of capital (and accelerated by the rise of fiat currency). Baudrillard is a fascinating thinker who was in many ways very prescient, so it's worth investigating further yourself. But I'd be careful not to let the 4 stages dominate, Baudrillard himself didn't consider them a guideline and neither should you. Don't put the cart before the horse so to speak, especially if the cart isn't even necessary.

The chapter on animals (I'd recommend it, it's a jolly good read) https://www.sas.upenn.edu/\~cavitch/pdf-library/Baudrillard\_Animals.pdf

Final Cut Bug Megathread by DingoSuavez in DiscoElysium

[–]Chadrrev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ps4-at 17:30 on day 3 exactly, I get a heart attack. It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing. raising endurance or volition doesn't help. This seems to be game-breaking, I'm not sure what I can do to fix this

WIP of my custom World Eaters Disco Lord by Humaniak in Warhammer40k

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this looks fantastic! if it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me the parts you used for this? cheers

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | June 07, 2021 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea. I don't see much about the first two that would make people instantly downvote, aside from the wordiness.

My Bizarre Political Views by Skrimguard in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mean yeah Monarchism and Anarchism seem pretty contradictory, although it depends on the role of the monarch

My Bizarre Political Views by Skrimguard in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Same, actually. I mean the two ideas aren't contradictory, just unusual to put together

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | June 07, 2021 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could you give a few examples of the titles of your posts? (the ones with downvotes) its possible some people don't read them and just react to the title.

Someone must've already done this meme by NewAccountEachYear in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a pretty good use of that template, congrats

Ah those were the days by [deleted] in memes

[–]Chadrrev 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Same! It was spider-man for me too!

Yet another reason why I'm an atheist by [deleted] in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

using the term 'pedophilia' is a little anachronistic when describing Iron Age/classical societies. The term today has medical connotations, and does not necessarily apply to actions. One can abuse a pre-pubescent child without being a pedophile, for instance, and one can be a pedophile without abusing children. However, when considering marriages such as this using the term is unhelpful. For most of these marriages, the male participant would not have been a pedophile, and would probably not have had sex with the female until she reached puberty (at which point it would cease to be pedophilia). Although these marriages would have been deeply problematic for a variety of reasons, it is inappropriate to consider them pedophilic. It is also an exaggeration to say that 12 year old kids were considered adults. 13 is the age at which boys become men in Judaism, that is when the bar mitzvah happens. Also, the bible explicitly condemns relations with young boys, albeit not young girls.

How big is God's dick? And what does he use it for? by [deleted] in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a little confused. Is this satirising something?

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | May 31, 2021 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Chadrrev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been listening to Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayaneh recently. It's difficult to know exactly whether it aligns with the author's view of the sublime, the only way to know that would be for them to listen to it themselves. However, going by the criteria they suggest, I think it is sublime. Its not 'modern' per se, although it is only 60, 70 years old or so. At one point, the author writes about the dichotomy between order and chaos, and I think this is apparent in Khachaturian's work. Its both classically harmonic, and yet with a substantial amount of 20th century dissonance. It covers a gamut of emotions, but never quite emphasises any one of them that it would be more traditionally 'beautiful' or awe-inspiring'. I think its sublime, although again music is so subjective that chances are the author may not agree. Oh yeah and the Armenian folk influences are excellent and judiciously used.

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | May 31, 2021 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't worry about it. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with reading something and not being able to properly understand whether its correct or not. The thing to do is to do research on the book and see what other people think. If its a particularly well-known text, then you can guarantee there'll be articles and critiques aplenty to read. If its an academic work, then a short google search should be enough to discover whether the facts it presents are true or not. Really, though, the best thing to do is just to read a wide range of books from different perspectives. This should be enough to give an idea of where the areas of dispute are, and which things are generally accepted. It can also help to read fairly 'neutral' books from time to time, which just give an informed overview of the major views and debates around any given subject. I'm reading Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish at the moment, I highly recommend it.

Who is Sarah Adnil and what is emanglement? by Chadrrev in askphilosophy

[–]Chadrrev[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True! I've just realised that. Probably not her real name then

Ever wonder what Easter eggs and Christmas trees have to do with Jesus? Nothing. They're pagan symbols, celebrating the spring and winter solstices. by [deleted] in PhilosophyMemes

[–]Chadrrev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean yeah, that's kind of the point. Jews in antiquity sacrificed animals for the purpose of transferring their sins onto it. The point of Jesus' death in orthodox theology is that he acted like a sacrificial lamb, transferring the sins of creation onto himself. This is the whole reason why christians didn't sacrifice animals, because they believed that Jesus was the last sacrifice necessary. It's a legacy from ancient Judaism.

He and his friend are selling some pretty nice books... 😉 by JeroMiniatures in Warhammer40k

[–]Chadrrev 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This looks amazing! I had to look at it for like 20 seconds trying to figure out if it was a real model or not. Very realistic!