So That's What's in a Name

Before I get into today's post proper (which will be short...I am le tired) I figured that since a few people are actually reading my more-or-less-informed drivel, I should briefly explain the name and subtitle of the blog. Basically, when I created it I intended it to be an outlet for completely satirical and ironic thoughts I have constantly but can't always voice because of circucmstances, etc. In that spirit, I wanted to poke fun at the stereotype of blogs, and the bloggers who create them. I'm actually a somewhat private person, and while blogging may be cheap therapy that works for some people who pour out their heartache and rage and malcontent directly in a public forum, that's not for me. I'm not saying there isn't a place for people who express genuine emotions in their writing, which happens to be online. I guess I just happen to be a fan of discretion. That and the lilting rhyme of the title made me laugh for a really long time. So just to make it clear: while things in my life are far from perfect, I'm an extremely fortunate and thankful person. However, I like to entertain myself, and since the title (and the hilarity of "torturedgenius85") amuses me, I think I'll keep it for now. But if anyone has a suggestion for a title more fitting and proper to the subject matter contained within, I'm all ears.

Now, just a brief continued reflection on the idea of "techne" from last post. I have two items to bring to bear on the discussion. First, an article about a Stanford physician and educator named Dr. Abraham Verghese, entitled "Physician Revives a Dying Art: The Physical". Shockingly germane to our topic, the article profiles Dr. Verghese as a doctor and a man who believes in the medical and spiritual wisdom of actually physically examining patients. It seems absurdly commonsensical to do so, and yet the article cites the gaining prevalence of technological diagnostics without the physical contact of doctor and patient. The trend of medical instruction recently, it suggests, has been entirely on the "techne", to the detriment of the art. Yes, medicine is a science (which is why we put so much trust in its authority) but Dr. Verghese reminds us it is also an art. The most interesting fact about this man, to me, is that he has written a novel and studied at the extremely prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, fairly soundly acknowledged to be the best Creative Writing MFA program in the country. This man is attempting to bring "art" (i.e. meaning, human connection and the creation of understanding such contact breeds) to a field that is becoming increasing removed, automated, abstract.

Lastly for today, I just watched the documentary "Note by Note: the Making of Steinway L1037". The film chronicles the production of one Steinway concert grand piano through every stage of its creation, a process that takes a full year to complete. Relevant to our discussion, however, is that the focus of the film is not so much on the piano itself, but on the master craftsmen and women who use their "techne" to create some of the most beautiful instruments in the world. What I was struck by was their happiness and the joy they take in their work. They are technicians, surely; you have to be to do the incredibly demanding and skilled work they do. Yet their work has meaning to them. Even though they perform many of the same tasks day in and day out, they are connected powerfully to their work. You can see on their faces while they work that it is an expression of their being. Of course, all their beautiful work produces something beautiful, but it also produces something extremely expensive. So, as long as we in this country and the global community continue to value more things made cheaply that cost less to produce so that they cost less to buy, there is no incentive to fuse "techne" and "art". And the more disassociated the two become, the less meaning there is overall. On a final problematizing note, I personally love cheap things. I'm as much a part of the problem as anyone. I can justify it for now because I'm underemployed, but I know the change needs to happen. How to bring it about?

Okay so it wasn't that short after all :). As always, comments welcome.

The Wrong Target

Continuing the twisty line of thought from my last post, I want to make it clear that I do value individual personal effort. Unlike facing Borg assimilation, resistance is not futile. We all have a role to play and we all have many amazing and creative talents and passions. But at this point I'm not concerned as much with the how as the why. We have all the resources and talent in the world at our fingertips, "we can rebuild him...we have the technology!" Our existential quandary doesn't dull our efficaciousness (although it might). But the question is why are we doing what we're doing, and to what end?

While subbing for an Ethics class at a private school in the area (my blog doesn't exactly pay the bills - surprised? ;), I had the fortune to start the movie Food, Inc.. There's a lot of really interesting stuff in there, and yes the cliche is true, I'm never eating meat again (maybe). Yet the most interesting person to me in the film is a farmer named Joel Salatin. He is the owner and operator of Polyface Farms, and a published author and speaker. While he had a great deal of profound things to say in the film, one idea in particular stood out. It's basically what I've been trying to say, but said much better. Talking about the state of the industrialized farming and food industry, and the evasion of the consequences of the dangerous and arrogant attempt to engineer the food supply chain, he has this to say:

"I'm always struck at how successful we have been at hitting the bullseye of the wrong target. We have become a culture of technicians - we're all into the how of it - and nobody's stepping back and saying why? I mean a culture that just views a pig as a pile of protoplasmic inanimate structure to be manipulated by whatever creative design the human can foist on that critter, will probably view individuals in their community and other cultures in the community of nations with the same type of disdain and disrespect and controlling type mentality." (Joel Salatin, Food, Inc.)

Technicians. Bullseye indeed! Our efforts, however sincere they may be, are often aimed at the wrong target. But we're great at doing it; we love the satisfaction of hitting the bullseye so much that it doesn't much matter to us that it's the wrong target entirely! And what technicians we've become. "Techne" is an expansive ancient Greek word that is usually translated "art, skill, or craft." But it can also mean the "way, manner, or means whereby a thing is gained, without any definite sense of art or craft," and "a set of rules, system or method of making or doing, whether of the useful arts, or of the fine arts." It is in this broad sense that many of us are, for better or worse, technicians. We engineer the circumstances in life, use our skills to establish systems, and then depending on how much power we have, thrust those systems on others and redefine the meaning of "techne" for them and for society. In the process, however, we're losing the "art" aspect of it all. By "art" I mean the meaning behind it all. The "why" question. The "art" that makes us look closely at the target to see if it's the one we've been meaning to hit all along. But if it's not, are we technicians enough to re-engineer the circumstances, or, in the case of technology, are we too far gone? Are the circumstances engineering us?

As a final thought, Mr. Salatin seems to argue that being a technician has moral implications. It affects the way we live and move in the world. How can we come to understand this dimension of the problem? More thoughts to come on this I'm sure, but in the meantime all comments welcome!