"There are many mysteries in this universe, big and small. Like, why do clowns make us laugh? Why do we love puppy dogs? And why, why do little blue midgets hit me with fish?"
~The Tick
Even though I'm not an avid follower of existentialism, I do have a favorite player. Martin Heidegger's concept of Dasein- of being-as-becoming- resonates particularly well with my Wiccan sensibilities. He proposed that the fundamental nature of Self emanates from the act of living. We do not simply exist, we are existing; not just alive, but living; do not just be, but are becoming. (Ok, that last one was a stretch, but you can see my whole "life in the infinitive point", right?) From the moment the singularity exploded, all the stuff of the universe has been moving; coagulating here and there into molecules, planets, humanoids, supernovae, but never ceasing movement. Always becoming. And in the midst of this swirling soup, the essence of individual Being does not exist as a series of discrete 'nows' cobbled together in a linear path through this stuff. It too is a constant moving, growing, learning, thinking, changing flow that is an extension of, but is not other than, the whole of existence. We are just waves on the ocean, dude. And it is this movement that defines what I am. However- and this is where Heidegger really shook up the metaphysical world- it is a definition that can only make sense from within the framework of the world as a whole. How do I know I exist? Because I am existing. I am breathing, typing, drinking, thinking. But I cannot breathe without the air around me, I cannot type without the keyboard in front of me, I cannot drink without the coffee in my cup, I cannot think without something to think about. The fact of my existence subsists in the acts of my existence, but in order to act, I must exist in the world.
So about now, you are saying: "Well, duh…I'm me because I'm being me". But Heidegger was suggesting this definition of Self in contrast to 2000+ years of philosophers who had been saying that essence of Being was some kind of transcendent spirit -within the corporeal existence, but independent from it. Your true Self, they insisted, was a discrete part within your physical self. And they all busied themselves with trying to find, or define, the nature of this component, and subsequently teach us how to act in order to make this part happy, complete, ethical… whatever.
- Cogito, ergo sum: you are nothing but your thoughts. Everything else is illusion. So just think clearly.
- Noumenon: you must be something, but you can never have objective knowledge of what that is. So forget about trying to figure out what you are, and just do what's right.
- Form of Life: human existence is only an imperfect reproduction of the concept of Existence, so the best you can hope for is to be sort of happy.
Heidegger was saying forget all that. Your actual existence is not simply related to your existence in the world, it is your existence in the world. But this is more than just categorizing who you are based on a set of criteria or labeling your life in accordance with how it aligns with others- I fix cars, so I'm a mechanic; I collect stamps, so I'm a philatelist; I listen to Pantera, so I'm a metal head. That still presumes that the outward activities of corporeal existence are just superficial trappings, and do not pertain to true Existence. Heidegger's theory was a change in the paradigm. This was a fundamentally radical idea. And it is also fundamentally empowering. My soul is not endowed by god for some unknown purpose beyond this life. It is not an unknowable force or immutable constant that I am stuck with, and can never change, but only try to appease somehow. What I do is the essence of who I am, and since I can do whatever I choose to do, I am always ultimately in control of my very essence. And that's magik, baby.
"This planet has - or rather had- a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
~H2G2
Philosophy and satirical comedy are actually kindred disciplines. I mean, except for the satire bit… and the comedy part… and the HBO specials… they are twins. But mostly, they are both propitious for helping you pull back a little to see the bigger picture. Forest for the trees kind of stuff. We can get so bogged down in the minutia of daily life- working, sleeping, paying bills, the jerk in the car in front of me, the season finale of Farmer Wants a Wife- that we sometimes forget why we do all this stuff. It's eudaimonia, man. (See how simple philosophy can make things!) The self-help industry and patriarchal religions have conned us into believing that Happiness is an esoteric concept or some elusive force out there somewhere. That mysterious spiritual Self, the one they say is distinct from one's corporeal self, does not inherently possess Happiness. Sure, we have an understanding of it. But to truly achieve Happiness, they tell us, we have to search for it, chase after it. We have to visualize, meditate, pray, send money to Pat Robertson so he'll pray for us. A plethora of suggestions out there and very few of them have anything to do with actually being happy. But Wiccans and Heideggerians will both tell you that eudaimonia is not such a big word after all. If you are doing what makes you happy, then you are happy. It's as simple as that. Wiccan magik and ritual is really just about lending a little form to the function of doing. Sometimes the details become overwhelming. Sometimes the task seems too daunting. Engaging in a little ritual once in a while can help filter out all of the noise of the world and help you focus on your goal. Besides, it's a great excuse to burn candles.
So in the spirit of The New, I will end my little Midsummer Rite of Blogging with a few resolutions. I am going to write more (lucky you!), become more proficient with the telescope, learn enough German to hold a rudimentary conversation, and spend more evenings sitting out by a fire. Because the smell of a campfire makes me very happy.
And in the spirit of Philosophic Inquiry, I have a request: tell me about what makes you happy, what you think life is all about, if you think Heidegger is just a crazy Nazi who is so full of shit he could grow mushrooms out of his ass.
And finally, in the spirit of Satire, I will channel Eddie Izzard and end the show this a kind of "Ehh..." feeling.
Thank you all for coming! Goodnight!
