Couple of things, today, have reminded me of the Big Picture behind Okal Rel as a concept which is to limit competition among humans to means, such as dueling, that are compatible with sustainability for life in the universe. The first stimulus was the Smile or Die video that captures the mania that's got us into the mess we're in, economically, and the second is the gulf oil spill. It's been over twenty years, now, that I've been exploring the tension created by limiting life-and-death struggles for power to duels or arbiter law when more potent means are available - even though using them risks destroying the universe's most precious resources: green worlds. Sexual politics and pressures, including the tension between lust and romance, and the dramatization of the various roles of sex in social life, has been a second preoccupation of the Okal Rel saga and one that has got more play in the drafts of Part 7 and 8 than in previous books as Amel navigated the rocky road to power. But as I head into the home stretch with Parts 9 and 10, it's time to bring up the volume on the sustainability theme, again. Although, of course, the question of limits to the means to an end and the passions that drive us are forever intertwined, as well.

Labels: okal rel, philosophy

posted by Lynda at 09:14   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Finally have catch words for a phenomenon that's been rubbing me the wrong way for years. Mean culture - read that in an article by Barbara Coloroso. I would like to add greed culture. Just back from an e-learning conference in which, I swear, one got the feeling the organizers felt the only reason anyone would attend a session was the chance to win a door prize for sticking around. What has happened to us? Why do even well-paid professionals feel they need to be bribed to make any activity meaningful? Why do people gamble and dream about winning the lottery as if that's their only hope of happiness? Why is "enough" a dirty word?

Labels: ethics, philosophy

posted by Lynda at 10:17   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Posted this -- typos and all -- on my literary ruminations blog "Meaningful Words" and was so impressed with myself I thought I'd spread it around elsewhere as well. :-) Doubtless sober up when I discover this is a trite truism discovered fifteen times by other people starting in 300 B.C. but oh well. A girl's got to have thoughts.

Thought of the day: Maybe it doesn't matter what complex material a young mind engages in order for the resulting adult to be able to deal with complex realities. In order words, all that Latin in in my grandfather's era did train the minds of future lawyers whether or not they needed Latin later, and SF sagas (whether on TV or in books) do train minds to think about the moral issues of our era even though they aren't "real". In fact, I'm guessing it is better if the things we learn to think about are not real because it frees the mind to dig in without being hampered by preconceptions vital to one's ability to survive and succeed in one's own world. Our emotions are fashioned to let us "side" with cases and be united by beliefs that will promote our survival. That makes it very hard for us to think about our own circumstances with the kind of abandon and rigor that it is possible to think about artificial circumstances and thought experiments. Or to put it more simplistically, in an artificial setting we can dare to think. And the exercise will stand us in good stead.

Labels: epistomology, immersive worlds, philosophy, pragmatics

posted by Lynda at 10:47   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments