WOW! OIS Commentary (spoilers for commentary)

POSTED BY: heb
UPDATED: Saturday, July 17, 2004 05:48
VIEWED: 19844
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HEB

Friday, June 18, 2004 8:51 PM

I finally got round to watching this and thought I just had to drop in and say:

WOW!

I love Joss!

He said he was a little embarrassed to have his existential (sp?) epiphany during a Spielberg movie. I think I may be proud to have mine during a Whedon programme.

I don't think I had a distinct epiphany, as Joss did. I'm 18 and I've kind of been feeling this way for a while when it kind of began to dawn on me what it meant for me that I was an atheist/ agnostic (I'm a little fuzzy on the terms - but whatever). When I first watched the Angel episode with the line:

'If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do'

a couple of years ago it really made sense to me. And listening to Joss's commentary today has kind of reinforced that for me.
I was wondering half-way through the commentary whether he'd written that Angel line and whether it all tied in with what he thought and it was really cool to find out that he did.

Anyway. I don't read a lot of philosophy and don't know a lot about existentialism and I still don't know exactly what I'm feeling about stuff but it was just cool to be reminded that a ton of other people are having lack of faith issues too as I've been kind of having teen angst - 'nothing we do means anything' issues recently.

But it's cool 'cause all that matters is what we do.

Heb

ps. If you read this thanks for listening to my entirely incoherently expressed thoughts I was just in a bit of a weird mood and thought I'd come write it down.

Well, my sister's a ship... we had a
complicated childhood

THEREALME

Saturday, June 19, 2004 3:04 AM

Just a LITTLE incoherent...

Don't worry about figuring stuff out. You've got plenty of time.

But, yes, OIS is one of my favorites, too.

The Real Me

Got Mudder's Milk?

HEB

Saturday, June 19, 2004 7:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by THEREALME:
Just a LITTLE incoherent...

Don't worry about figuring stuff out. You've got plenty of time.

But, yes, OIS is one of my favorites, too.

B]

Ok it's now the morning after the night before and I'm a little bit worried by what I wrote last night. But thanks for the reply.

I'm annoyed because out of all the (I'm gonna go with hundreds of) useless books that my parents have aquired they don't have a single philosophy book. I'm off to the library later to see what I can track down on existentialism. But seeing as our local library is now mainly videos and dvds I'm not holding out much hope there either.

Well, my sister's a ship... we had a
complicated childhood

NOOCYTE

Saturday, June 19, 2004 7:36 AM

Hey, Heb;

Don't you worry one little bit about being "incoherent" (I'm a big fan of stumbling across Truths in the midst of non-linear ramblings!). You are at a fine age for batting these ideas around (he said, sounding uncomfortably like the Wise Old Man archetype...).

A bit of advice: If you want to get into existentialism, I would (and do) recommend that you approach it through secondary sources first. Trying to read, say, Sartre without adequate preparation is apt to leave one pretzel-brained and drooling ([approximate quote] 'Being as being is always in question, in that its being implies a being other than itself...' yike.). Might be better to aproach through a good Intro To Philosophy text, get the lay of the land, then dive into the primary sources for depth and the formation of your own opinions.

Personally, I'd go to Amazon, do a search for Intro to Philosophy, read the reviews (editorial and reader), find one that looks promising...then go to half.com and order it on the cheap. that way, it's yours, and you can jot notes and comments to yourself in the margins. But that's just me.

That line from "Angel" is BRILLIANT!!!. That Joss: he Knows Things!

Good luck!!

And Keep Flyin'!

Department of Redundancy Department

HEB

Saturday, June 19, 2004 7:59 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Noocyte:

Good luck!!

Thanks!

I work in a book store so i might see what I can pick up.

Well, my sister's a ship... we had a
complicated childhood

MANIACNUMBERONE

Saturday, June 19, 2004 10:40 AM

I wish I could help you more. I went through what you are going through. I went to college and got a minor in philosophy... towards the end, I realized that anything, any philosophy can be broken down. Essentially, you can't rely on them. And while they are fun, you can get lost in them along the way if not focused on understanding their purpose. I would recommend that you read, for a lingering slap at most of them, Feyerabend's, "Against Method" Might want to preface it with "philosophical fragments" by Kierkegaard. Enjoy reading and feel free to shoot any questions my way. I love philosophy.

-------------------------------------------
Inara: Who's winning?
Simon: I can't really tell, they don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules that I know.
-------------------------------------------

JEWEL

Saturday, June 19, 2004 12:44 PM

OiS was also my favorite commentary. I watched and listened the first time through and then immediately again. Joss is pretty amazing.

I can't actually say there was any one point in my life where I realized that I'm athiest. It was actually quite a long journey. But I do remember the first time I actually said it out loud.

I agree with Noocyte about reading secondary sources and/or introductory texts prior to diving into the big stuff. Your brain will thank you.

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Saturday, June 19, 2004 1:28 PM

I'm also an atheist/agnostic (either or both depending on which definition _you_ prefer. I self-identify as an atheist, but some people assume my stance is harder than it is by that label), and yeah, the commentary for OiS is great. A lot of what he said are ideas that've been rolling around in my head for a long time, but he's got a way of putting them better than I can, even to myself.

'If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do' is pretty good as philosophy-encapsulating lines go. Though, I still prefer the slightly more quixotic:

'We live as though life were as it should be, to show it what it can be.'

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

HEB

Saturday, June 19, 2004 2:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by StarPilotGrainger:

'We live as though life were as it should be, to show it what it can be.'

I'd forgotton that one. Another fantastic quote. Thank you.

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone. I get my last exam out of the way a week Monday and then I might actually get around to doing some actual reading.

I really appreciate everyone's help.

Heb

Well, my sister's a ship... we had a
complicated childhood

HEB

Monday, June 21, 2004 3:41 PM

Ok my local library was useless and I haven’t been in work yet to order anything but then I realised in these modern times there has got to be the electronic equivalent of one of those ‘intro to..’ guides on the net. And sure enough I managed to track some stuff down. Amongst other things this is what I found:

Quote:

Despite encompassing a staggering range of philosophical, religious, and political ideologies, the underlying concepts of existentialism are simple:
• Mankind has free will.
• Life is a series of choices, creating stress.
• Few decisions are without any negative consequences.
• Some things are irrational or absurd, without explanation.
• If one makes a decision, he or she must follow through.

...

This seems to make sense. However if we are made up of elementary particles all interacting and there is a grand unified theory maybe the choices we make are pre-determined or maybe parallel universes exist where we have made the alternate choice. How does this fit in with existentialism? I don’t know and we can’t really go around living our lives on the basis that we’re just a bunch of particles. These are just some initial ponderings as I merely begin to brush the surface of existentialism. I’ll see what more I can find out later when I’m not supposed to be revising.

Oh and I also managed to track down a copy of Sartre’s Nausea by the way. I’m finding it really interesting but I don’t know how much of it is going over my head.

Anyway back to the revision.

Well, my sister's a ship... we had a
complicated childhood

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