To Generalise is to be an Idiot. William Blake on politics, disillusionment and abstraction

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Publicado 2024-06-21

William Blake lived during the period in which the modern world was born. A prophet, he detected the tendencies that now powerfully shape our age. The love of abstraction was high on his list of troubles.

Such generalisations profoundly shape politics today. Politicians sell themselves on whether they will boost the economy, drive up growth, fight inflation, and I think the rhetoric is itself alienating, dumbing, dreary. Vision departs, imagination declines, disillusionment becomes the norm.

Accept for when it doesn't - hence the rise of popularism, too.

Abstractions infect the arts and humanities, as well. They have become a way of life. So what is Blake's analysis?

Todos los comentarios (18)

@chrisallard1819 hace 1 mes

Marvellous- many thanks
@nurgahaditia hace 1 mes

Very well said sir.... 😁👍
@NoeticEidetics hace 1 mes

Edmund Husserl’s philosophy was based on insights that saw this problem of idealization and abstractionism in human reasoning. He saw this problem as the problem of worldview building. According to Gadamer, Husserl saw Weltanschauungphilosophie as a second danger equal to naive and unreflective naturalism. There is a similarity with Husserl’s existential imperative in phenomenology with Kierkegaard’s philosophy of indirection. Anyway, this is very interesting point about Blake and I looked forward to your book. I am reading another book of similar concern at the moment called “Lost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life”. But I am also reminded by your talk of Charles Taylor’s new book just out called “Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment” which I am very much looking forward to.
@miguelangelous hace 1 mes

Thank you Mark 🙏🏼 I’m looking forward for your book on Blake 💯
@Barklord hace 1 mes

Floating abstractions such as 'freedom' and 'responsibility' are rampant and serve to obfuscate actual circumstances and different types of freedom. Aristotle's distinction between quantitative exchange value and substantive use values seems to be related to this topic.
@sofvandor6116 hace 1 mes

Thank you so much, Mark! I'm watching all your videos. Blake is my guide too, thanks to you 🙏💫
@andrewbartlett9282 hace 1 mes

Thank you Mark. Excellent video 🙏🙏
@WilliamBlakePoetry hace 1 mes

First time watching you and I enjoyed this video very much :) I would say that when quoting from Blake we should be careful with how we present his words. ‘I must create a system...’, at least in my understanding of the text, is said by Los; we don’t attribute Urizen’s words to Blake without further context so we shouldn’t for Los’. Although there is an argument to be made that more than any of his mythic characters the words of Los are in fact Blake’s own thoughts.
@Jacob011 hace 1 mes

I love your copy of Ernts Lehrs' Man or Matter over there 🙂. Planning to read it some time...
@MendeMaria-ej8bf hace 1 mes

Love CAN be bribery, but of course that's not desirable.
@Oskar-ey6jb hace 1 mes

Isn't Platonism all about contemplating abstractions and considering them to be more real than manifest reality?
@pedrom8831 hace 1 mes

Really interesting stuff. I like Blake but have a lot of religious anxieties regarding his being labelled a Satanist, along with Shelley. It freaks me out a fair bit if I’m honest. Can I ask what you make of it?
@JeremyHelm hace 1 mes

2:40 2:46 when a measure becomes a target, in fashion! 3:19 3:22 alienating - 3:30 3:32 a lie worth telling?
@MendeMaria-ej8bf hace 1 mes

Technofeudalism as suggested by Yanis Varoufakis?
@jamescastro2037 hace 1 mes

Will(i)am (B)lake is one big ponderer. am(i)will (B)lake is one big wonderer. i(am)will (B)lake is one big sonder.
@Berend-ov8of hace 1 mes

Have a laugh. It does wonders to the mind.
@attackofthewindmills hace 1 mes

Im sorry, but I dont think the title statement is idiotic even if it claims to be