Are You of The Body … Friend? by wblack
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Description
According to George Orwell Doublethink is: “To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it … to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself – that was the ultimate subtlety; consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.”
Title is a phrase from the Star Trek Original Series episode “The Return of The Archons.”
“Are you of the Body, friend?” Is the greeting used by a people subordinated, controlled, and subsumed entirely into a collective group-mind.
They are not free. They certainly are not individuals. They are slaves to the collective.
A few days back while uploading an image I found that Renderosity has imposed new text limits. They’ve cut the character count for image captions and reduced the character count for comments – now permitting just a spare few lines. My work requires that the full contextual frame be presented. There are others on this site impacted as well. Renderosity has effectively silenced every author/artist who uses text and image to convey their art.
It is not any images these Admin’s take issue with, nor is it any violation of site rules – it is speech. They object to speech which voices an opinion. They believe that by erasing the possibility of language they erase the possibility of disagreement. Instead of creating harmony they destroy the possibility of intellectual discourse, the vital necessary dialogue that elevates understanding above the concrete bound singular word commentary (usually the word “cool”) into the commentary of ideas, into the rich awareness-elevating discourse in which conceptual understanding can be reached even between individuals of disparate viewpoint if they dare try. Instead of this glorious end they nullify thought, and restrict communication to the staggering and vapid drone of twenty five people saying “nice picture.”
It’s about eliminating speech.
It’s about the ugly fear/hatred of an individual separate from the “group.” There is an ugly streak of anti-intellectualism implicit in their communiqués. Underneath the shell of their fabricated concern it is about their fears more than it is about reality. What these Admin’s want to do is subordinate the individual to some approximation of “group thought.” This forces one to ask: what now qualifies Renderosity as an art site? Is not art itself the very expression of individuality?
As I communicated with one of the Admin’s it became evident that the individual was practicing doublethink. Simultaneously recognizing that my words were not offensive then canceling out that knowledge and asserting they were because someone else had imagined in my words a meaning other than the words I had actually written.
“Doublethink cube” hand painted in Photoshop.
Comments (14)
flavia49
gorgeous work
grafikeer
I,for one, appreciate both the intellectual writing that accompany your imagery, and the equally insightful comments or crits you give my images...I am disappointed in this apparent attempt at censorship of intelligent discourse,but that is too many words apparently,so I will merely say " Not cool!" A fine render to go with your words my friend!
Palaemon
Very well done portrait. Excellent render.
wblack
Thanks Neil! Absolutely spot on, the restriction censors expression - which is what art is about, not some horror of "imposed" agreement. "Not Cool!" Indeed. Absolutely bloody perfect. I'm still laughing.
cjd
This is becoming all too common I'm afraid ... Please don't think for yourselves. We'll tell you what to think. And we do want your opinions, as long as they agree with our own. Finally, tell us what we already know. It makes us feel like we know everything.
JeanneDeau
"Everyone is entitled to our own opinions..." Yeah, I know exactly what you mean (including the part about the "vapid drone of..." Makes it all just a bit meaningless, doesn't it?) Unfortunately, people like us too often wind up preaching to the choir...but keep speaking. If they don't listen, they might at least hear.
Kinchie
I liked Douglas Adam's concept of employing Electric Monks to handle the "believing in several totally contradictory things at the same time" that society inadvertently expects of us. Thus freeing the mind to think properly (Adams was a wonderful free thinker who added humour and a wry understanding of human weaknesses to his writing)
wblack
JeanneDeau, If your “opinion” is in contradiction to the facts – then you what you believe is a lie, one you tell yourself. There is not a separate “truth” for each and every person. There is only the choice to know (and value) the distinction between reality as determined by objective observance of the facts and the choice to believe that reality is a whim as determined by your emotions.
wblack
JeanneDeau, In metaphysics, “subjectivism” is the view that reality (the “object”) is dependent on human consciousness (the “subject”). In epistemology, as a result, subjectivists hold that a man need not concern himself with the facts of reality; subjectivism is the doctrine that feelings are the creator of facts. Yet, objectively, a lie can be demonstrated to be a lie. This is the failing point of subjectivism.
wblack
JeanneDeau, The alternative to subjectivism is objectivity— the knowledge that understanding of reality can be acquired only by directing one’s attention to the facts. It requires a sense of objectivity to demonstrate the distinction between the truth and a lie. It requires a sense of integrity to value that distinction.
wblack
JeanneDeau, The “vapid drone” indicates an empty statement, a statement devoid of content, a statement which can be demonstrated to be, in fact, empty. Ten people looking at a flawed image presented as art, praising it as “great art,” can be demonstrated to be making empty statements by the one individual who observes the evident technical flaws in the image, the truth of such observation is evident by virtue of the fact of the physical presence of said flaws, that the flaws are in fact visible. “The Emperor is in fact naked; his new clothing does not exist.” It requires only integrity and courage to state this truth; it requires only the integrity of others to acknowledge the truth. Truth is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact. So the distinction is not in fact meaningless as you claim.
wblack
JeanneDeau, see my response to “JeanneDeau” on Enceladus Station as illustrative of the moral/character differences between you and I. Your statement “people like us” is in fact false. I reject your claim of kinship.
wblack
Integrity is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake your consciousness, just as honesty is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake existence—that man is an indivisible entity, an integrated unit of two attributes: of matter and consciousness, and that he may permit no breach between body and mind, between action and thought, between his life and his convictions—that, like a judge impervious to public opinion, he may not sacrifice his convictions to the wishes of others, be it the whole of mankind shouting pleas or threats against him—that courage and confidence are practical necessities, that courage is the practical form of being true to existence, of being true to truth, and confidence is the practical form of being true to one’s own consciousness.
wblack
JeanneDeau, It is irrelevant to me if the Admin’s I address this post to “hear” or “listen.” They have made evasion a way of life. I cannot help them, nor do I have desire to. Those who have chosen to live in the oblivion of subjectism are lost. Only a radical effort on their own part can save them. I am not on any quest to force their rehabilitation, the effort would be futile, and I have better things to do with my life. I merely observe their actions and comment. My comment is for the benefit of others, those who value the fact they have eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds with which to ascertain and value the truth.