Calling all cultured aspies

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Prometheus18
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26 Jun 2019, 3:05 am

cyberdad wrote:

Prometheus18 wrote:

cyberdad wrote:

Anyone read the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer written in it's original middle English? I'm guess zilch...

I did, though I didn't take much from it. I know at least a few others here, too, who have read the original.

I find reading old English and Middle English highly stimulating, particularly trying to get into the minds of people who lived at that time...

Shakespeare, the Authorised Version are about as early as I go, although I did buy a paperback copy of Canterbury Tales recently, and intend before long to read it.

AndyBeans
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26 Jun 2019, 3:26 am

I tick all of the boxes but don't want to be part of any "cultured" clique, entirely due to the experiences of becoming "well educated".

auntblabby
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26 Jun 2019, 3:47 am

i'm not cultured but when i fail to bathe for longer than a few days i may have some "cultures" on me. :eew:

cyberdad
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26 Jun 2019, 4:24 am

Blabs - You may want to share that story with Darmok on his fungi appreciation thread :lol:

auntblabby
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26 Jun 2019, 4:42 am

cyberdad wrote:

Blabs - You may want to share that story with Darmok on his fungi appreciation thread :lol:

i don't believe that poster wants me posting on any of his threads.

cyberdad
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26 Jun 2019, 4:57 am

That's the whole reason you should do it

auntblabby
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26 Jun 2019, 5:12 am

cyberdad wrote:

That's the whole reason you should do it

ok, because you said so, i will do that then. :mrgreen:

TwilightPrincess
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26 Jun 2019, 7:53 am

cyberdad wrote:

Anyone read the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer written in it's original middle English? I'm guess zilch...

I did, but it was due to taking Chaucer in college. The professor was very staunch about not reading translations. I wouldn’t have done it willingly on my own; I prefer a good translation. At least it made reading anything else seem exceptionally easy.

I can’t help but laugh when I remember specific lowbrow discussions we had. Fun times!

TwilightPrincess
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26 Jun 2019, 8:14 am

AndyBeans wrote:

I tick all of the boxes but don't want to be part of any "cultured" clique, entirely due to the experiences of becoming "well educated".

A professor told me in college that one of the purposes of an education was to teach us how little we know.

That, combined with a background in sociology centered around topics like ethnocentrism, keeps me from viewing specific cultures as superior to others.

There’s a lot of beauty and meaning to be found all over the world, not just in museums.

kraftiekortie
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26 Jun 2019, 8:16 am

I've read parts of the "Canterbury Tales" in the Middle English original.....but one must make use of the copious amounts of annotations---simply because there are many obsolete words within the text. Additionally, some words do not possess their "modern" meanings.

One prominent example is "gentil." "Gentil" meant, merely, "upper crust" in the Middle English period. There was no connotation which resembled the present-day "gentle."

magz
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26 Jun 2019, 8:19 am

Twilightprincess wrote:

A professor told me in college that one of the purposes of an education was to teach us how little we know.

I love it and I totally agree to this viewpoint!

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TwilightPrincess
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26 Jun 2019, 8:24 am

kraftiekortie wrote:

As the semester progressed, I didn’t have to make use of the notes as often. I had a great edition (Riverside Chaucer), so the notes were at the bottom of each page. I hate having to flip back and forth when I’m reading.

Eventually, one starts to remember what words mean and it isn’t too bad. It was tough in the beginning, though. I should reread some of his works in a modern translation.

kraftiekortie
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26 Jun 2019, 8:39 am

My mother gets on my butt for not being "cultured" all the time.

I subscribe to the Popeye Maxim: "I yam what I yam!"

TwilightPrincess
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26 Jun 2019, 8:49 am

Prometheus18 wrote:

Twilightprincess wrote:

Prometheus18 wrote:

Benjamin the Donkey wrote:

Prometheus18 wrote:

Twilightprincess wrote:

My life could be described as a tragedy up until this point, but I still think there is much beauty and sublime experiences to be had in the here and now.

There's a melancholy about beauty and sublimity; they only ever point the way towards happiness, always leaving something further to be discovered. I've come to believe that that ne plus ultra can only be achieved by religious devotion.

There are shreds of happiness to be had here and there, but the balance of pleasure and pain will always favour the latter (for good biological reasons, if nothing else). The greatest happiness comes from devotion to our God on a personal level and, on an interpersonal level, striving not to bring pleasure to others (necessarily), but chiefly to rid them of their pain, which is far more preponderant. In secular terms, you can compare this to Popper's "negative utilitarianism". We must do all this in a spirit of humility and selflessness.

When you say "our God, " whose god do you mean? Thor? Zeus? Allah? Krishna? And what
about the sublime achevements of artists, philosophers and scientists who achieved personal meaning by devoting themselves to their work but had no need for a god, at least in the traditional sense?

The god that actually exists. Important to note, however, that all Muslims and some Vaishnavi Hindus identify their gods with the Christian god, so that there isn't necessarily any disagreement there about which is the correct god, but about what is His nature and what is the proper manner of worshipping him.

I would suggest that very little good art has been produced by nonbelievers. Philosophers and scientists aren't really relevant in a thread on the subject of culture, though it's obviously true that many prominent ones are/were atheists.

How would you define “good” art?

What you suggested above is a good working definition, though I'd add the qualification that good art must be moral and educative (in the etymological sense of "leading forth", or upward). It's this latter condition that excludes much modern art (or what passes for it), given that modern art is largely designed to undermine morality, self-respect and charity.

I would disagree with you here. I happen to love modern art. True art creates an emotional experience in the viewer while it tells us something about the human condition. Dadaism reflects that very nicely. Life is often chaotic, absurd, or ridiculous.

Looking at different art styles enables one to experience different facets of life whether it’s sublimity, passion, reverence, or irreverence. I would be extremely bored if every piece of art depicted a Christian theme. I love Egyptian art, cave paintings, Greek statues, and various renderings of Hindu gods or Buddhas.

An artist doesn’t need to believe in God (or the “right” god) to give us an emotional response and to tell us something about what it means to be human.

Last edited by TwilightPrincess on 26 Jun 2019, 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

TwilightPrincess
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26 Jun 2019, 8:52 am

kraftiekortie wrote:

My mother gets on my butt for not being "cultured" all the time.

I subscribe to the Popeye Maxim: "I yam what I yam!"

Here’s a good solution:

One week, take her to see a ballet (I like Swan Lake and Giselle, especially). The next week take her to watch some exceptional street performers breakdance. Both would be highly cultural experiences.

magz
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26 Jun 2019, 9:17 am

My mother's accusations of my "lack of culture" are typically all about manners - but she has never taught me things she expects me to follow! She always claims they are "obvious".

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