Another way to come at this: define problem as "life, the universe, and everything." "Meaning" is a serious, contemplation-first frame for addressing it. "Gonzo" is a crazy, experiential-first frame for addressing it. My "home" frame, humor, messes with boundary between them
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Humor I think is under-appreciated and under-theorized in merely epistemic terms. I've been thinking about this essay for a few days which has some good food for thought beyond epistemic functions of humor (ht
@janedotx).https://epochemagazine.org/what-laughs-at-what-mary-douglas-on-humour-da1529c05da3 …2 replies 3 retweets 18 likesShow this thread -
For eg. This by
@sarahdoingthing is epistemic view of humor "The essence of a joke, in Hurley, Dennett, and Adams’ view, is that the teller of the joke surreptitiously introduces a certain epistemic commitment, and then reveals it to have been mistaken."https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2016/01/07/on-some-possibilities-for-life-as-a-joke/ …1 reply 0 retweets 9 likesShow this thread -
The first link makes the important point that you cannot get at the essence of humor by looking for the essence of jokes. Humor (and this is my gloss on the implication, not the argument in either article) is a posture of being, not doing.
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tldr of this thread... the problem of meaning is a problem of life-force in disguise, and has historically been addressed via one of 3 stances: serious, crazy, and humorous. Meaning-making, gonzo-experiential, and humor. Maps to sorokin's ideational, sensate, idealistic perhaps?
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Replying to @vgr
This is good. Here for it <deer eating popcorn.gif> Off the cuff question: Do the 3 stances map in any predictable way... (or could one shape one's life stances in a way) that might rhyme or resonate with a developmental model (Kegan) or a traditional life shape (4 ashrama?)
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Replying to @Timber_22 @vgr
I'm thinking that serious is an early adulthood stage (cf bildungsroman/Brahmacharya/early career development) Gonzo-experiential is either a deepening commitment to a major project (career & family, or a major step off the conventional path) Humourous is a sort of Ironic Sage
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Replying to @Timber_22
Hmm I wouldn't map these to life stages. I think you lock on to one of the 3 fairly early, like as a teenager, and pretty much stay there. You might take a tourist detour into the other 3 paths, but I've never met anyone who's shifted fundamentally.
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Replying to @vgr
I think you're mostly right... Howevs, I have definitely oscillated through all three.
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Replying to @Timber_22 @vgr
My original inclination, as a teenager (like you referenced), was quite capital S Serious. very interested in Meaning Became inspired by very Gonzo types, and went through hardcore quest for the gonzo grail of experience Am rapidly identifying less and less with those stances
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Well think of it as a triangle where you might wander a bit before you lock on to home rather than absolute stages. Absolute stages would imply a sort of maturation hierarchy like Kegan. I don't think that exists here. Just 3 modes that get harder to shift between as you age.
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Replying to @vgr
That's a good shape model. (Reminder: triangles are a good form) And actually rings true to my experience. I think I was inclined to take a humourous stance to life as a younger kid, then got very sturm und drang around 15, which drove me to the Serious vertex.
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Replying to @Timber_22 @vgr
Basically, coming home to the humorous stance I seem to have been embodying for a long time after extended tours of duty at Serious & Gonzo This is not everyone's cup of tea (it's the anti-tea for a lot of folks on here) but this movement reminds me of enneagram-ish dynamics.
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