Thinking about 2020
A divide that is as demanding as it is challenging is once again running through society, running right through our everyday lives. Flu has become the new religion and everywhere the question lurks: Say, how do you feel about the pandemic?
According to Wanja Wiese (Department of Theoretical Philosophy, University of Mainz), our brain
creates a model of ourselves ("phänomenales Selbstmodell"), which is embedded in a model of the world also generated in the brain. This way we experience ourselves as part of a self-generated, virtual reality. Thus, our brain not only generates a virtual reality and thereby simulates the external world, but it simulates the user of this virtual reality at the same time. This is obviously a very successful representation, as it allows flexible and effective interactions with our environment. It gives us an immense repertoire of possible actions.
So it's a matter of making choices from that. The philosophy of the Stoa helps us to find what is in harmony with the laws and forces of nature, so that we preserve the niche in which we live on our planet. Today, these laws have names like "conservation of energy." But still until Luther's time religion and science were one, and therefore the forces of nature were equated to God or gods e.g. in pantheism.
Friedrich Hölderlin, as part of his socio-political revolutionary work, tried in the early 19th century to introduce people to ideas of the Stoa in his newly developed pantheistic poetry. The problem at the time was the little-loved restorative repressive political system that -dividing society- suggested people retreat into irresponsibility (now known as Biedermeier). The alternative was to take the already recognizably promising path to modern enlightenment in freedom of thought, but to be stigmatized and ruined by politics and society in the process. In this sense, Georg Büchner and Friedrich Hölderlin might be considered ancestors of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden (with the difference that our executive acts in our name). They encoded their communication literarily (which is why they are considered writers and poets today, but which they did not originally aspire to), others did it musically.
http://acamedia.info/letters/christmas_2020/Hoelderlin_e_2020.mp4
In his interview 4 days before Christmas (2020) with John Stoessel Edward Snowden gives us similar thought aids, but he does so in today's common encryption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSu4rCizyUM
Perhaps such thoughts will help us to come out of fear in the new year precisely because of the differences in the evaluation of the current social and health crisis and to develop a loving togetherness. "But where there is danger, there also grows that which saves us." (Hölderlin)
The turn of the year gives us days of meditation and reflection on things. Now is an opportunity to turn down the volume and make space for thoughts. Perhaps then we will hear them: The angels in the field, bringing true good news to the shepherds.
The days are getting longer again. The light returns to the world.
A happy and healthy new year!
Marianne and Jochen
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Version: 12 January 2021
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