The Highly Civilized Man: Richard Burton and the Victorian World.

 

Nineteenth century Western colonialism and imperialism including the Industrial revolution changed Western values and social perceptions and mores, but more so, our awareness of the world, in terms of defining ourselves against difference. The Victorian influence towards modernism is far greater than historians first realized. One of the most romantic and pivotal figures of the Victorian age was Sir Captain Richard Burton. In Kennedy's critical biographical overview of man's life and thought, unlike most of the numerous biographies to date, attempts to represent and reinterpret Burton's life and thought in the context of the Victorian era. By doing this, he proposes, we come to understand this extraordinarily complex genius in terms of the historical values of the time. 

 Kennedy outlines Burton's numerous accomplishments as a prolific writer, linguist, (twenty-five languages and many dialects) explorer, archaeologist, spy, amateur physician, translator, artist, poet, expert swordsman, and sexologist. He wrote over twenty-five travel volumes containing his many adventures, and translated the Kumar Sutra and The Arabian Nights which is the most often read a quoted in present time. Like many of his contemporaries, his studies of Orientalism and African cultures were done in the spirit of difference, or the `other'. Kennedy's thesis is that Burton was a product of the Victorian age but an important precursor to modernism. 
 

As the 19th century has a virtual endless list of incredible men and women, according to Kennedy, what set Burton apart, was "...restless determination to extend the reach of his experience to ever more pockets of humanity and to draw insights from those increasingly varied encounters in order to advance the larger epistemological quest to understand, explain, and classify difference." (p.270) Burton's vast written work, his copious notes and observations reveals this holy quest, his unwavering pursuit of hidden knowledge and knowledge of the `other', strange cultures and bizarre religions until his death in 1895. 
 
The author devotes most of his analysis to Burton's works as a sexologist. Burton's many erotic translations, promoting his notion that Victorian repression of sexual matters and desire is tremendously unhealthy, paved the way for future sexologists to study the subject within a scientific framework. His controversial translations and writings also revealed a sexual hypocrisy that the Victorian age is infamously known for. Rather than study sex on moral grounds, Burton proposed a relativist position, attributing different climates around the world to certain sexual behaviors. We know this to be nonsense, however, including this premise, Burton achieved distance from the moral position, giving his subject a form of objectivity. 

Dane Kennedy's approach to Burton is a fresh perspective of the man. He was an individual that accomplished more in one lifetime than many, but he was a man of his times, attempting to define the identity of western culture during a period of vast change. Despite over one hundred years since his death, even a critical appraisal of his life and work, does not in any way lessen his accomplishment nor profound influence in the Romantic age towards modernism. 

The Highly Civilized Man is a fresh and well-written account of an icon of the Romantic-Victorian age. 

'Biography Channel' - Vladimir Lenin: Voice of Revolution - Comment.

 

Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov known to the world as Lenin created a form of Marxism that influenced revolutionaries throughout the twentieth century, including Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Mien. Leninism flies in the face of pure Marxism in so far as forcing capitalism to crumble through extreme violence and revolution. Marx would say that history would take care of itself, and capitalism would eventually wither away once the proletariat realized their plight and a class struggle would ensue, communism would emerge from this struggle leading to a type of classless utopia. Lenin certainly forced the issue, believing capitalism needed a big push through revolutionary tactics and strategies. This fine biography of Lenin from the History Channel, adeptly describes the man's life, including new information that came to light after the fall of communism and the USSR in 1992.

Lenin was a star student as his father ensured that his family of six children were reared on the Russian classics. Right before his final examinations at the gymnasium (secondary school) his brother, Aleksandra Ulyanov, a radical member of an extremist group intent on assassinating the Tsar, was eventually caught by the secret police, tried and executed by hanging. Lenin went ahead and sat for his exams despite this devastating loss, (Lenin's father had just died from a brain disease) passed and went onto university. It has been strongly suggested that Lenin's brother's death put Lenin directly on the revolutionary path.

Later, after becoming a lawyer, Lenin was exiled to a Siberian work camp for dubious political activities, being known to the police as a Marxist, where he wrote copiously, completing his magnum opus, `The Development of Capitalism in Russia." He was released after three years, later meeting his wife, a schoolteacher, who remained devoted to him until his death. The new information that finally came out of the Kremlin was Lenin's curious affair with a woman, a devoted Marxist, where Lenin, his wife and mistress lived happily together in the same apartment. This is not so shocking these days but scandalous in the early twentieth century.

This brilliant documentary summarizes the man's life and fanatical drive to create a revolution in his homeland, destroying the Russian monarchy and establishing a socialist state. Probably the most impressive aspect about Lenin was his relentless drive of purpose despite towering opposition. In fact the man was so focused that he refused to listen to Beethoven, his favourite composer, because he thought the music made him soft.

For anyone interested in the Russian Revolution and the man who played the pivotal role in its success, this documentary is essential, it would also be an excellent resource for students studying the subject in Middle School and above.

(From the archives- 2009.)

Cornish - The Jew of Linz - Comment.

In The Jew of Linz, Cornish carries the reader along on an extraordinary historical investigation, sweeping through 20th century philosophy and fascist ideology, making outlandish claims as to the "true" seeds that spawned Nazism and Adolph Hitler's rise to power, constructing persuasive arguments based on pure speculation and in some cases, false premises, that in the end, in his sketchy conclusion, manages not to connect the dots at all, leaving the reader disappointed and wholly unsatisfied.

Cornish's premise is that the most original philosopher of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein, attended the same school in Linz as Adolph Hitler, and from this connection, proposes that Hitler began his hatred for the Jews because of little Ludwig and his famous Viennese family. There is a photograph that Cornish claims have undergone extensive forensic examination, and from the evidence at hand, the boy seated at arm's length from young Hitler is Wittgenstein. (They did attend the same school, but that's the extent of the connection) He speculates, contrary to other historical evidence, that the two boy's, a bully Hitler and a stammering, Wittgenstein shared musical and artistic sensibilities. This may be so, however, Cornish's speculation of a playground exchange between the two young boy's is just that, speculation. 

In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever that Hitler had a hidden rage against the Wittgenstein family or the famous philosopher (Hitler's Mein Kampf, for example, would have certainly mentioned this so-called rage against Wittgenstein and his family, as the entire book, for the most part, is Hitler's treatise of anger, but the madman never mentions the family!) however, Cornish bases her entire theses on this spurious premise.

Cornish goes onto speculate that Wittgenstein was the secret communist recruiter that created the most famous English spy ring during WW2. His method of investigation is a simple process of elimination, leaving the reader cornered as to the ringleader's identity. Granted, Wittgenstein did have communist sympathies, like many noteworthy intellectuals at the time, but there is no evidence that he was a master spy for Stalin! 

It is true that Wittgenstein spent a short time in Russia and thought about working on one of the collective farms, (this is certainly not out of character for the moody philosopher) and was in fact asked to join the staff of the university, which he turned down, but this in no way points to him being a Stalinist and a dyed in the wool communist.

The last third of the book is devoted to interpreting Wittgenstein's Tractatus and connecting it to Hitler's views on the Aryan race and Nazism. One has to give Cornish points for imagination, but his understanding of the Tractatus is lacking in many respects. His notions concerning Nazi ideology touches on its occult connections but his leap to the Tractatus and Wittgenstein's notions of the Self, goes way beyond the pale.

This is conspiracy theory sensationalism at its most hysterical form. One will suspect something interesting though outlandish, then goes about searching the "evidence", picking and choosing only the data that will support the premise, ignoring all the other pertinent data to the contrary. If you enjoy conspiracy theories on par with the X-Files, this is the book for you.

Highsmith - The Boy who Followed Ripley - Comment.

 

Out of all the Ripley novels, this being the last instalment of a series of five books focuses more on the central psychological issue that most of the stories touch upon, and that is, having to live with oneself after committing a terrible crime, in this case, murder.

If you are acquainted with any of the Ripley novels, you will understand that their uniqueness lies in the disturbing thoughts and behavior of its protagonist, as he is thoroughly devoid of conscience, having the capacity to commit murder, usually on a spontaneous whim, and rationalize the crime to such an extent, that we the readers, are totally convinced that the crime was justified. Ripley is a highly likable villain, and a type of villain we want to see succeed. He is cultured, well-mannered, loves his beautiful wife, an expert gardener, appreciates fine art, music and beautiful things, but is capable of incredible heinous acts without a second thought.

In this last novel, Ripley is living quite comfortably at Belle Ombre, his beautiful home in Villeperce, and seems to be heading for an easy retirement. At the café in town, a strange boy turns up, and through a series of events, the two become good friends. As it turns out, the boy is a runaway from the United States, a member of a wealthy family. The boy has a terrible secret, he has committed murder, and he's on the run from his a family and his conscience.

As the tale progresses, Ripley takes on the role of mentor, having murdered many times before, perhaps unconsciously or not, guides the boy psychologically towards a frame of mind or attitude, in order to live with murder. Ripley has the capacity to compartmentalize his thoughts, push his conscience conveniently aside, in order to live with himself. The young lad seems to have the same psychological predisposition, but as the story unfolds, the boy's behavior points otherwise.

This last Ripley novel is different because Ripley takes on the role of mentor and rescuer, saving the boy from the clutches of some unsavory characters, performing his unique brand of violence which surprises, leaving the reader cold. But in his role as savior, we cheer him as he commits these unspeakable acts.

For me at least, the ending of the novel was not predictable, it was both surprising and incredibly sad on many levels. Most of all, this book is disturbing, illustrating the fact that as human beings, we have the capacity to justify virtually anything, including murder.

Miller, Ward: Prisoners of Childhood: The Drama of the Gifted Child and the Search for the True Self. Comment.

 

Prisoners of Childhood is a compelling psychoanalytical exploration of the causes and effects of lost childhood. When Miller refers to the "gifted" child, she means the sensitive, aware and impressionable child who, because of the unconscious projections of the parent on the child, the child, in the process of their early development, splits from their true self, denies their true instinctual feelings, in order to live up to the behavioral structures imposed by the parent. Miller writes:

Yet, what is missing above all is the framework within the child could experience his feelings and his emotions. Instead, he develops something the mother needs, and this certainty saves his life (the mother's and father's love) at the time, but it nevertheless may prevent him, throughout his life, from being himself. (P. 34-5)

The narcissistically cathected child, that is, the child who has internalized the behavior expectations of the parent, at the expense of his own feelings, in most cases, develops intellectually, but remains stunted in the world of emotions. This contributes to the creation of a "false self"; this in turn creates distinct symptomatic behavior in the form of "grandiosity" or depression.

The gifted child will conform or adapt to the unconscious manipulations of the parent in order to avoid losing the parent's love. Miller writes,

Thus, under certain circumstances, a child may learn very early what he is not allowed to feel, lest he run the risk of losing his mother's love. (P.46)

In Miller's clear and accessible prose, she describes many examples of psychoanalytic therapy and its positive effects through the patient's discovery of the parents of his early years during that crucial stage of the analysis, the transference, thereby becoming consciously aware of his parent's "unconscious manipulations", thus, it is hoped, over time, becoming free from them.

This is an important book because it opens the door to a greater understanding in the way we see children, discovering the "manipulations" that have been imposed on us as children, thus avoiding making the same mistake with our own children. In the end, really, it is letting our children express their feelings no matter how these feelings cause us discomfort socially and otherwise - granting children the space to grow and develop, to develop into the people they truly are.

This book is not "clinical" in its approach but is written with a compassionate concern. 

Huxley- The Doors of Perception - Comment.

 

On that fateful day, 4 May 1953, Aldous Huxley, novelist, philosopher, poet and world famous intellectual, drank a glass of water mixed with silvery white mescalin. As Humphrey Osmond, a Canadian psychiatrist, specializing in schizophrenia, wrote, "It was a delicious May morning in Hollywood, no hint of smog to make the eyes smart, not too hot." Osmond had supplied the drug to Huxley for the experiment and acted as 'observing recorder' of the historical event.

Huxley had high hopes for the experience and believed that the drug would in fact admit him into the world that Blake painted and tried to describe in his poetry; and also, possibly transport him into the mystical world of Meister Eckhart. The reality of the situation exceeded his hopes - as Huxley wrote in The Doors of Perception, "I was seeing what Adam had seen on the morning of his creation - the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence."

The Doors of Perception is an important commentary from a man of rationality and science, attempting to investigate what some call 'Intuitive knowledge'. As a researcher and writer, he knew second hand these reported heightened states of awareness, had observed and dimly 'felt' these states through painting, architecture and art in general, but wanted desperately to experience them firsthand. The book describes his feelings, perceptions and thoughts about the experiment.

Huxley writes that one of our basic universal human needs is to transcend our, at times, banal consciousness, "...the urge to transcend self-conscious self-hood is...a principal appetite of the soul." (P.54) We have been doing it and continue to do it since time immemorial. Our methods, however, particularly in modern times, has been destructive. He writes, "When, for whatever reason, men and women fail to transcend themselves by means of worship, good works and spiritual exercises, they are apt to resort to religion's chemical surrogates - alcohol and 'goof-pills' in the modern West, alcohol and opium in the East, hashish in the Mohammedan world, alcohol and marijuana in Central America..." (P.54) Unfortunately these sad and destructive alternatives have mounted since this writing, but the central message is the same. He goes on to say, "Ideally, everyone should be able to find self-transcendence in some form of pure or applied religion." But, for the most part, "...the hungry sheep look up and are not fed."

Heaven and Hell is the sequel to The Doors of Perception describing or more so reflecting on the visionary experience through various means. Huxley also explores the understandings of other minds in their perceptions and cosmological notions expressed through art, and why they are impelled to express these notions. 

Huxley also describes the dark side to spiritual insight of the divine nature: the dark, empty journey of the soul when overwhelmed by such experiences, manifested in mental illness such as schizophrenia.

This important book was first published in 1954 and has become a classic that continues to communicate the plight and experience of the human condition: concise and easy to read - an absolute must.

Wittgenstein's Poker: The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers - Edmonds, Eidinow. Comment.

 Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper are arguably the most well-known 20th century philosophers outside the walls of academia. Their views on philosophy, however, could not be more disparate. When Wittgenstein published the Tractatus, a mere 70-page philosophical treatise, which The Times London called a "logical poem", it put the subject of philosophy on its head. Wittgenstein rejected metaphysical propositions, claiming that to be meaningful, propositions have to mirror possible state of affairs. It is in the Tractatus that he revealed his picture theory of language, in which "language in its structure represents the world." (P.132) There are no problems in philosophy, Wittgenstein claimed, only puzzles to be deciphered.

Karl Popper believed Wittgenstein to be terribly mistaken. He claimed that there are serious problems in philosophy to be solved, and laid down his philosophy of science, presenting his verification and falsification theory in his magnum opus, The Logic of Scientific Discovery. The backgrounds of these two men are strikingly similar, raised in pre-WWI Vienna though from opposite social stations, and only to cross paths much later in life at the famous meeting of the Moral Science Club at Cambridge, in which a ten-minute exchange occurred between the two irascible and profound thinkers, that went down in academic history.

This is philosophic journalism at its most readable form, combining history, biography, philosophy, careful speculation and first-hand witness accounts. The authors describe Viennese culture and its intellectual and artistic movements just prior to the fall of the Austrian Hungarian empire that, in effect, truly defined modernism. Vienna during this time produced Wittgenstein, Freud, Popper, Robert Musil, Victor Adler, Gustav Klimt and Mahler. This was fin-de-siecle Vienna that some would suggest changed the way we view the world and ourselves. Although a short book, Edmonds and Eidinow have captured the atmosphere and the personalities that contributed to the profound thoughts and ideas that shaped Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper.

This is philosophy as drama, philosophy as comedy, and ultimately an entertaining ride through the history of ideas, using as its starting point, a simple ten-minute confrontation between two men, that has managed to remain in the minds of many influential individuals and great thinkers in their own right throughout the twentieth century.

Even if you have no interest in logical positivism, analytical philosophy or philosophy as a whole, but are interested in the history of ideas, this well written and amusing book would be well worth a look at.