the Game of Life
We seek to work on what VMW (Visuals, Music and Words) can bring to the entire Humanities.
We believe that these three as very powerful mediums in their own right, each with their own special power and strengths.
And we shall also seek to be able to combine them together to create another Art Form for all of the Humanities…
VISUALS
It was said that Plato has once made the remark that “Eyes are the windows to the soul.”
Whether this is correct or not, Plato and quite a few Ancient Greek philosophers do believe that the soul perceives the truth through the eyes and that our eyes can help us to recognize beauty in others.
Plato has also described the soul as an immortal, immaterial, and rational entity that is the source of life and knowledge and is not constrained by the limitations of our body.
And he has made the remark that “The soul takes flight to the world that is invisible but there arriving she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise..”
Whether this is true or not, we take it as self-evident that appreciation of the visuals is an ability and aptitude that is worth cultivating for the Humanities.
MUSIC
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything”.
“It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form”
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Musical Quotations has attributed the above words to Plato. That said, this is not without controversy.
But whatever the case, Ludwig van Beethoven has once remarked that “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”
And that “I shall hear in haven (in Latin)” were Beethoven’s last words.
It looks such a cruel twist of Fate that one of the greatest composers in the history of mankind has been suffering from hearing capability years before he reached the zenith of his music career and that he was denied almost completely of his ability to hear during his final years on earth.
But the sufferings and struggles Beethoven has endured for all the years might have also been one main source of the courage, passion and hope that has characterized almost all his music, especially Symphony No. 5 “Fate” and the last Symphony No. 9 “Choral”
Music, therefore, certainly occupies some rather special place in the Humanities and in the Humanities’ struggle against all challenges he/she faces in lives as well as the joy and happiness they have enjoyed.
So, “Mark the Music”, as Shakespeare has said.
WORDS
“The world is everything that is the case. .. The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
“A proposition cannot express anything which is higher.”
“If in the midst of life, we are in death; so in sanity, we are surrounded by madness.”
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
The above remarks made by Ludwig Wittgenstein certainly remind us to be careful about what we say and what we write. And words are clearly a tool that has its limitations.
That said, it looks it is difficult to think of another tool that has been more powerful and effective than language and words in terms of creating, fine-tuning, preserving and spreading civilizations and wisdom developed by the Humanities than words
In any case, we may well be able to expand the boundary of the legitimate usage of words somewhat if we can use it intelligently and creatively with background about its limitations in mind.
As Arthur Schopenhauer has reminded us: “Thoughts, reduced to paper, generally represent nothing more than footprints left by a man walking on the sand; you see the path he has taken; but to know what he has seen along the way, you have to use your own eyes.”
When commenting about one of his students, Ludwig Wittgenstein was said to have once made the following remark: “He doesn’t even know philosophy. How can he know poetry?”
Perhaps, words, poetry and thoughts do occupy a special place in the civilization created by the Humanities.
“..When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. .. “
The above quotation was from a speech made by John F. Kennedy in 26 October 1963, a few weeks before his assassination. And in the same speech, John F. Kennedy has also described a state where perhaps our human civilization should always try avoid becoming: “nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope.”