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Philip K Dick, Ubik
The TV set had receded back a long way; he found himself confronted by adark, wood-cabinet, Atwater-Kent tuned radio-frequency oldtime AM radio,complete with antenna and ground wires. God in heaven, he said to himself, appalled.
But why hadn't the TV set reverted instead to formless metals and plastics? Those, after all, were its constituents; it had been constructed out of them, notout of an earlier radio. Perhaps this weirdly verified a discarded ancient philosophy, that of Plato's ideal objects, the universals which, in each class, were real. The form TV set had been a template imposed as a successor to other templates, like the procession of frames in a movie sequence. Prior forms, he reflected, must carry on an invisible, residual life in every object. The past is latent, is submerged, but still there, capable of rising to the surface once the later imprinting unfortunately - and against ordinary experience - vanished. The man contains - not the boy - but earlier men, he thought. History began a long time ago.
Philip K Dick, Ubik
The TV set had receded back a long way; he found himself confronted by a dark, wood-cabinet, Atwater-Kent tuned radio-frequency oldtime AM radio,complete with antenna and ground wires. God in heaven, he said to himself, appalled.
But why hadn't the TV set reverted instead to formless metals and plastics? Those, after all, were its constituents; it had been constructed out of them, notout of an earlier radio. Perhaps this weirdly verified a discarded ancient philosophy, that of Plato's ideal objects, the universals which, in each class, were real. The form TV set had been a template imposed as a successor to other templates, like the procession of frames in a movie sequence. Prior forms, he reflected, must carry on an invisible, residual life in every object. The past is latent, is submerged, but still there, capable of rising to the surface once the later imprinting unfortunately - and against ordinary experience - vanished. The man contains - not the boy - but earlier men, he thought. History began a long time ago.
dada » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:55 pm wrote:Does the ideal form of every fireplace already have a fire in it, or must it first be lit?
dada » 07 Nov 2020 08:55 wrote:Does the ideal form of every fireplace already have a fire in it, or must it first be lit?
Above the ideal form of the fireplace in one room of the old mansion, hanging over the mantlepiece, is a mirror in which is reflected one's own ideal form, or what my school calls your Perfect Nature. But let's set aside what is meant by the ideas 'perfect' and 'nature' for now, and say that this ideal form is your subject.
You should notice that your ideal form has much more in common with the other ideal forms than it does with the potraits and hunting trophies which adorn the walls, with eyes that follow as you move past them.
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