Notes.
1.
When I first wrote this piece I had a clear idea of what 'pervidious'
means. However when I checked various dictionaries I found
there was no such word. This however did not deter me.
I define it later in the text.
2.
This is a quote from the nineteenth century Danish philosopher
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1885). It comes from his book, 'Fear
and Trembling'.
3.
Here I define 'pervidious' / 'pervidity'.
4.
To understand the significance of this licence plate number
you will need to refer to, 'If She Won't Have Me I Won't Be Had'.
5.
It is reported that the seventeenth century Dutch philosopher
Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677) did in fact enjoy watching
spiders fight. This seems to be the only quirk in an otherwise
flawless nature. He did read books in Latin and it is said
that he enjoyed a pipe and ate raisins. He drank beer as is
shown by his gratitude in a letter to a friend for the gift
of half a tun. However it should be pointed out he was not
a drunk.
6.
From all reports Socrates did enjoy a drink, even his last one.
7.
'Fritz' was a family name for the German philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Nietzsche did in fact live
in hotels and he suffered migraine all his life. However he
was not a drinker. The quotes from this passage come from
his book, 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'.
8.
Poor Spinoza is once again dragged into the story. It is
true that as a young student he fell in love with a young
girl. She was the daughter of his Latin teacher. She
rejected him because he was poor and a Jew. After this he
never loved a woman again. In 1656 he was excommunicated
by the Jews for his heretical beliefs. He was later attacked
by non-Jewish forces for his views on liberty in thought
and language. He was described by Bertrand Russell as the
loneliest man who ever lived. Spinoza was a lens grinder
by profession. He lived in a boarding house in Amsterdam.
To understand the dispute between Rex and 'the cowboy' you
need to refer to 'THE TYPEWRITER'S BEEN DRINKING'.
9.
This poem is an argument against or a response to the
central plank of the philosophy of the German philosopher
Gottfried Wilhelm Liebnitz (1646-1716). The 'monad' is like
what we in the twentieth century understand as an atom. The
essential difference is that a monad is not physical. It
is an atom of consciousness and for Liebnitz what the world
is made of. Each monad is total and complete in itself and
hence 'windowless'. The relationship between each monad is
pre-established by God. It is God who gives order and
harmony to the world.
10.
The description of 'Old Kenny' here, is apparently an
accurate account of the physical appearance of the German
philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). It is said that
when he lectured, standing behind a desk which concealed
his body, he appeared to his students to be nothing but
a head. According to Herder his language was the profoundest
that ever came from the lips of man.
11.
'The father's son' here is a reference to Aristotle (384-322 B.C.).
Plato (427-347 B.C.) is considered to be the father of Western
Philosophy. Aristotle is his most famous student. Plato believed
that there are 'generalized essences' or 'Forms' from which a
particular thing takes its essence. I.e., a table is a table by
virtue of its 'participating' in the Form of 'tableness'. These
forms exist in a non-material realm. This realm is eternal and
immutable and in Plato's view far superior to the material world.
Aristotle in reaction to his teacher argued that the essence of
each particular thing exists in that particular thing and not in
some separate non-material realm. I.e., the essence of a table
exists in the table.
In this poem I suggest a third view. It is the idea that in some
sense the totality of reality exists in and is the essence of any
particular thing. This could be described as a Spinozistic view
(of a girl sitting alone in a bar).
12.
It is reported that this exchange did take place between the
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhaur (1788-1860) and
a gardener when Schopenhaur was a young man. The quotes in
the second paragraph come from another conversation the
young Schopenhaur is said to have had.
13.
This poem was written by Judy Collinson. She retains copyright.
She has kindly allowed me to include it in this book.
(c) Copyright: Greg. T. Charlton. 2005.
All rights reserved.
