civis notes 3

8-22

A la Philip K. Dick & Stanislaw Lem-- (The Matrix) : “artificial world”--and electronic beings: “God” turns off switch. (?echo:God actually ceases to exist?)

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We define humans by patterning. Involves use 'salient characteristics' socially defined and transmitted by patterned interaction. 'Language' only part of picture. If dress defines man then stature (position within social structure) defines effective identity [note that this includes self-perception...that naked king seems to have many an application]. No less reference infamous college experiment [Stanford Prison Experiment]. 'Archetypal' images indeed. [Reference here is to the general placing of origins of such images in some ancestral memory vault, probably genetically-inherited. I may be being a bit sarcastic here. The point being made is that the source of such images is indeed nonverbal/nonlingual and has to do with the kinds of perception that are possible in the preverbal/nonlingual state and the kinds of learning and how they might be recorded--by definition not in terms of language. Thought occurs before language, and that kind of thought persists afterwards. The relationship of set-system theory here is quite applicable but enough of the editorial mode.] Ads and popular movies resultant from effective mass identity though tend to some social transformation. Analysis by modal means intrinsically flawed, in fact basically useless. Add authoritarian nature aggressive societies and that this means masses are rule-followers.

The existence of an ordered system demands consistent energy input--i.e. 'life'-sustaining practises. In order for a social organism (government for instance) to exist there must be practises designed to ensure its continued existence. The most important component in this is controlling the non-privileged. These are the masses on whom the privileged depend and by whom they are continually threatened. [This should be obvious. The masses are important in urban situations, by nature. Urban landscapes present considerable barriers to nearly any kind of warfare, and by reports the science-fictional sorts of weaponry first of all necessary (which won't damage the buildings, for instance) aren't quite yet available, and identification of friendlies has always presented a problem...most of all, ironically, when identification of 'pacification' (read soldiers, of course) forces is quite easy. Also, someone needs to be available to do the dirty work--one mark of an inefficient conqueror of a foreign land is simply killing the inhabitants, and then finding that someone needs to make things run. Slaves are much better than corpses. The problem is that the masses outside the U.S. haven't been conditioned well enough to the U.S. version of reality. 'Honor' is a concept basically invalid in America; rather, the key concept is 'patriotism' and behind that 'conformity'; this means that the leaders judge and act by means of values based on expediency--current expediency, note well. Since the first concern is preservation of the status quo, and thus preservation of power, both strategies and tactics are devoted to the present and very near future.]

It is interesting to note that money alone can't quite lend social stature.

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--sd