[MD] humanity is the measure

[david buchanan]

Micah said:
Man is the measure of all things.

Arlo replied:
Therefore, Arlo is the measure of all things... or perhaps monkeys are.

dmb says:
No way, man. I'm the measure of all things. Its all about me. Well,  ...me 
and the monkeys. But seriously, Arlo. I'd like to hear what you think about 
this central motto. I'm getting an overdose of critical theory and all that 
biz in a class on methodologies and it occurs to me that this motto is 
basically an ancient form of constructivism. It goes along with that ZAMM 
assertion about how we've created the whole world by building analogy upon 
analogy. The evolutionary and collective nature of this process, not to 
mention the unusual status of the subjective self, saves it from being any 
kind of solipsism, of course. I think its just expressing the now very 
fashionable idea that we contruct our reality, except without all the jargon 
or Lacanian nonsense. This is another way to get at that mystical idea, thou 
art that. You know, its not that people are the measurers of things (SOM). 
Rather humanity creates things, creates the world, exists only in relation 
to those creations, and, in effect, is those creations. Man is the measure 
of all things, man is all things, all things are man, baby its you.

But its all kinda fuzzy to me at this point. I'm getting by way of art 
criticism and gender studies and other complications. What do you think? Its 
just a few weeks into the first class, but I can almost see it already. 
Almost. Do you think its possible? How would you go about it if you wanted 
to make a connection between mysticism and postmodernism in an academic 
context? I have hunch that it can be done and I'm kind of excited about it. 
Well, okay. I'm ecstatic about it. Sue me.

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