Symbolic Meaning of 1/4th circle
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Im working on a poetry paper for one of my classes.
In it, I defined language to be the first derivative of true meaning (truth)Language is a vector with size and direction. It is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with an adjacent side of "content" and opposite side of "form".
When you define Language in terms of C & F, we can assume that C(content) is a constant & F(form) is a variable.
The content of language won't change, just the form: delivery, context, etc does. So this is my assumption.As form changes, so does theta.
In order to calculate the "formula" for true meaning (atziluth) of language, we need to take the integral of language.
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/954/mimetex.gifWhen we simplify this using trig substitution, we get http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1632/mimetex1.gif
Symbolically this looks like a circle with a radius of "content" all divided by 4.
Where content = all word combinations of a language.How can I proceed to interpret this?
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93,
Your premises look a bit shaky to me. All earthly languages change content constantly - new words are imported or created, new slang phrases arise, there are drifts in assumptions about correct grammar. And as the societies that use languages evolve, so does the nature of their languages shift to accommodate that evolution. So I don't think content is a constant. "Change is stability."
Do true meaning and capital-T Truth belong in different categories to each other? You have some slippery concepts here, since 'meaning' is bound to have a highly subjective quality. And language can only be an approximation of Truth, which can't be directly represented in words.
93 93/93,
Edward
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"":1sqnkxm0]How can I proceed to interpret this?"
I find myself wondering how practical this is. So I am thinking:
What about explaining your thesis in everyday English, or whatever you mother tongue happens to be?
Or perhaps translating it into poetry. What would text look like if it followed your premise? Would it be beautiful?Put your theory into action and see what you get. Will the dunk on the street be able to appreciate it?
Here are a few rules of thumb for determining viable truths: it must explain the Universe; it must tell you how to live; and it must be entertaining to the drunk.
EDIT: I'm thinking there might be examples already in existence that you can point to and then discuss—Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, for example.
Love and Will
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Following on my last post.
It seems the variable here is form, the point and touch item—content being inexpressible, form is a symbolic pointer to the existence of content. This is problematic because form is specific in a way that content is not. In other words, form directly represents truth, but only one small particle of truth at a time, and as such, is falsehood due to its partiality.
Wouldn't the old alchemical formula of Solve et Coagula be useful here? The more you can mess with the form—Solve—the better. I am reminded of the Cut-Up as popularized by William S. Burroughs. He would take a fairly coherent text and cut it up into bits and then randomly paste it back together—Coagula. In this way he got past the limited expression, and by voiding the provincial meaning of the words he was able to access, or at least indicate, the larger reality behind all words.
Love and Will
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93,
"":3qs0bl8k]Im working on a poetry paper for one of my classes.
In it, I defined language to be the first derivative of true meaning (truth)"You may want to look at Russell and Whitehead's work Principia Mathematica. It was an effort to assign logical truths in mathematical terms. It sounds as if it may be of interest to you. Also, Wittgenstein had some great thoughts regarding this. However, he seemed to be under the impression that language changes subjective meaning with each receptive party, thus completely changing the ideas and meanings of words, depending on who would hear them. Also, the constructionists and the deconstructionists were fascinated in what was being said "between the lines", so to speak...and the overall backdrop to what was being said, while it was being said...
What the practical use of all this information may be, who knows? I'm sure every letter of their ciphers have some value, but who can determine the value? Linguistics and philosophy are definitely like all creations - absolutely fascinating.
@Edward Mason said
"So I don't think content is a constant."
Given the subjective qualties of the senses involved, I tend to agree.
Love is the law, love under will.
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"":a60ltgae]How can I proceed to interpret this?"
The circle, divided into quadrants, can be said to encompass all "knowledge," which is what we communicate using language. The knowledge can be said to be the constant, as pure ideal is of itself unchanging.
Notice that each quarter of the circle itself can be conceived as a triangle, the angle itself being comprised of an arc. Perhaps this could account for the discrepancies of form?
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The title of this thread is used in the Lectures of Freemasonry:
"WM: What is a square?
Ans: An angle of ninety degrees, or the fourth part of a circle. "The square referred to is of course the builder's square.
In Masonic symbolism..."The Square teaches us to regulate our lives and actions according to the Masonic line and rule, and to harmonise our conduct in this life so as to render us acceptable to that Divine Being from whom all goodness springs and to whom we must **give an account **of all our actions."
(I added the bold - BTW, this is the longer version of this section of ritual.)I don't suppose that has much relevance, but I wanted to draw the apposition to your attention!
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I suppose this could mean that the true meaning of language is content manifest in the four elements: emotional expressivity, communication, substance, and the unique spark of spirit. The four elements, which regulate this unadulterated content, harmonize the various parts of content like the Masonic square so that it will manifest here in Assiah in the best-suited way.
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@Dar said
"In England we used to have a coin we called a silver shilling. It was stamped front and back with a cross so it could easily be divided up into 4 parts.
Isn't it funny how masonary and coinage seem to go hand in hand?"
Money
late 13c., "coinage, metal currency," from O.Fr. moneie, from L. moneta "mint, coinage," from Moneta, a title of the Roman goddess Juno, in or near whose temple money was coinedFrom <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.etymonline.com">www.etymonline.com</a><!-- w -->
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@Takamba said
"
Money
late 13c., "coinage, metal currency," from O.Fr. moneie, from L. moneta "mint, coinage," from Moneta, a title of the Roman goddess Juno, in or near whose temple money was coinedFrom www.etymonline.com"
I'm not really part of this discussion, so consider what I am about to say as a gratuitous contribution that can be ignored.
Juno, Hera, or any other equivalent wife deity is probably the god behind our materialism. At least this is so according the the next generation of Jungian psychologists following Jung. The link to coinage/money makes perfect sense, imho.
Walmart is a temple to Juno!
Love and Will
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@Dar said
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@RobertAllen said
"Juno, Hera, or any other equivalent wife deity is probably the god behind our materialism. At least this is so according the the next generation of Jungian psychologists following Jung. The link to coinage/money makes perfect sense, imho.Walmart is a temple to Juno!
"Wow. But Juno (the celestial object) signifies marriage!
Oh.Dar thinks about divorces and... whatever they call it when the woman walks off with the house.
Well - I think it's all perverted personally. "
That's right, perversion! Remember that Priapus was born with his infamously grotesque and huge member because of Hera's intervention!
"According to legend, Hera cursed him with impotence, ugliness and foul-mindedness while he was still in Aphrodite's womb, in revenge for the hero Paris having the temerity to judge Aphrodite more beautiful than Hera."
—WikipediaAlso, some myths credit Priapus' father as Zeus, another reason Hera would cause the child to be born with such a deformity—a reflection on the father, her husband, and a notorious adulterer.
Love and Will
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@Dar said
"Added - I mean, the Greeks were pretty accepting of homosexuality generally... so why wouldn't Priapus have the buttocks of a bearded man? Why will he only 'aim for the top'? Mystery."
One thing that comes to mind is the symbolism of the bearded man, or rather the bearded woman! A woman's beard is of course her pubic hair. Hence, a bearded man gives head, his mouth being where the dick goes in this instance. (...anyone remember that movie from the seventies, the one with the banjo, Deliverance?)
Lets face it, an older mans buttocks is often not his most attractive asset. I suspect the text is indicating an interest in all the options, including oral sex; and still I suspect it isn't enough, so variations will have to be imagined and acted out.
...happy to be part of such a scholarly discussion.
Love and Will
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@Dar said
"Btw Robert - do you know the origins of the 'penis nose mask'? Greek?"
I have always connected this mask to the satyr play, where you would also expect to find giant strap on dildos. If I had to guess I would suspect its immediate explanation would be found in a common, dirty joke or crass suggestion from the period (approx. 500 BCE), and behind that, an actual mystery.
The original theaters were located within the temple complexes of Dionysus, and the satyr plays, for all their low, sexually explicit buffoonery, were considered worshipful.
But no, I don't know its origin. Though, now that you mention it, I too would like to know where this comes from—inquiring minds.
Love and Will