Humanist philosopher George Berkeley is widely unknown apart from his peer group. His notion of reality is too one-sidedly sensualistic. It seems to stem from the old days - before Kant's copernian turn could end the quarrel between the Rationalists and the Empiricists by assuming synthetic judgements a priori. However, Berkeley's motto esse est percipi hits the nail right on the swirling head of media images. Only what is perceived is considered true; nothing is invisible. As a consequence, a whole generation has grown up widely undisturbedly whose socialization mainly is based on conveying visual knowledge. What is written or even spoken is remakably second to what is graphic.
If you have nothing better to do, you may enjoy comparing university textbooks from the 1970s with recent ones. While letter columns pattered upon the groaning reader before, while the bold print or grey frames were considered to be the peak of progressive didactics, nowadays cartoon figures and charts are grinning at the viewer in a true lightning of colours. A kind of graphic stimulus satiation bears witness of how grim the competion for attention has become. The perception distance to the video optics is meant to be as narrow as possible. And only what can be seen is real. Permanent availabilty of photographs spreading via internet suggests to every user he or she takes part directly. From this point of view (!) the websites only radicalize the common construction of reality moving TV images convey.
It might be a telling sign of the present Marquis de Sade actually is in contrast to Berkeley widely known outside his peer group. Oppressing others in a mean way belongs to the basic social rules at the work place (à propos bullying) and practice makes perfect, does it not?
How much imagery has become the lingua franca of the global media society can be seen from the sadistic photographs published via WWW. Right here de Sade and Berkeley meet halfway. Regardless if babies are maltreated, dogleashes are tested on human beings crouching on the ground, one's peers are eaten or a fellow student is forced to bare himself - the camera is always there. While traditional sadists liked to resort with their victims in gothic vaults reminding of the motto of Dante's Inferno, perversion as an end in itself is not sufficient anymore. Instead it has to be made medially available; the nightmare is meant to leave the depths of the subconsciousness. The air of authenticity requires banishing it on film and giving the modern oh so normal WWW Peeping Toms the licence for mental masturbation. A remarkable leap in the evolution of homo homini lupus, for the culprit's perversion magnifies by including once excluded spectators, thus making them second degree accomplices, while the victims even lose their right to global silence. Humiliation alone is not enough anymore - the whole world has to know about it.
A very intersting anchronism, indeed, for atavist contempt of humanity has united with the state of the art of modern technology. The result is even more repulsive than the classical version. Within the global village de Sade has finally turned into a heinous figure and maybe it is not till now that Benjamin's view mass reproducabilty robs the work of art its aura has been confirmed. And the human dignity, too.
This highly developed bestiality whose testimony can be wateched in the internet has nonetheless its positive sides. After all, while in former times the whole prosecution apparatus struggled for concise evidence, today's culprits are more and more ready to catch themselves at maltreating others. Can it be merely accidental the culprits' next generation has been accustomed to daily talkshowsfrom a child watching miserable people make a monkey out of themselves in front of a giggling TV audience? As can be seen, we will be nothing if not noticed by others. So this truly narcisstic drive embraced more than ever as can be seen in WWW lives it up to the logical self-accusation.
Since the beginning of time the past has been using pictures for self-assurance: Look, how much fun we had then. And to make sure not to miss the slightest valuable moment we record everything. For reasons of selection. Perhaps it is just that which makes up for the sadists' narcisstic motivation. Maybe they cannot believe themselves they did something so reprehensible. For that reason the camera is running. Internet publication serves both purposes - the miserable souls' craving for admiration as well as the seemingly noncommittal image.
If you have nothing better to do, you may enjoy comparing university textbooks from the 1970s with recent ones. While letter columns pattered upon the groaning reader before, while the bold print or grey frames were considered to be the peak of progressive didactics, nowadays cartoon figures and charts are grinning at the viewer in a true lightning of colours. A kind of graphic stimulus satiation bears witness of how grim the competion for attention has become. The perception distance to the video optics is meant to be as narrow as possible. And only what can be seen is real. Permanent availabilty of photographs spreading via internet suggests to every user he or she takes part directly. From this point of view (!) the websites only radicalize the common construction of reality moving TV images convey.
It might be a telling sign of the present Marquis de Sade actually is in contrast to Berkeley widely known outside his peer group. Oppressing others in a mean way belongs to the basic social rules at the work place (à propos bullying) and practice makes perfect, does it not?
How much imagery has become the lingua franca of the global media society can be seen from the sadistic photographs published via WWW. Right here de Sade and Berkeley meet halfway. Regardless if babies are maltreated, dogleashes are tested on human beings crouching on the ground, one's peers are eaten or a fellow student is forced to bare himself - the camera is always there. While traditional sadists liked to resort with their victims in gothic vaults reminding of the motto of Dante's Inferno, perversion as an end in itself is not sufficient anymore. Instead it has to be made medially available; the nightmare is meant to leave the depths of the subconsciousness. The air of authenticity requires banishing it on film and giving the modern oh so normal WWW Peeping Toms the licence for mental masturbation. A remarkable leap in the evolution of homo homini lupus, for the culprit's perversion magnifies by including once excluded spectators, thus making them second degree accomplices, while the victims even lose their right to global silence. Humiliation alone is not enough anymore - the whole world has to know about it.
A very intersting anchronism, indeed, for atavist contempt of humanity has united with the state of the art of modern technology. The result is even more repulsive than the classical version. Within the global village de Sade has finally turned into a heinous figure and maybe it is not till now that Benjamin's view mass reproducabilty robs the work of art its aura has been confirmed. And the human dignity, too.
This highly developed bestiality whose testimony can be wateched in the internet has nonetheless its positive sides. After all, while in former times the whole prosecution apparatus struggled for concise evidence, today's culprits are more and more ready to catch themselves at maltreating others. Can it be merely accidental the culprits' next generation has been accustomed to daily talkshowsfrom a child watching miserable people make a monkey out of themselves in front of a giggling TV audience? As can be seen, we will be nothing if not noticed by others. So this truly narcisstic drive embraced more than ever as can be seen in WWW lives it up to the logical self-accusation.
Since the beginning of time the past has been using pictures for self-assurance: Look, how much fun we had then. And to make sure not to miss the slightest valuable moment we record everything. For reasons of selection. Perhaps it is just that which makes up for the sadists' narcisstic motivation. Maybe they cannot believe themselves they did something so reprehensible. For that reason the camera is running. Internet publication serves both purposes - the miserable souls' craving for admiration as well as the seemingly noncommittal image.
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