Yaş Bakla 2: Psikanaliz

Çağdaş, Levent ve konukları Daniş'le psikanaliz üzerine bir sohbet. Kayıt biraz kötü, Madagaskar'da yeterli ekipman bulamıyorlarmış, ileride düzeleceğine söz verdiler...

http://www.divshare.com/download/8329037-2a5



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Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? 2

Danger 1:
Ever since mystical knowledge has become widely accessible in popular culture (when exactly did this begin I have no clue of but I presume it must be around 18th-20th century) thanks to capitalism, it has fled the underground drawing-rooms of mesmerism, washed itself clean of the horror fiction it engendered and has found itself positioned right next to the cashier at a bookstore near you in nice, bite-size packages. With so much material at hand, it is easy to fall into syncretism, which is not a problem for the scriptor of this text as long as the study aims at something. However, things, I think, get out of hand once the paradoxes, parables and a plethora of lovely phrases that these traditions have engendered become tapas (meze/bitings) for whatever the service the subject enunciating requires. Kind of like an inverted intentional fallacy, or reader-response theory gone haywire… This, merged with postmodern cultural relativism (which is going out of fashion in academia finally, but will stick to the streets for now it seems) and a warped idea of Democracy and Reason, produce a terrifyingly idiotic genie that possesses human agents and urges them to become tools to the cop-out that is “this is my opinion, you have to respect it…” Once this is uttered, the expectation is that all interpretation must stop, all paths to t/Truth are blurred and each one is assigned their own little game to play. Not only that, the game you play is different than mine, since we are both unique (You got to admit that this idea of the unique caresses many narcissistic soft spots) therefore you go your own way and I go mine… You got to do what you got to do, in NYC parlance (when I share something with you, I’m by default asking for you to tell me what I should do? The audacity…)
Fair enough, but can you possibly imagine a world where everyone ceases to interrogate the others' opinion? It would be as boring as golf if you ask me. What else do we have to talk about? Consider the minute the other ceases to be a zone of psychic give-and-take, we’re left with nothing but ourselves, this supposedly unique being which stops being unique if there is nobody else to measure itself up against - can you actually imagine white without black?
But I digress…

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? 1

I’ve been seeing –as I’m sure you are too- people taking up spirituality in various guises these days. I am still confused whether to call it spirituality, mysticism or plain religion, but I am tying to refer to the anxious (and I mean this in the medical/psychiatric sense of the term) search for some inner kernel of our soul that will, once found, will somehow trigger every possible positivity, imbue our universe with meaning, thereby enabling inner and worldly peace. Some try their luck in known practices such as meditation (in its myriad of forms), Rei-chi, Yoga, Crystals, Horoscopes, the Occult, Sufism, the Cabala, Gnosticism; the list, as you know, grows long. I am not going to go into the why’s, as I think anyone reading daily papers has, at one point or another, come upon the same self-reflexive, self-flagellating confessional as to how modern life disseminates anxiety and guilt, driven by a system built on individualism and competition, so on and so forth. The reasons are, to me, of secondary importance; however, this fascination with mysticism, or at least the act of filling all one’s ‘leisure’ life with spiritual practices indicate to me a strange and interesting object of study in itself.

(to be continued)

Philosophy according to Alan Watts

According to Alan Watts, philosophy has repeatedly asked the same five questions throughout the history of reported time. They are as follows:

(it = existence)

1. Who started it?

2. Are we going to make it?

3. Where are we going to put it?

4. Who's going to clean up?

5. Is it serious?

:))

Önemli Bir Tespit...

Arkadaşım Deniz B. şöyle bir tespitte bulundu. Görelim ne soylamış:
'Eskiden kadınla erkek birdir diye düşünürdüm. Şimdiyse eminim ki kadınlarda en az bir gen farklı. O da herhangi bir tartışmadan muhakkak galip ayrılma zorunluluğunu yaratan gen. Öyle ki bir kadına dersin, Hava ne kadar sıcak. Cevabı alırsın, Ne bekliyordun ki?'

Adana, GA...

Adana'ya 8 sene sonra yine geldim. Buradan aklımda kalanlar, üniversite yıllarımda gördüğüm inanılmaz şuh kadınlar ve yemeklerinin acı lezzetiydi. Bu gelişimde Adana'yı daha değişik görme şansım oldu. Aşırı fazla yemek yedim ve etrafı seyrettim...
İlk gözlem şu: Adana, ABD nin kırsal eyaletlerinin yavanlığını fazlasıyla örnek almış kendine. Şehir merkezi var mı belli değil. Zaten herkes sıcaktan klimalı mekanlarda durmak zorunda. Yemek desen evet harika bir hizmet ve sofra kültürü var, da burada yaşayan biri dikkat etmezse damar sertliğinden gider bir kaç on yılda... Eski evler bakımsız ve ıssız duruyorlar ki sanırım öyleler... Gezecek bir yer pek yok ve manzara diye size gösterilen yerleri gösteren üzülmesin diye ilgiyle seyrediyorsun, zira manzaralar insanın estetik kaygılarının standartlarının ne kadar düşebileceğini gösteriyor. Bu da insanların uyum konusunda ne kadar usta olduklarının bir temsili adeta. Gidilecek yerler şehrin kıyılarına yosun gibi yapışıp kalmış dev alışveriş merkezleri. Tabi ki arabayla gidiliyor. Toplu taşıma araçlarının pencerelerinin açık olması klima eksikliğine gönderme yapıyor, tabi hangi yurt evladı o otobüslere dayanabiliyorsa bence hemen komando yapılabilir...
Trendy restoranlar henüz burayı ele geçirmemiş zaten Adana sofralarının zenginliği ve lezzeti karşısında bugünün trendy fusion yemekleri ayakta kalamaz gibi geliyor bana. Ancak görünmek/göstermek işlevi görüyor sanki bu trendy kafeler...
Kahve aldım.
Yemek yedim... Hem de çok...
Sokaklarda dolaşamadım çok sıcaktı...
Hayatımda gittiğim en harika saunaya gittim, soğuk havuzda onbeş dakika kaldım bana mısın demedi, ama saunaya en fazla 7 dakika dayanabildim. Ne yaparsın kanımızın yarısı ABDli...
Gecenin bir yarısı arkadaşımla bir taksiye binip bir ocakbaşına götürmesini söyledik. Eski, pis bir mahalled iki bina arasına sıkışmış bir aralıkta harika bir lokantada patlayana kadar yedik. Müzisyenlere Kimseye Etmem Şikayet'i söylettik. Arkadaşımı Türk Sanat Musikisine döndürdüm.
Hayat güzel, yaralarımızı yalıyarak kabuk bağlamalarını bekliyoruz...

Vignette of The Week

"All speech is demand. Every demand (is) a request for love." - Lacan

Jokes from The Sublime Object of Ideology (S.Zizek, Verso:1989 /Zizek'in İdeolojinin Yüce Nesnesi'nden fıkralar

"At an art exhibition in Moscow, there is a picture showing Nadezhda Kruopskaya, Lenin's wife, in bed with a young member of the Komsomol. The title of the picture is 'Lenin in Warsaw.' A bewildered visitor asks a guide: 'But where is Lenin?' The guide replies quietly and in dignity: 'Lenin is in Warsaw.' (pg. 178)

"Moskova'da bir sanat sergisinde, Lenin'in zevcesi Nadezhda Kruopskaya'nın genç bir Komsomol üyesiyle yatakta bir fotoğrafı asılıdır. Fotoğrafın ismi 'Lenin Varşova'da'dır. Şaşkın bir ziyaretçi bir rehbere sorar: 'Peki Lenin nerede?' Rehber sessiz ama vakur, cevap verir: 'Lenin Varşova'da.'

* * * * *

"A conscript tries to evade military service by pretending to be mad. His symptom is that he compulsively checks all the paper he can lay his hands on, constantly repeating: 'That is not it!' He is sent to the military psychiatrist, in whose office he also examines all the papers lying around, including those in the wastepapaper basket, repeating all the time: 'That is not it!'The psychiatrist, finally convinced that he is really mad, gives him a written warrant releasing him from military service. The conscript casts a look at it and says cheerfully: 'That is it!' (pg. 180)

"Askere çağrılmış bir genç, askerden kaçmak için deli taklidi yapmaya girişir. Belirtisi, kompülsif bir şekilde eline geçirebildiği tüm kağıt parçalarını inceleyip, 'Bu değil!' olacaktır. Askeriyenin psikiyatristine sevk edilir; orada da çöpte bulunanlar dahil gördüğü tüm kağıt parçalarını inceler ve devamlı tekrar eder: 'Bu değil!' Psikiyatrist eninde sonunda adamın deli olduğuna kanaat getirir ve ona 'askerliğe elverişli değildir' belgesini verir. Genç adam belgeye bir bakar ve neşeyle, 'İşte bu!' der."

* * * *

"How does a man from Montenegro masturbate? He digs a hole in the ground, puts his member in it and waits for the earthquake."

"Karadağlı bir adam nasıl mastürbasyon yapar? Yerde bir delik açar, içine organını sokar ve depremi bekler."

Bir analist olacak candostuma...

Psikanalizle ilk ilgilenmeye başladığım yıllardı, sanırım 15 ya da 16 yaşındaydım. Birkaç tane Freud devirmiş, "du bakali n'olcek" gibisinden aranıyordum. Ailecek o zamanlarda İzmir Fuarı'ndaki Kitap Fuarına gitmiştik. Görür görmez atladım Yeni Başlayanlar için Lacan adlı çizgi-kitaba (bu arada bu kitapları çok tuttuğumu söylemeliyim - okurun asıl metinlere yol alması için bir giriş niteliğinde kullanıldıkça en azından). Babam sordu bu kimdir nedir diye. Anlatmaya Oidipus Kompleksinden başladım. O'na "oğlan çocuğu Anne'yi arzular, Baba önünde bir engel oluşturduğundan, sembolik olarak onu öldürmek ister" dedim, biraz da onun ilgisini çekmek, önyargılarını kaşımak için. Gerçekten entelektüel olan (ama maalesef Psikanalizle ilgilenmeyen) Babam bir an yerinde durdu, sağ elini bir Osmanlı külhanbeyi gibi kaldırdı ve "böyle heriflere bi koyacaksın bazen!" diye matrak ama bilgelik dolu bir laf etti. Babam bu konuda haklı olmayabilirdi, ama büyük adamdı vesselam!

Syntax and Sociology

Now humor me. As I was putting my daughter to bed, an idea popped up among the now mantra-like lullaby singing. One of the differences in syntax between Turkish and English concerns the position of the relative clause/sıfat-ilgi tümceciği in relation to the subject/özne. While the relative clause usually comes after the subject followed by the action it is performing through the verb in English whereas in Turkish, the clause comes before the subject, turning it into a full-blown adjective that describes it. Moreover in English, relative clauses are usually separated by the main sentence by use of punctuation, especially the comma. In Turkish though they are –again usually- attached to the subject, which waits patiently for the moment in speech to arrive at the verb-al action it sought out to perform in the first place. In English the subject and the verb announces their presence up front, foregrounding the do-er of the action and underlining what there is to be done. The image of the mighty individual, pronouncing its voluntariness and intention to take action towards the world comes to mind. On the other hand the Turkish subject is able to perform its action only after the elements relating to the subject are fully expressed.

Consider these sentences:

TR: Gönderdiğin çiçekler için teşekkür ederim.

ENG: (I) Thank you for the flowers (that/, which) you’ve sent me.

This may sound simplistic, as my attempt here is not to go into linguistic conundrums. However, as a (perhaps too big a) generalization, I think I can posit the relevance of a socio-cultural trait in this linguistic rule. In my opinion, the Turkish language/culture tries to foreground modesty, and even to a significant extent, submission to a higher authority in its usage of language. Perhaps this is why sentences with passive constructions are much favored. The subject of the action is enshrouded, blurred, and the actual verb and what it does to the world takes precedence. This idea resonates fully with Islamic precepts that foregrounds Allah’s will before everything individuals do. The word Islam itself means, “to surrender.” Therefore the subject, though possessing free will, still is under partial (or full, I still am not quite clear on this-this is I think one of the many doctrinal difficulties of Islam) control of Allah. The same goes for the submission to higher authorities. Consider the sacred position of the Caliphate or the Sultan, which can be easily found in collections of folk tales like the Tutiname, or the 1001 Nights. Now on the contrary, I think it is safe to say that Western Capitalist culture foregrounds the individual as a free agent, whose actions are mostly based on their own intentions (this is of course much challenged since the 19^th century onwards). In language use, in contrast to Turkish, English favors the use of active sentence constructions too, positing the defined/implied subject in the beginning of most sentences, clearly delineating who does what. Surrendering to Christ is also present in mostly secularized Continental and Anglo-American culture, however this surrendering I think is very different than the one in Islam, which is a concept too large to discuss in this particular piece. In any case, the said process of secularization is also an interesting point of inquiry.

Take the courtly love tradition, or even the great masters of Continental literature like Dante. Today it is no secret that both these examples are hugely indebted to Ummayad-Andalusian Islam. Sufi masters of the period posit Allah as the Beloved, which can never be reached, maybe only glimpsed at, but “married to” through death. Now consider Dante’s Beatrice in La Vita Nuova, or the way the troubadours shifted these, sometimes almost erotic metaphors onto their understanding of the lover (the Knight for example), or the loved (the Princess in peril for example). There is an excellent book by Robert Briffaut on this subject if anyone is interested (The Troubadours, 1965: IUP). In this sense, the Beloved is transposed onto a mortal agent, though the fact that the Princess/Lover (as in Dante’s Beatrice) is not to be reached, although she remains a Muse for life of the agent. So, what happens then? In comes an action that again foregrounds the agent’s conscious intention towards an action that has the possibility of changing the situation to their own, worldly advantage: The slaying of the Dragon… In this way, Continental troubadour poetry not only secularizes the religious imagery employed by the Sufis, but also posits smack in the middle, an event that requires full, external action based on the agent’s intent to an endeavor in the world, whose consequences are physical…

I know all this sounds too simplistic, but neither is this a dissertation nor am I a scholar. The point is that both languages reflect and affect their own cultural evolution.

There is also the position and function of the author in both languages that helps this argument but I shouldn’t get carried further away. At least, not for now.

All criticism (negative or positive) are welcome.