The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Stephen Brewer’s article “The Conspiracy of Theories” (Issue 114, Philosophy Now). The piece “stealthily records a dialogue in which Freya argues that conspiracy theories are illogical, but Orin is not so sure”, proving that even the wildest of conspiracy theories can be reasonable so long as their principle axioms are consistent. Who knew!
Read more at: https://philosophynow.org/issues/114/The_Conspiracy_of_Theories
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a talk by Barbara Yelin, German illustrator and author. She was demo-ing a live drawing session as part of the Toronto Comic Art Festival. In addition to being an enchanting speaker, Yelin’s artwork is marvelous. I particularly liked some of the images she showed from one of her wordless earlier works: Le Visiteur.
In Le Visiteur, Yelin explained how she uses drawing as a means to uncover her characters and eventually, the plot. For example, she described how she would draw an interesting space, and old house for example, and as she kept drawing perhaps a laneway would appear, lined with trees. And in a drawing after that, perhaps a small figure would appear.
As she moved (or drew rather) closer, she might discover this character is in fact a little girl carrying a basket of fish. And eventually perhaps another character – a giant of a bird – may turn up. Voila, protagonist and antagonist, respectively. And the story evolves and continues in this way, drawing after drawing revealing who and what happens next.
Contrast this with some of her later work, which arguably is more in keeping with the standard graphic novel tradition of page layouts, panels, dialogue and narrative, and related elements.
While the latter is sophisticated – evincing thought, planning and effort, as well considerable technical skill (see page spreads in Irmina) one might wonder if there is something, some spark of deep, dusky intuition, that is best nurtured when coaxed from a drawing, as opposed to when words and plot must march to page layouts and drawings must live within panel borders.
Please visit Barbara Yelin’s blog to see more of her wonderful work: http://barbarayelin.de/aktuell/
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Robin Small’s piece on philosophy annnd – wait for it – cocktails! (“Philosophy & Cocktails” Issue 113 of Philosophy Now). In this delightful article the author explores the equally valid contribution cocktails have made to late night philosophical discussion, traditionally considered the primary purview of wine. For some easy reading on the subject, take a look at HuffPost’s New York Cocktail Philosophy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/skye-cleary/new-york-cocktail-philoso_b_7827076.html
This is supposedly a comic but I’m actually quite serious.. it would change everything!
Hello! The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Daniel Tippen’s article: “Why Self-Interest Makes Relationships Valuable” (Issue 112 of Philosophy Now). In this article the author discusses the nature of friendship and its relationship to altruism. As altruism can take many forms, in this case it is argued that it is only genuine altruism that is the basis for true friendship.
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of The Free Will of Ebenezer Scrooge, by Richard Kamber (Philosophy Now, Issue 111).
The article, which delves into arguments relating to determinism and free will, is available here and the cartoon is loosely based on a very bad morning indeed. 🙂
I’ve been reading an interesting book “Art and Spiritual Transformation” by Finley Eversole. Amongst other thought-provoking chapters, he has one dedicated to the underlying symbolism of the labyrinth. For example, did you know the distinction between mazes and labyrinths? As follows:
Maze: A series of underground tunnels and passages with intersecting paths that wander chaotically, winding back on themselves or terminating in dead ends.
Labyrinth: Seven circuits of one path which lead eventually – and only – to the centre.
Eversole goes on to discuss how the general ‘lost’ feeling of life is akin to wandering within a maze, however when one begins to focus on spiritual transformation this maze sublimates into a labyrinth. Of course, at the centre of the labyrinth who does one find but the Minotaur. The Minotaur is said to be representative of our animal nature; a creature in which the beast rules the intellect. This is indicated by the bull head atop a human form.
To be able to escape the labyrinth, therefore, it is said that we must defeat the Minotaur and thus symbolically defeat our animal nature. Only when the Minotaur is vanquished can we find our way from out the Labyrinth by following Ariadne’s silver thread. The silver thread is allegorical for our spiritual nature, always apart and yet nearby, should we choose to pursue it…
The following cartoon accompanied the print version of Francisco Uribe’s article “The Paradox of Liberalism” (Philosophy Now, Issue 110). In this article, the writer discusses why the rise of fundamentalism poses particular challenges for liberalism given the latter’s core tenet that individuals should be able to act as they see fit…
simonandfinn 