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March 16, 2006
The passage below is courtesy of Nicholas Gruen over at Club Troppo. The quote Nicholas has posted is from John Armstrong's The Secret Power of Beauty.
Edward Weston, Shell,
Armstrong says:
In one of his more memorable --- but typically obscure--- formulations, Hegel writes that: 'The owl of Minerva spreads her wings only at dusk.' What is the thought behind this poetic image, an image which is supposed to communicate something important about the nature of philosophy? Hegel was obsessed by one of the big problems of thinking and, by extension, of writing. The 'owl of Minerva' stands for the process of understanding. So, he says, we begin to understand what it is we are interested in only as we approach the end of our inquiry.
This is to contradict one of the most beguiling ideals of philosophy. Couldn't we start with absolutely clear and precise propositions ----as Descartes did when he tried to deduce every important truth from the simplest and clearest of starting points: 'I think, therefore I am'? To apply the point locally: couldn't we first of all say what beauty is and then move on to a discussion of its significance?.
Edward Weston, White Dunes, Oceano California, 1936
Armstrong continues:
Less idealistic, Hegel's point reflects a painful fact. We start in confusion, so we cannot immediately come up with the right definitions. Sadly, knowing where to start is something we only really see afterwards ---when, of course, it is too late. It is only at dusk that we become wise ----by which time we have already had to endure our own midday follies.
Tis well said.
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Well said.
and so true, by gathering the way out, the unknown is all around us, we come up with the answers.
'The owl of Minerva spreads her wings only at dusk' is such a powerful-dark image of beauty, one can pose on it and be filled with images, visions, and even concrete path through the Forest...