Question: Why is there something rather than nothing?–Martin Heidegger, philosopher
Answer: If there were nothing you’d still be complaining!–Sidney Morgenbesser, Columbia University professor of philosophy
For thousands of years, philosophers have hotly debated the presence of absence and the absence of presence, and the existence of both.
Philosophy has composed a kaleidoscopic collage of theories about being and nothingness throughout the centuries. None of these explanatory efforts has satisfied everyone, and so philosophy continues to search for answers.
Absence and Presence (2012). Digital collage created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.
The mystery of our existence invites speculation about it from each of us; so does non-existence. To be or not to be still is the question. So ask yourself, as honestly as you can: if there were nothing, would you still be complaining?
(All artwork, descriptions, & other text [except for quotations] created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.)
An interresting subject, of day-to-day items… I like this, very much!!
Mines up as well at AussiePomm – Norwegian Weeds
Have a great WW!!
Thanks for your visit and thoughtful comment! I stopped by your post just now…nice photography!
How funky and retro.
Thank you very much, Lena! (Retro is how we roll here…)
Excellent collage. Absence-presence is similar to the concept dead – alive or bad – well, or any other dualism.
Thank you, Leovi! I appreciate your visit and your thoughtful comment. Yes, absence-presence is indeed related to other dualities, but most closely to dead-alive, which is the ultimate human duality.
This is very interesting … thought provoking… I like it!
Thank you for visiting my WW today: Instagram Images @ ImagesByCW with {linky}
Thanks for your kind words, Claudia! Visiting your site now…
I find that collage gives us a glimpse into a person’s being that other art doesn’t. It’s fascinating to me how collage artists pull together random images. They see things in pieces that fit into a larger whole, like seeing a dragon in the clouds. I’m amazed at the concepts they come up with, turning nothing into something.
Thanks very much for your thoughtful comment, Nicole!
I agree with Aussipomm, your pictures never cease to amaze me
Thank you, Steve–it’s kind of you to say so!
Quite fascinating take on the subject matter.
Thanks, Wayne!
I like the mix of strong black and white with the bright colors.
Thanks, Alissa! Glad you like it.
Definitely thought provoking. I’ll get back to you after my finish my coffee
Thanks, Savannah!
The scale in your drawing gets me to think something and nothing are of equal weight? Thanks for another thought provoking image.
Thank you very much for your visit and your kind and thoughtful comment!
All theories about being and nothingness cease to bother us when we care for other. When we care for other, we participate in the love fiesta and live by faith.
I think, we become week when we start to think what is what. Such musings express only our doubts and fears that inescapably appear if we sense ourselves alone – if we feel we are left for ourselves, the life becomes the never ending nightmare… That is present now, when the most dare to shadow God and morality with market success….
Thank you for the awakening. While writing this comment I got the perfect test of my personal faithfulness. So your post was something like rehabilitation of my http://artbytomas.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your thoughtful response, Tomas. There are strong societal tendencies to overvalue reason and the cerebral, and undervalue instinct and intuition. What may be needed now are new philosophical approaches that value our instinctual, emotional, and intuitive impulses. As you point out so well, it is through those that we feel a connection to each other, the universe, and God.
Answers are definitely a noble pursuit. If you find any, let me know!
Will do, Jessica; you’ll be the first one I let know. Thanks for your visit and your comment!
Like the use of the positive and negative light on the head and the symmetry. But then I noticed the neck is not a mirror image. Very interesting. Lots to observe in the collage. Well done.
Thanks for dropping by my blog!
Thanks very much, Mary! Your observations are spot on about the mirror image issue. I feel that presence and absence are opposed to each other as complements rather than as mirror images; that is, they fit together rather like lock and key. The two halves of the face are complementary, as are the colors of the beams of light from the lanterns.
The Real Question [ in my own mind anyway ] is: To Truly Love Unconditionally, or Not – without any honest expectations at all… because, if we can love others unconditionally, then we’re fully worthy of the very same spiritual treatment!
Practicing True Righteousness for its own sake, and Placing Our Trust Fully In Our Father, is The Missing Secret That Everyone Seeks!
Very true! And in loving unconditionally–ourselves as well as others–we enter the fullness of being on the spiritual and every other level. Thanks for your comment, Jeshurun!
It’s beautiful.
Thank you very much!