Monday, November 27th, 2006
Florida, 2006. South Beach.
On a completely unrelated note, lately I've been thinking about The Is-Ought Problem:
"...given our knowledge of the way the world is, how can we know the way the world ought to be? That question, prompted by Hume's small paragraph, has become one of the central questions of ethical theory, and Hume is usually assigned the position that such a derivation is impossible. This complete severing of 'is' from 'ought' has been given the graphic designation of 'Hume's Guillotine'."
...
"The apparent gap between 'is' statements and 'ought' statements, when combined with Hume's fork—the idea that all items of knowledge either are based on logic and definitions or are based on observation—renders 'ought' statements of dubious validity. Since "ought" statements do not seem to be known in either of the two ways mentioned, it would seem that there can be no moral knowledge. Two responses to this are moral skepticism and non-cognitivism."
I have no conclusions to make at this point. I'm still just making an honest effort to wrap my brain around the whole concept.
Régis said:
722 days ago
A really nice capture of the dancing. I like the way the hair are hanging in the air !
Nika said:
722 days ago
There is so much going on in this shot. The dynamic dancer is all dancer, little face. The people in the audience seem frozen and very not dynamic.. nice contrast.
Solaria said:
721 days ago
Dubious yes, because it's all based on perceptions and perspectives. (ie: Who writes the "ought" rule??)
One man's morality is another man's sin.
As far as the photo's concerned, it's a great action shot. Really like the overall tones and contrast. Looks like a lot of fun.
george.i. said:
721 days ago
To me life is like a photograph made of delicious shades of gray. The black and white approach, so to speak, leaves much to be desired. The question, "...given our knowledge of the way the world is, how can we know the way the world ought to be?" suggests that our condition prevents us from knowing, or, more importantly, recognizing truth. I see that as a logician's exercise in futility. Have you ever had a moment when you cease to be? I think we all have. That, to me, is one moment of truth. When, as J. Krishnamurti would say, the observer is the observed.
As for the shot, it's great. The onlookers make it. Would love to see more of the face of the fellow on the right bottom. Great job on the site, too. Chock full of wonderful images and compelling thoughts.
Doug said:
721 days ago
Looks like a wild time at South Beach. I like how you focused more on the onlookers than the dancer.
Regarding the philisophical question: While we know the world is really shades of gray, some really interesting observations can be made when you simplify things to just black or white, much like some striking photographical compositions can be created with a just deep black and blown-out white tones.
Ian said:
719 days ago
I definetly dig the audience. The guy in the top right is hilarious. Very funny looking men... Nice job!
dawn said:
723 days ago
The problem with Hume's hypothesis is that it makes the world into black and white with no shades of gray. Of course, that was the state of things when he was writing. It was much easier to make blanket statements that would ring true.
In the present day, I see more writers making imperatives based on morality rather than is-ought. By placing the judgment on a omniscient being, it takes the responsibility off of the writer.
And in regards to your shot, I like it. I especially think audience makes this image more entertaining.