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Your friend might be a reductionist or a deconstructivist, or simply like
to build things from other things. <br><br>
But isn't life a matter of taking what is around us, or what we pay
attention to, and making our own connections and then calling it
art? Nothing wrong with that at all.<br><br>
Natasha<br><br>
At 12:16 PM 10/16/04 +0100, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Well, perhaps my mind is still in
the twentieth<br>
century. In one sense I'm a conservative, in that my<br>
reference point is the past. <br>
Incidentally a post-modernist student told me culture<br>
is a construct-- is that so?<br>
<br>
> Clumping all of culture together reduces the ability<br>
> of systems to adjust <br>
> to change. There is no typical product of our<br>
> culture because you are <br>
> including "our" into the concept, which means that<br>
> you are including all <br>
> aspects of culture and the social, technological,<br>
> environmental, economic <br>
> and political drivers and trends. Including all<br>
> aspects would include, not <br>
> exclude, the trends that drive change, intentional<br>
> or not, and set the <br>
> standard for cultural branding. One very<br>
> significant aspect of this <br>
> branding is how women are perceived. Women are not<br>
> perceived as dumb for <br>
> gain, whether it be sexual gain, professional gain,<br>
> monetary gain, or <br>
> social gain.<br>
> <br>
> Taking a 20th century neg-concept is of little value<br>
> in our <br>
> culture. Society is one thing, culture is another. <br>
> Society may want to <br>
> view women as dumb so that it can foster the vicious<br>
> cycle of male <br>
> dominance, but culture does not see it that way. <br>
> Culture works as a <br>
> catalyst to make social changes, and one of the<br>
> prime catalytic trends is <br>
> releasing women from the labels which are highly<br>
> damaging.<br>
> <br>
> Women are actively encouraged to be smart, get an<br>
> education, reduce <br>
> pregnancies, and become self-reliance. In the past<br>
> 100 years, women have <br>
> made enormous strides to ride themselves, ourselves,<br>
> of the chains of <br>
> slavery and suppression.<br>
> <br>
> Our culture wants women to excel.<br>
> <br>
> Natasha<br>
> <br>
> <br>
> Natasha Vita-More<br>
>
<a href="http://www.natasha.cc/" eudora="autourl">http://www.natasha.cc</a><br>
> ----------<br>
> President, Extropy Institute
<a href="http://www.extropy.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.extropy.org</a><br>
> Founder, Transhumanist Arts & Culture <br>
>
<a href="http://www.transhumanist.biz/" eudora="autourl">http://www.transhumanist.biz</a><br>
>
<a href="http://www.transhuman.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.transhuman.org</a><br>
> > _______________________________________________<br>
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> <br><br>
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<dl>
<dd><font face="Viner Hand ITC" size=4 color="#000080">Natasha
Vita-More</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" color="#0000FF">
<dd><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/" eudora="autourl">http://www.natasha.cc</a><hr>
</font>
<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times">President, Extropy
Institute
<a href="http://www.extropy.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.extropy.org</a>
<dd>Founder, Transhumanist Arts & Culture
<a href="http://www.transhumanist.biz/" eudora="autourl">http://www.transhumanist.biz</a></font>
<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times"><a href="http://www.transhuman.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.transhuman.org</a>
</font>
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