Ken Dobson's Queer Ruminations from Thailand
Search this site
  • Life in Thailand
  • Queer Issues in Thailand
  • Queer Christian Issues
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Stories

Therefore I Am

6/22/2013

0 Comments

 
Renee Descartes revolutionized philosophical discourse (with a lot of help) with his reformation of the basic proposition of epistemology (the study of how we know).  His dictum was Cogito ergo sum, “I think, therefore I am.”  That concise aphorism raises a host of possibilities for introspection.

Being young, gay and not at all philosophical, one guy I know insists, “I f---, therefore I am.”  He has identified the focus of his nights, anyhow.

A mother of 3 young teenagers comments, “I drive, therefore I am.”  She thinks her kids really only notice her when they need to go somewhere.

These days I would have to admit that “I write, therefore I am.”  My septuagenarian days are divided unevenly between family-friends, lingering work for Payap University, and writing.

All this week I have been putting together a paper on “continuity,” which is a philosophical topic of importance to such issues as abortion and euthanasia, but also Christian-Jewish-Islamic relations, and Christian theology.  I don’t expect to make an impact on these critical issues, because I have no prospects of getting the fruits of my labors before those who lead in these matters – if there are any leaders.  I am not writing to make a difference, or even to sort out “continuity” for my own satisfaction and benefit.  

I have been wondering, in fact, why I am so committed to this project, spending 8 to 10 hours a day on it, checking and rechecking facts (constantly grateful for the Internet since no library is close).

My best answer is that I write to exist, to be.

This writing I do doesn’t validate me (I am valid apart from what I do), nor legitimize me (I cannot display my writing to prove I am who I think I am – although that is closer), nor extend my existence (I am not, I think, searching for some form of immortality this way).  I have come to realize that one thing that happens when I write is that I become involved, caught up, and mentally transported into a new context.

This same thing happens when I read “Harry Potter”, which is why I have read all 7 volumes several times.  When I write I am living a fantasy life.  But I don’t write to escape.  I don’t need to “escape”, although “augment” would work for me to an extent.  Many people my age and stage are doing things to fill in space in life that used to be full of some other configuration of work and relationships.

How would you fill in the blank, “I _________, therefore I am”?

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Rev. Dr. Kenneth Dobson posts his weekly reflections on this blog. 

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2023 Rev. Dr. Kenneth Dobson