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And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again? Archilochus

Sunday, March 2, 2014

SuperEgo Excesses... Obscene or Not?

from Wikipedia
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time.[1] It is derived from the Latin obscaena (offstage) a cognate of the Ancient Greek root skene, because some potentially offensive content, such as murder or sex, was depicted offstage in classical drama. The word can be used to indicate a strong moral repugnance, in expressions such as "obscene profits" or "the obscenity of war".

5 comments:

WomanHonorThyself said...

I shall refrain from sharing what is in my well of creativity about censorship..lol..hope alls well FJ~!

FreeThinke said...

"Normal" is whatever the majority of a given group of individuals believe it to be.

The same may be said for obscenity, blasphemy, heresy, nonconformity, etc.

Man made standards -- the product of individual cultures, that may or may not be based on clearly identifiable ethnic traits, tastes and predilections -- do not hold up when challenged by committed intellectual aggression.

HOWEVER, the standards based on ultimate Truth, Love and Principle -- i.e. the nearly-universal proscription of murder, theft, rape, kidnapping, vandalism, and extortion -- remain deeply embedded in the human psyche. Those basic standards of decency are all that separate us from brute savagery and The Law of the Jungle.

Thersites said...

I think what Zizek is saying is that "real" obscenity lies not in blurting out a societally proscribed word in defiance of authority... but the reverse, the authorities disobeying their own laws in order to enforce the "intent", but perhaps not the "letter" of their own proscriptions.

In other words, Obama's selective enforce3ment of immigration laws, Obamacare, "Don't ask, don't tell", etc., his "Prosecutorial discretions" are the real "obscenities".

Thersites said...

"These" prosecutorial discretions are what I term "Superego excesses" in the thread title, as far as "Law" represents expressed societal "superego".

FreeThinke said...

I understand and concur, Thersites, but i gotta tell you -- the hideous NOISE in that "hideo-video" qualifies as obscene by MY personal standards and understanding of reality.

HOW could you STAND it?

Electrinic instruments are EVIL.