Aesthetic Realism Foundation

  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Contact
  • Directions
  • flat_facebook

Blog

“Our Two Desires”—The Right of Aesthetic Realism to Be Known #1867

January 29, 2014

Jeffrey CardunerJeffrey Carduner, Aesthetic Realism consultant, writes:

“We have two opposed hopes about people, two opposed hopes about the world.  What do these hopes have to do with whether or not we can like ourselves?  The answers are in “Our Two Desires,” the magnificent current issue of The Right of Aesthetic Realism to Be Known.

The commentary by editor Ellen Reiss begins:

Dear Unknown Friends:

The two essays by Eli Siegel published here were likely written in the late 1950s. They have that comprehension of people which is Aesthetic Realism’s alone, and which is based on this principle: “All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.”

In “Medusa Is a Nice Girl,” Mr. Siegel writes about opposites that confuse everyone: our fierceness and our tenderness. “Is Your Unconscious Your Friend?” is a definitive description of the fundamental situation within us all. The word unconscious is not so frequently used these days. Perhaps that’s because of the rather ridiculous way it was used by Freud: psychiatry’s foolish way of seeing the unconscious has somewhat tarnished the word itself. In this essay Mr. Siegel gives a beautiful and clear definition: our unconscious is “the cause of what we do, which we don’t know.”

A Comparison

An article that appeared last month in the New York Times is a means to compare the Aesthetic Realism way of seeing the self to other ways of seeing. In particular, it can be used to help place the greatness of Aesthetic Realism’s showing that contempt is the ugliest and most hurtful thing in everyone. Eli Siegel defined contempt as the “disposition in every person to think we will be for ourselves by making less of the outside world.” He is the philosopher who identified contempt as the source of all cruelty—from everyday coldness to racism, economic exploitation, war. In having contempt we think we’re taking care of ourselves, but we’re actually engaged in that which weakens ourselves, our minds, our lives. Read more

Most Viewed Posts

  • The Philosophy of Depression
  • “Alexander Calder: Art Answers the Questions of Our Lives”
  • “Is Beauty the Making One of Opposites?”
  • “Books”—an Essay for Children
  • “A Good Husband: What Does That Mean?”
  • “Man and Nature in New York and Kansas”
  • “Hawthorne’s ‘The Man of Adamant’”
  • “Ocean, Mr., Mrs. Blink”
  • “The Beauty of Art & the Pain about Love”
  • History—Defined
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • What Is Aesthetic Realism?
    • Eli Siegel, Founder
    • Faculty
    • Some Background
  • Events
    • Public Seminars
    • Theatrical & Musical Matinees
    • Saturday Night Presentations
    • Directions
  • Calendar
  • Learn
    • Classes
      • The Aesthetic Realism Explanation of Poetry
      • Anthropology Is about You & Everyone
      • “If It Moves, It Can Move You”: Opposites in the Cinema
      • The Visual Arts & the Opposites
      • The Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method
      • The Opposites in Music
      • Understanding Marriage!
    • Consultations
    • Workshops for Educators
    • Outreach
      • Art Talks
      • Architecture
      • Bullying
      • Education—Professional Development
      • Film Presentations
      • Housing: A Right
      • Prejudice & Racism
      • Seniors
      • Theatre Company
      • Young People
  • Periodical
  • Library
    • Online Library
    • Films & Videos
    • Blog
    • Lectures
      • Aesthetic Realism and Love, Introduction
      • Aesthetic Realism and Love, Part 1
      • Aesthetic Realism and Love, Part 2
      • Aesthetic Realism and Expression, Introduction by Ellen Reiss
      • Aesthetic Realism and Expression, Part 1
      • Aesthetic Realism and Expression, Part 2
      • Aesthetic Realism and Hope
      • Aesthetic Realism and Hope, Part 2
      • The Drama of Mind, Introduction
      • The Drama of Mind, Part 1
      • The Drama of Mind, Part 2
      • Aesthetic Realism and Learning, Introduction
      • Aesthetic Realism and Learning, Part 1
      • Aesthetic Realism and Learning, Part 2
      • Aesthetic Realism and Learning, Part 3
      • Map to Happiness, by Eli Siegel
    • News Archive
    • Related Resources
  • Book Store
  • Visual & Dramatic Arts
    • Terrain Gallery
    • Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company
  • En Español

Support | Contact | En Español

Aesthetic Realism Foundation    141 Greene Street   New York, NY 10012   212.777.4490

Privacy Policy | Blog Comment Policy   Copyright © 1997–2022   Aesthetic Realism Foundation

Support | Contact | En Español

Aesthetic Realism Foundation
141 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
212.777.4490

Privacy Policy

Blog Comment Policy

Copyright © 1997–2022
Aesthetic Realism Foundation

MENU
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • What Is Aesthetic Realism?
    • Eli Siegel, Founder
    • Faculty
    • Some Background
  • Events
    • Public Seminars
    • Theatrical & Musical Matinees
    • Saturday Night Presentations
    • Directions
  • Calendar
  • Learn
    • Classes
    • Consultations
    • Workshops for Educators
    • Outreach
  • Periodical
  • Library
    • Online Library
    • Films & Videos
    • Blog
    • Lectures
    • News Archive
    • Related Resources
  • Book Store
  • Visual & Dramatic Arts
    • Terrain Gallery
    • Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company
  • En Español
    • Subscribe
    • Support
    • Contact
    • Directions
    • flat_facebook