Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Sept 19, 2014 23:53:16 GMT -5
The first time I heard this term being used was in the context of somebody saying that the liberal arts is not worth investing in. (Which by the way, as a humanities student, I think is a completely bogus argument, because philosophy is the foundation for everything. Entire social systems are built on philosophy, for instance the idea that freedom of speech/expression is a fundamental right, which leads educational practices to be designed a certain way, and allows practices of voting, argumentation, drawing political cartoons, uploading Youtube videos etc. to emerge. Without that philosophical foundation, none of this could exist. Even hard scientists who work on, say, figuring out a potential cure for a disease, have to get their funding from governments and organizations, and then be able to communicate their findings to people outside of their field so that medicines can be manufactured, doctors can be trained, and people are able to incorporate medical check-ups and what-not into their daily lives. Same goes for people who want to build a bridge or start a company; they have to be able to navigate the social system. And if you look back at human history, there are philosophies that work, and philosophies that don't work, so it is important to remember for instance that entire societies used to believe in Communism, and try to understand why that was and why the Communist experiment failed. Practices of intelligent reflection, critique, and inquiry are what the liberal arts is all about, and it scares me to think that there are actually people who believe this whole method of inquiry is not worth engaging in.)
So here are some definitions from Merriam-Webster:
navel-gazing
omphaloskepsis
^ The second one surprised me. I hadn't known that there actually is a practice of literally gazing at your navel. Though, now that I'm aware the practice exists, it seems to me that the people who use the word "omphaloskepsis" in a mean/disrespectful way are kind of missing the point. Regardless of what you literally do with your body to get to a state of meditation/prayer, be it chanting words, making gestures with your hands, or gazing at your navel, the focus is not on the lip-moving, vocal-chord vibrating, navel-gazing or whatever, it's just a way of relaxing your mind and getting you to that state.
Anyway. There's also a TV Tropes article about "navel-gazing":
Here are some of my thoughts: Those people who use the term "navel-gazing" in that mean-joke kind of way, do they not reflect on their personal experiences? Because how can you live ethically in a society without reflecting on your life, thinking about the mistakes you've made, thinking for instance, "Okay. This situation affected me emotionally in this way. Why did I react like that? What can I do to avoid behaving like that in the future?" Is this kind of reflective process not important?
I mean, I get that if you're spending 10 hours a day meditating or praying or writing in your diary or whatever, then obviously it's excessive, but it seems to me that that's more of a practical question of time-management and prioritization of responsibilities, than a question of the practice of introspection being somehow wrong or meaningless in the first place.
What do you think?
So here are some definitions from Merriam-Webster:
navel-gazing
the activity of thinking too much or too deeply about yourself, your experiences, your feelings, etc.
omphaloskepsis
contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation
^ The second one surprised me. I hadn't known that there actually is a practice of literally gazing at your navel. Though, now that I'm aware the practice exists, it seems to me that the people who use the word "omphaloskepsis" in a mean/disrespectful way are kind of missing the point. Regardless of what you literally do with your body to get to a state of meditation/prayer, be it chanting words, making gestures with your hands, or gazing at your navel, the focus is not on the lip-moving, vocal-chord vibrating, navel-gazing or whatever, it's just a way of relaxing your mind and getting you to that state.
Anyway. There's also a TV Tropes article about "navel-gazing":
The Warden: What did you want to talk about, Alistair?
Morrigan: His navel, it seems. He's certainly been contemplating it enough.
— Dragon Age: Origins
Omphaloskepsis. A type of meditation where one stares at one's navel. Navel-gazing has come to mean anyone being extremely introspective or existential.
When contemplating his or her navel, a character will sit quietly and contemplate the purpose of Life, the Universe, and Everything. In visual media, this can be accompanied by surreal visuals (sometimes an excuse to recycle material from previous episodes). In written media, this can involve long, usually internal monologues.
Depending on the show, this can be thematically appropriate or a pause in the action. When used as padding, and if little thought is put into them, these scenes can be annoying — the poor viewers may find themselves sitting through five minutes of "Who am I? Who is me? I is me, but you is not me. The universe is not real to me, unless it is real to you, but who is you? Who is..." and so on against a Clip Show background. Depending on the delivery, it can be really creepy.
When a character does a voice-over of the same nature during the series, it's called a Fauxlosophic Narration.
When the moment becomes significant as an energizing, self-motivating speech, it is a "World of Cardboard" Speech. When a character frequently indulges in navel contemplating, said character is The Philosopher.
Compare with Character Filibuster. And compare with Author Filibuster, where the character is giving answers instead of questions.
Morrigan: His navel, it seems. He's certainly been contemplating it enough.
— Dragon Age: Origins
Omphaloskepsis. A type of meditation where one stares at one's navel. Navel-gazing has come to mean anyone being extremely introspective or existential.
When contemplating his or her navel, a character will sit quietly and contemplate the purpose of Life, the Universe, and Everything. In visual media, this can be accompanied by surreal visuals (sometimes an excuse to recycle material from previous episodes). In written media, this can involve long, usually internal monologues.
Depending on the show, this can be thematically appropriate or a pause in the action. When used as padding, and if little thought is put into them, these scenes can be annoying — the poor viewers may find themselves sitting through five minutes of "Who am I? Who is me? I is me, but you is not me. The universe is not real to me, unless it is real to you, but who is you? Who is..." and so on against a Clip Show background. Depending on the delivery, it can be really creepy.
When a character does a voice-over of the same nature during the series, it's called a Fauxlosophic Narration.
When the moment becomes significant as an energizing, self-motivating speech, it is a "World of Cardboard" Speech. When a character frequently indulges in navel contemplating, said character is The Philosopher.
Compare with Character Filibuster. And compare with Author Filibuster, where the character is giving answers instead of questions.
Here are some of my thoughts: Those people who use the term "navel-gazing" in that mean-joke kind of way, do they not reflect on their personal experiences? Because how can you live ethically in a society without reflecting on your life, thinking about the mistakes you've made, thinking for instance, "Okay. This situation affected me emotionally in this way. Why did I react like that? What can I do to avoid behaving like that in the future?" Is this kind of reflective process not important?
I mean, I get that if you're spending 10 hours a day meditating or praying or writing in your diary or whatever, then obviously it's excessive, but it seems to me that that's more of a practical question of time-management and prioritization of responsibilities, than a question of the practice of introspection being somehow wrong or meaningless in the first place.
What do you think?
