Taussig endeavors to explore spaces where thought is able to find new pathways. He pushes the boundaries of conformity, interested in the mystery of the edge of reason. It is the going down of the sun and its rise again that confirms a world of rationality. But what if this sun were to rise no more and the entirety of our world was lit some other way. This kind of thought pattern has become more urgent in the face of climate change. As we begin to discuss the change in weather patterns, so too are thoughts of our modal comprehension surfacing. Taussig argues that it is only through the liminal space of falling asleep and waking up that we are able to find ways of theorizing the relationship of our mood with our world.
Taussig tries to theorize our relationship to our world using reason and rationality to counter the mystery of their peripheries. The physical changes in and around our world inform our sense of being alive. This sense of living is arguably more apparent with the erratic changes in weather patterns. It is almost as if climate change is returning human sensitivity to the forefront of thought. Our interconnectedness with our Earth is apparent, once again, following the days of Copernicus who argued the Earth wasn’t actually the centre of the universe. This interconnectedness was lost in the facade of modernity and the mask of language, only to resurface in erratic seasonal change.
Our mood’s relationship to the sun’s movements is determined by pure reason but is manipulated through climate change. The setting of the sun is a ritualized practice opening the space for sublime thought. It is also associated with sadness as the darkness of the night approaches. Taussig makes note of the preemptive measure of “happy hour” in bars to counteract the sadness of the sun’s passing. The nature of walking at sunset captures the beauty and despair of colour and time lost. Now the heart of darkness approaches.
The late afternoon threshold, the sublime threshold and the falling asleep and waking threshold are all boundaries with no definitive edge. The space between its boundary and its edge in unknowable in the body conscious but is comprehensible in the bodily unconscious. The liminal spaces of these thresholds are the key to new pathways of thought. We are opened to these spaces at every evening, except in the case of the insomniac, and the preparation for thought is already in place. The brushing of teeth, the change of attire and the routine of “going to bed” beckons another world.
One final remark, Taussig grapples with the limited discussion on the liminal space of the threshold. He cannot understand why we don’t wonder more about the dialectical image – the space where dreams are real thoughts. Perhaps it is the limit of language that prevents us.
very thoughtful reply to the talk, some nice writing here too, which Mick would love... but your discussion doesn't deal with the 'our' which Mick brackets by engaging with an ethnographic perspective... the way he describes some Colombian communities sitting up all night to inhabit the 'liminal'... - CR+
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