http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yrhfc
By George Buchner. Translated by Gregory Motton.
Franz Woyzeck, a lowly soldier stationed in a provincial German town, is the father of an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie. He earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for his captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the regimental doctor. But then an act of betrayal shatters his brittle life. Written in 1837 but not performed until the early twentieth century, this shard-like unfinished play is now recognised as a major work, perhaps the first modern play, in that it argues that our lives are determined by social circumstance.
interesting eh !
our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
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JasonPalmer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 7:10 pm
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
hi Jason, that looks interesting and am going to listen to it later on today. i think it was 2 nights ago, i was reading a bit about Zola online because the author of a book i'm currently reading is said to have been very influenced by Zola.. so i checked into him a little bit. there is a section on this wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola that got into determinism and free will which your recent post just reminded me of which also relates to the realist and naturalist movements that Zola took part in.
what i found interesting is this word "innéité" found in this paragraph about his optimistic side.. "The optimist is that other face of the scientific experimenter, the man with an unshakable belief in human progress. Zola bases his optimism on innéité and on the supposed capacity of the human race to make progress in a moral sense.
Innéité is defined by Zola as that process in which “se confondent les caractères physiques et moraux des parents, sans que rien d'eux semble s’y retrouver”;[14] it is the term used in biology to describe the process whereby the moral and temperamental dispositions of some individuals are unaffected by the hereditary transmission of genetic characteristics. Jean Macquart and Pascal Rougon are two instances of individuals liberated from the blemishes of their ancestors by the operation of the process of innéité."
the above came from the following section:
"Zola's optimism
In Zola there is the theorist and the imaginative writer, the poet, the scientist and the optimist.
The poet is the artist in words whose writing, as in the racecourse scene in Nana or in the descriptions of the laundry in L'Assommoir or in many passages of La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, Le Ventre de Paris and La Curée, vies with the colourful impressionistic techniques of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The scientist is the believer in some measure of scientific determinism – not that this, despite his own words “dépourvus de libre arbitre”,[12] need always amount to a philosophical denial of free will. The creator of “la littérature putride”, a term of abuse invented by an early critic of Thérèse Raquin (a novel which predates Les Rougon-Macquart series), emphasizes the squalid aspects of the human environment and upon the seamy side of human nature.[13]
The optimist is that other face of the scientific experimenter, the man with an unshakable belief in human progress. Zola bases his optimism on innéité and on the supposed capacity of the human race to make progress in a moral sense. Innéité is defined by Zola as that process in which “se confondent les caractères physiques et moraux des parents, sans que rien d'eux semble s’y retrouver”;[14] it is the term used in biology to describe the process whereby the moral and temperamental dispositions of some individuals are unaffected by the hereditary transmission of genetic characteristics. Jean Macquart and Pascal Rougon are two instances of individuals liberated from the blemishes of their ancestors by the operation of the process of innéité.
Evident in Le Docteur Pascal, and again in Fécondité (which is not part of the Rougon-Macquart series), is Zola's conviction that as scientific research makes progress step by step and from generation to generation, so by slow degrees but in a similarly steadfast manner the moral progress of the human race will be achieved as the environmental faults of particular societies are swept away, as (through innéité) the hereditary failings of particular families are overcome and as on a universal scale – in novels beyond the framework of the Rougon-Macquart series – humanity unites in brotherhood."
what i found interesting is this word "innéité" found in this paragraph about his optimistic side.. "The optimist is that other face of the scientific experimenter, the man with an unshakable belief in human progress. Zola bases his optimism on innéité and on the supposed capacity of the human race to make progress in a moral sense.
Innéité is defined by Zola as that process in which “se confondent les caractères physiques et moraux des parents, sans que rien d'eux semble s’y retrouver”;[14] it is the term used in biology to describe the process whereby the moral and temperamental dispositions of some individuals are unaffected by the hereditary transmission of genetic characteristics. Jean Macquart and Pascal Rougon are two instances of individuals liberated from the blemishes of their ancestors by the operation of the process of innéité."
the above came from the following section:
"Zola's optimism
In Zola there is the theorist and the imaginative writer, the poet, the scientist and the optimist.
The poet is the artist in words whose writing, as in the racecourse scene in Nana or in the descriptions of the laundry in L'Assommoir or in many passages of La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, Le Ventre de Paris and La Curée, vies with the colourful impressionistic techniques of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The scientist is the believer in some measure of scientific determinism – not that this, despite his own words “dépourvus de libre arbitre”,[12] need always amount to a philosophical denial of free will. The creator of “la littérature putride”, a term of abuse invented by an early critic of Thérèse Raquin (a novel which predates Les Rougon-Macquart series), emphasizes the squalid aspects of the human environment and upon the seamy side of human nature.[13]
The optimist is that other face of the scientific experimenter, the man with an unshakable belief in human progress. Zola bases his optimism on innéité and on the supposed capacity of the human race to make progress in a moral sense. Innéité is defined by Zola as that process in which “se confondent les caractères physiques et moraux des parents, sans que rien d'eux semble s’y retrouver”;[14] it is the term used in biology to describe the process whereby the moral and temperamental dispositions of some individuals are unaffected by the hereditary transmission of genetic characteristics. Jean Macquart and Pascal Rougon are two instances of individuals liberated from the blemishes of their ancestors by the operation of the process of innéité.
Evident in Le Docteur Pascal, and again in Fécondité (which is not part of the Rougon-Macquart series), is Zola's conviction that as scientific research makes progress step by step and from generation to generation, so by slow degrees but in a similarly steadfast manner the moral progress of the human race will be achieved as the environmental faults of particular societies are swept away, as (through innéité) the hereditary failings of particular families are overcome and as on a universal scale – in novels beyond the framework of the Rougon-Macquart series – humanity unites in brotherhood."
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
"Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Naturalism is the outgrowth of literary realism, a prominent literary movement in mid-19th-century France and elsewhere. Naturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.[1] They believed that one's heredity and social environment largely determine one's character. Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces (e.g. the environment or heredity) influencing the actions of its subjects. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter; for example, Émile Zola's works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth. As a result, naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for focusing too much on human vice and misery."
the above was a section from this wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(literature) and find it relates to your topic. many feel it is so apparently, and an entire literary movement was based on it. although Zola, as i mentioned in the above post, was a part of the realist and naturalist movement, he also had an optimistic side.
the above was a section from this wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(literature) and find it relates to your topic. many feel it is so apparently, and an entire literary movement was based on it. although Zola, as i mentioned in the above post, was a part of the realist and naturalist movement, he also had an optimistic side.
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JasonPalmer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 7:10 pm
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
nice to see an intelligent response on the forum 
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
Entirely ?
We still struggle to have a say and to feel free.
Some societies tolerate more unconformist behaviour and others less.
In "Brave New World" people have to conform. Otherwise they are doomed.
Bernard Marx gets into trouble when he refuses to drug himself and to be merry all the time.
But he pretends to be normal, his instinct of self-preservation tells him so.
We still struggle to have a say and to feel free.
Some societies tolerate more unconformist behaviour and others less.
In "Brave New World" people have to conform. Otherwise they are doomed.
Bernard Marx gets into trouble when he refuses to drug himself and to be merry all the time.
But he pretends to be normal, his instinct of self-preservation tells him so.
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JasonPalmer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 7:10 pm
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
was reading brave new world, again, recently, amazingly good book !
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
Did it put you off being happy ?
If you can have either happiness or truth - beauty - the right to make one´s own decisions as an individual etc. then I would rather opt for unhappiness.
If you opt for unhappiness you can still get some moments of bliss.
If you opt for happiness you feel miserable at times and need to swallow soma in order to forget about it.
Has anyone experienced this consumerist happiness as described by Huxley ? It is very hard to imagine.
If you can have either happiness or truth - beauty - the right to make one´s own decisions as an individual etc. then I would rather opt for unhappiness.
If you opt for unhappiness you can still get some moments of bliss.
If you opt for happiness you feel miserable at times and need to swallow soma in order to forget about it.
Has anyone experienced this consumerist happiness as described by Huxley ? It is very hard to imagine.
Re: our lives are determined by social circumstance ?
Some master minds in the US have already developed techniques which are meant to condition people to be happy.
Positive thinking, Dale Carnegie, and probably lots more.
And if you slip then pharmaceuticals are available to dry your tears.
Or good old Schoki.
Positive thinking, Dale Carnegie, and probably lots more.
And if you slip then pharmaceuticals are available to dry your tears.
Or good old Schoki.