| I think it was a great story. I reread it because of this post.
Or, did I not ever really reread it because I only have the memory of the thing and not the thing itself? Is my recollection of reading the story only a fabrication in my mind? Why can't we have physical proof of its reality? Wouldn't it be better, though, if we could have "mental proof" that we could carry with us? Do things that don't have immediate physical impact on us have any reality? Or do they have reality but we can't verify it without the physical proof? IF this is possible, is it the case that a dependence on physical evidence in the moment a guarantee that we can never know anything with any sense of continueation or permanance?
Is it possible that there really is nothing outside the self? That everything is a fabrication, unreal, self-generated as idea only? Do these kinds of questions lead, necessarily, to solipsism?
Does the void of space cause us, necessarily, to become philosophically introspective to the point that we will go insane if we continue to ask these kinds of questions? Do these kinds of questions have any validity? Is there any merit to philosophical speculation? Can these kinds of questions be answered, and if so, how would we know they were answered?
If we "know" something at one point in time, can we not-know it at another? Was it really true then, or is only the immediate moment true/real?
I find the story fascinating as it poses all these questions within the context of a man's struggle to find meaning and validity in the void of space. He is directly drawn to space because of that very void that plagues him.
In the immersion/bradbury cited above by elron, the author says the story's theme is about the nature of reality. I think there is some element of that, but my own view is that it is about the nature of knowledge. Metaphysics is the philosophical study of the nature of reality, while Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge, knowledge claims and verifiability. My own reading of the story makes it much more focused on epistemological issues than metaphysical issues.
The tie to Hemingway is clear. The passage where every feeling, touch, smell, taste, is recorded is pure Hemingway. Which came first? Bradbury is clear and constistent in citing Hemingway as one of his favorite authors.
Great story!!
[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 11-07-2004).] |
