Current mood:

missing you

while reading up on neitzche
i read:
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Apollonian and Dionysian are terms used by Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy to designate the two central principles in Greek culture. The Apollonian, which corresponds to Schopenhauer's principium individuationis ("principle of individuation"), is the basis of all analytic distinctions. Everything that is part of the unique individuality of man or thing is Apollonian in character; all types of form or structure are Apollonian, since form serves to define or individualize that which is formed; thus, sculpture is the most Apollonian of the arts, since it relies entirely on form for its effect. Rational thought is also Apollonian since it is structured and makes distinctions.

The Dionysian, which corresponds roughly to Schopenhauer's conception of Will, is directly opposed to the Apollonian. Drunkenness and madness are Dionysian because they break down a man's individual character; all forms of enthusiasm and ecstasy are Dionysian, for in such states man gives up his individuality and submerges himself in a greater whole: music is the most Dionysian of the arts, since it appeals directly to man's instinctive, chaotic emotions and not to his formally reasoning mind.
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the first part of this, the appollonianism, makes perfect sense to me, since the world is full of things that are copies, imitations, and reflections. the explaination of the dioysian here gives no way for the combination use of both hemispheres of the brain. i do understand that these terms are used to describe greek culture, but nevertheless it makes me wonder if there since has been a term defined for the current, what i like to call, androginous culture of today. for instance, the example given here says that music is the most dioysian of the arts because of its chaoticness, but music such as classical, techno, and industrial include very articulated forms that can even sometimes resemble that of mathmatical terms, which are defintately not dioysian by these terms.