What would Buddha do?

About the solutions for problems of self representation

13 mrt 2008
13 mrt 2008

This evening Dr. Dorothea Franck tried to seek deeper answers, using a philosophic and Buddhist perspective. In the field of self representation, she deals with the gap between self perception from the outside and from the inside.

On this night she asked which aspects of self representation can be influenced and which cannot - and how to deal with the intrinsic limits of control. Self representation presupposes self-knowledge. But self-knowledge cannot be taken for granted, it is the most precarious kind of knowledge we have. Because of its fickle nature we tend to rely heavily on the feed-back of others, to fill in our blind spot. This dependency can become addictive.

Vergroot

namjunepaik at Mediamatic - @ What would Buddha do?

The best business is done - and the best art is created - , based on unfulfillable wishes. Such a wish is for instance having control over what you look like and the way you are perceived by other people. The cosmetic industry profits from this. Self portraits also deal with the question: How do I look?

The presentation

Dr. Dorothea Franck, one of the co-initiators of the Buddhist Broadcasting Organization "Boeddhistische omroep", spoke about self representation in the fields of philosophy, art, communication and the social aspects of human emotion.

She previously lectured at the ARS Electronica Festival, about virtual reality and its impact of this on emotions and behavior.

More about Dorothea Frank

Dorothea Frank, Born 1948. 1972 M.A. in theoretical linguistics at the University of Constance. Additional studies: Linguistic philosophy, psycholinguistics, anthropology. 1979 doctor's degree (Dr.phil.) in general linguistics. Lecturer on stylistics and rhetoric at Amsterdam University since 1977. Research work focuses on: semantics (theory of presupposition), pragmatics/ analysis of interaction and conversation. Lately topics in the bordering areas of linguistic philosophy, science and arts.