eric, i AM absolute spirit.

my uncle eric posted a nice reply to my suggestion that he do less german philosophy. i owe him a response.

you claim that you have entered into a masochistic contract with UIC. if you read your deleuze (and sacher-masoch) a little more carefully I think you will find that you are not in a masochistic relationship with UIC, which would imply that you will ultimately derive pleasure (though not gratification) from your pain and in which, in sublimating your own desire, you also derive a form of power. rather, i believe you have entered a sadistic relationship in which your pain benefits only the sadist. therefore, i would suggest reading hegel's pupil marx. you could use a little materialist philosophy. i myself refuse to allow my labor to be exploited. therefore, i do no labor. it is my contribution to class warfare.

also, you quote this passage from hegel:

"Even the animals are not shut out from this wisdom [the wisdom of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which teach humans to "doubt the being of sensuous things"] but, on the contrary, show themselves to be most profoundly initiated into it; for they do not just stand idly in front of sensuous things as if these possessed intrinsic being, but, despairing of their reality, and completely assured of their nothingness, they fall to without ceremony and eat them up."

since i have nothing to do all day but watch animal planet and try to get snacks off the pantry shelves, i'd like to check this out for myself. where does this passage appear? i am a fan of any philosophy that advocates eating things up, though i am skeptical of anyone who makes claims on behalf of animals. you naked apes and your anthropomorphism. after all, what are you if not animals? i wonder if he felt a little silly imagining animals despairing of their reality and assured of their nothingness? for all your doubt and skepticism you seem pretty comfortable making universal claims for the whole of living beings, not just all your naked ape friends. chutzpah. too much time around goddam cats if you ask me.

perhaps your cure, eric, is less german philosophy, more german living. beer and brats. eat them up.