A Philosopher’s Guide to Stonehenge, and beyond

A Philosopher’s Guide to Stonehenge, and beyond.

John Piper’s Stonehenge (1981)

Jeremy Deller: Sacrilege

Time, history and progress.Time Beginning of time ………… Now………. End of time

History

Events, causes and effects , or HISTORY as MYSTERY Past……………..Present……………………………Future

Progress Humanitarian progress and Technological progressPast……………..Present……………………………Future

My argument.

• Philosophical principles for looking at History: Marx, Walter Benjamin, John Gray.

• Use Stonehenge (long history) and Imperial War Museum (short history) as topics for discussion.

Key questions as follows:• The nature of history, cause and effect or history as mystery

?• Has mankind made any progress since Stonehenge or

ever ?• If no progress then what do we do , how do we behave,

what do we believe in, where is meaning?

Some of the people we are going to meet.

• The Amesbury archer• Prof Mike Parker Pearson of the Stonehenge Riverside Project• The Wetwang Queen and her water mirror• Karl Marx• Walter Benjamin, the mystic Marxist• Hannah Hoch, Dada artist• Professor John Gray and his Straw Dogs• JG Ballard and the Shopping Centre from Hell.• The Little Boy at the Imperial War Museum• The good burgers of Cookham• The philosopher of the Bouncy Castle.

Mike Parker Pearson, The Riverside Project.

Amesbury Archer

Stonehenge: Land of living, land of the Dead.

Life and death, feasting,

Conclusions re Stonehenge• Is interpretation subjective ?• Is scientific analysis the servant of the subjective

hypothesis?• Movement from Neolithic to bronze age , about

technology of war (and jewellery)?• How do we view?• Progress in better weaponry, and a more

itinerant society?• The journey from Life to Death.• Ways of looking at History, science and mystery.• Post processual archaeology.

“Queen’s” Chariot burial mirrorMirror

How would Marx view prehistory ?

• Dialectical materialism (thesis, antithesis, synthesis: progress in history).

• Farming (Neolithic) followed by conquest and territorialism, chiefs etc (Bronze age and Iron age, followed by conquests (Roman Britain and end of prehistory).

• But it is all progress, isn’t it ?


History



Walter Benjamin, 1892-1940

An alternative concept of history and progress (the everlasting now)

• Walter Benjamin: Messianic Time.• “The concept of history”• History is not a series of causes and effects (not materialist).• It is a flowing stream of “nows” (nunc stans, the everlasting

now) , also in the past.• As such Marxist analysis leads to a simplification of history,

and this simplification leads to rationalist concepts of progress, which lead to war.

• The alternative is the lightning strike of time in the present. (Jetztzeit). See John Piper’s Stonehenge.

• This is messianic time.• This contrasts with Hannah Arendt’s political analysis of evil.

Paul Klee, Angelus Novus,

Walter Benjamin, On the concept of history.

Hannah Hoch: Photo Montage

Time, History, Progress, • Stonehenge: prehistoric warfare, power,

science astronomy, models of interpretation, objets trouves.

• Models of history, Marx dialetics.• Benjamin Marxist mystic, messianic now time.• John Grey. A view from today.


History



John Gray picture

John Gray’s model of history

• No progress as people always the same and human beings are fundamentally unreasonable.

• Myth supports ability to hold contradictions, eg flying saucers.

• Need outsiders eg J.G. Ballard, to see things as they really are (Kingdom Come). William Blake’s Jerusalem.

• Paradox of progress with technology, but no progress with human reason (archaeology of Stonehenge supports this view).

Humans are like animals according to John Gray

Time, history, progress

• Stonehenge, the archaeologist’s view• Marx’ view of history.• Now time, not linear history or progress• Straw dogs (no humanitarian progress, only

technological).

The Imperial War Museum. The dilemma of presenting historical progress.

Little Boy Atom Bomb at ImperialWar Museum,

The causes and effects of war.

Casement boat

Imperial war museum: Progress or dissonance ?

• Museum as Now Time (Jetztzeit)• Blinding lightning flash of insight• Fragmentary consciousness• Objects ripped from their original context• Objects with multiple references and meanings• Memorial to heroism• Memorial to irrationalism• Memorial to death of progress• Dissonant exposition of exhibition

Imperial War Museum: dissonant, fragmentation

Oh dear , what shall we do next if John Gray is right ?• Go political/ religious.• Become a rationalist/ logician/ humanist/liberal/scientist.• Become a guerilla gardener.OR (please tick preferred option)• Become JG Ballard and be a genius.• Join the Pinner Philosophy Society and deliver a talk on

Stonehenge.• Join Longplayer.com• Look for the Messianic in Cookham.• Follow the children onto the bouncy castle.FOR A HAPPY ENDING.

Levinas , alterity

• heaven (not hell) is other people.

• What does that look like ?

Stanley Spencer, The Resurrection, Cookham 1927

Progress , linear or Messianic

Jeremy Deller at Stonehenge

Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege

• Levanski Alterity

• Deller’s Sacrilege: anti power, democratic fun, connection between people, celebration.

• Challenges the scientific analysis of Stonehenge archaeologists

• Ironic, now time

Sacrilege


History



How I see it

• Stonehenge: a symbol of petrified power• Technological progress, rationalist stasis.• Benjamin’s Marxist mysticism

• John Gray’s Straw Dogs.

• Lets all go to Cookham with Stanley Spencer.

• Lets all bounce on the Stonehenge Bouncy Castle.

Documents

A Philosopher’s Guide to Stonehenge, and beyond