Posted
on June 13, 2016
According
to Leon Chwistek, there are four kinds of reality:
First,
there is popular reality...also known as common sense. The sun comes
up in the east and sets in the west – everyone knows that!
Second
is physical reality...this is what we know from physics. For example,
the Earth's rotation on its axis makes it seem as if the sun “comes
up” and “goes down”...but the reality is that our planet is
spinning around as it moves around the Sun.
Third,
we have phenomenal reality...this is the impressions we get from our
senses. For example, the nighttime sky gets steadily lighter, and
there is a brightness in the sky on one particular spot on the
eastern horizon. Clouds are rimmed with gold, and everything seems to
be hushed in expectation. And then, suddenly, the sun flashes into
the sky, quickly climbing onto and then above the horizon. And the
birds begin to sing.
Fourth,
and last, there is visionary reality...this is what we think we know
from dreams, religious revelation, hallucinations. For example, you
could dream that each day there was a brand new sun, rising dripping
gold from waters surrounding the world, and plunging to its death at
night.
Did
Chwistek think that all of these kinds of reality were
equally...real? Probably not. This Polish man, born on this date in
1884, was a university professor of logic, and he explored the
philosophy of science as well as mathematics.
But he was also an
avant-garde painter and a critic of literature and art.
And his four
types of reality mapped onto four types of painting:
1-
Primitivism
 |
| Henri Rousseau, In a Tropical Forest Combat of a Tiger and a Buffalo |
2-
Realism
 |
| Jules Breton, The Song of the Lark |
3-
Impressionism
 |
| Berthe Morisot, The Cradle |
4-
Futurism
 |
| Umberto Boccioni, Elasticity |
In
other aspects of his all his various sorts of work, Chwistek defended
common sense and physical reality over the claims of metaphysics and
religions. To point out that people use the word “real” and
“reality” in these various ways doesn't mean that all of these
things ARE real!
Here
are a few of my favorite Chwistek pieces:
 |
| Boat |
 |
| City Factory |
 |
| City |
 |
| Fencing |
It's unusual to have a mathematician / logician / philosopher
who is also a painter / art theorist!
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on this date:
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