The Afterlife

[Paul Mackin]

Henry--
I don't think the person who sez "Ouspenskian nonsense" is any more reliable
than anyone else. But isn't the treatment of spiritualism AND behaviorism
highly satirical. Not cruelly so I don't mean because these and a million
other schemes that implode throughout the book are all mankind has to combat
the basic preterite state that's presented as something like the True State.
And I thought that most everyone was a preterite, without hope of salvation.
But heck, I don't know.  Sure the Pyncher would like to be able to say
something positive if he could think of anything. Very hard though.

I don't think P is an atheist. He's like me. Just doesn't understand the
question. Or an anti-spiritualist or an anti-behaviorist either. Merely
likes to send up the myriad ways invented to make sense of things. Among
other things he likes to do.
        P.

.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Musashi Miyamoto" <scuffling at hotmail.com>
To: "Pynchon List" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: The Afterlife


> Does memory serve me correctly when I remember the phrase "Ouspenskian
> nonsense?" in GR? It strikes me that there is the constant choice in GR et
> al of what to believe and disbelieve. One answer to the preterition theory
> is that all are elect and that in the largest sense there is no death.
> Unless we can trust the character (Trust the Character?!) that says
> something like "Ouspenskian nonsense," then I think we have to consider
the
> possibility that it may not in fact be nonsense to the in the eyes of the
> book. I don't find the Pynch sounding like an atheist to me. There is much
> consternation on the part of a number of reasonable (need I say to me?)
> characters in Pynch-lit with hard-headed anti-spiritualism . I, believe
that
> the Pynch stance is not anti-spiritual, but rather an that of an
unbeliever
> who "don't wanna walk and talk about Jesus; I just want to see his face."
>
> ,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_
>
> Keep Cool, but Care
> Henry Mu
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul Mackin" <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 10:52 AM
> Subject: Re: The Afterlife
>
>
> Sounds familiar but I'll bite.
>
> Yes there is lots of crackpot thinking in Gravity's Rainbow and not only
> vBraun's. Dead people not really dead. Communication across the zero.
There
> is also the more sensible theory of preterition--NOT being saved, NOT
> experiencing resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
>
>         p.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Toby G Levy" <tobylevy at juno.com>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 8:35 AM
> Subject: Re: The Afterlife
>
>
> > Whoa!  I don't want to get into "opinions of the author,"  but the
> > continuity of life after death is one of the major streams that flow
> > through GR.  And I never read anywhere that Von Braun was being cynical
> > when he wrote those words.
> >
> > What about all those seances and the Angels in the sky and Enzian's
> > debates with the nihilists (just to name a few examples)?
> >
> > Toby
> >
> > On Sat, 27 Oct 2001 Otto wrote:
> >
> > > Doug:
> > > > Does Pynchon never answer the questions he raises?
> > > > Seems to me he affirms a small set of positives again and again
> > > > in his writing:  love, community, family, respect for the Earth,
> > > > the continuity of life after death.
> > >
> > > Ah, the last point . . . is said by the cynical Wernher von Braun as
> > the
> > > opening quote of GR and I don't believe that this is meant to be  seen
> > in any
> > > way as the opinion of the author of the novel.
> >
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>
>