Slog - Comments on Chatter

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:38:26 -0800

Or if he'd known about blogs.

Comment by Dougsf

Dougsf — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:56:07 -0800

Martin Heidegger kinda sounds like he sucks. Then again, I'm not sure most Germans are fans of small talk. Conversation with German (and Austrian, for some reason) friends always seem to go from ZERO to HOW THE FUCK DID WE GET ON THIS TOP? in about 2 sentences.

My French, Spanish, and Mexican friends never seem to have this problem.

Comment by holz

holz — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:59:16 -0800

much as i loathe america chatter, but don't mind it when i'm travelling through germany or der schweiz.

beides american chatter is banal and lame as fuck

Comment by FooFootheSnoo

FooFootheSnoo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:05:48 -0800

Dougsf, let me assure you that Heidegger doesn't suck. He's AWESOME. It's just that his beef with idle talk sounds draconian mainly because it's out of context

Heidegger also had beef with curiosity, which at first glance is like, WTF?

The point I get from that part of Heidegger is that when we get caught up in gossip or being a tourist so we can go see things just 'cause, like, we wanna, we tend to give up our capacity for critical thinking. That is, we become so caught up in what "one" should think or see or feel or care about that we cease to see the world as it is.

Comment by Mr. T

Mr. T — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:15:28 -0800

But did Heidegger the Nazi also respect the fascists of Italy, for how they tried to put the idle to work or to death?

Comment by Dougsf

Dougsf — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:17:06 -0800

I should rephrase then to say, "Charles makes Heidegger sound like he sucks."

I see the point as you described it. While I can't defend the topics of idle conversation, idle talk with others can serve an important function, since we're not allowed to sniff eachother's butts.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:20:07 -0800

If you go to the Italian city of Sirmione, an island castle on Lake Garda, you'll find most of the chatter is German tourists.

Bella tourista, ciao!

Comment by SeMe

SeMe — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:35:32 -0800

Che cazzo dice Mudede???

The chatter in Rome is mostly tourists and those that cater to them.

Comment by Mr. Poe

Mr. Poe — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:17:21 -0800

Rome fucking sucks.

Comment by unPC

unPC — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:37:14 -0800

Ah-ha.

1. Idle chatter bad.
2. Worse: chatter about chatter.
3. The ne plus ultra: Slogging about chatter about chatter ...

Discuss.

Comment by S. M.

S. M. — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:51:07 -0800

The Germans have always been way too serious for their own good.

Also, let's not confuse "most famous" with most important or most relevant.

Comment by Abby

Abby — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:36:06 -0800

The Germans aren't all serious, S.M. They like it when people fall down. It's hilarious apparently.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:04:45 -0800

That and sex farces, Abby. Not sure why.

Comment by ellarosa

ellarosa — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:03:12 -0800

rome rocks. just keep your money close to your body. and walk quickly away from middle-aged men who try to grope you. otherwise, fantastic.

Comment by mintygreen

mintygreen — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:50:30 -0800

whatever, europeans in general are the masters of small talk, especially weather. I've never said/heard "it's cold, heh?" in all my life in the u.s. as I do living in Europe.

Comment by BigB

BigB — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:04:04 -0800

According to Heidegger idle chatter is one of the hallmarks of inauthenticity. His fear was that this would become our primary mode of communication. It appears that Charles was seduced by the aesthetics of Italian chatter without realizing that the nature of the conversations he was overhearing likely revolved around the crumbling economy and poor leadership in that country. When idle chatter inhibits genuine dialogue/action it can be deleterious. In any case, the whole notion of authenticity is dualist and elitist rubbish and one of the reasons that existentialism sometimes gets a bad rap.