
Jorge Luis Borges Interview (1977) - cwmoore
http://www.denisdutton.com/jorge_luis_borges_interview.htm
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dmreedy
"Well, perhaps no systems are attainable, but the search for a system is very
interesting."

This is the heart of so many things that do not have easy answers, especially
philosophy. I see the field dismissed frequently as an exercise in the
generation of hot air, but there is so much value to be had in the act of the
search, even if the destination is unclear, or even unreachable. The process
of description is simultaneously a process of understanding, and while the
ongoing philosophical dialectic may not find an answer, it has presented so
many ways to possibly represent things such that the answer becomes apparent.
Or at the very least, such that it is apparent that some given system cannot
contain the answer. These systems of logic, of discovery, then become models
useful for all kinds of pragmatic thinking, or if nothing else stand as
monuments to the limits of our understanding, and possibly to our _ability_ to
understand.

Borges says he's not a thinker in the interview. But I dunno, even if his
influences are clear, his ability to understand, and then convey these ideas
in such a way as to make them self-evident is in some ways the _greater_ act
of philosophy than the raw conception of the ideas.

What a phenomenal interview.

~~~
trgv
I really enjoyed the interview as well. Borges' manner of speaking is
wonderful.

> Borges says he's not a thinker in the interview. But I dunno, even if his
> influences are clear, his ability to understand, and then convey these ideas
> in such a way as to make them self-evident is in some ways the greater act
> of philosophy than the raw conception of the ideas.

I disagree here. Borges is a storyteller: he's interested in provoking a
response from his readers. He's not arguing for or against a philosophy, but
rather he finds inspiration in the philosophical writings of people who are
arguing one way or another (ie philosophers).

What he's doing is no more or less impressive than what they're doing, but the
two things very different. I think he's absolutely right to point that out to
the interviewers.

~~~
beat
I agree. I've done the same thing in works of art - used art as a vehicle for
communicating philosophical concepts. Which is fine, but there's no rigor
there, no defense of the concept, no detailing the implications. There's no
need, because I'm not creating or defending philosophical concepts, only
sharing them.

I recently wrote a song called "Everything Is Made of Love", which lifted
pretty heavily from Spinoza. The song works well, but it no way makes me
Spinoza's peer. More recently, I've been reading some of the Frankfurt School
thinkers, and their idea of art as a means of expressing revolutionary (in a
political sense) ideas. I looked back on a play I wrote/produced last year in
that context, and was very pleased to see how well I expressed the ideas of
Marcuse et al, manipulating pop culture in order to criticize society on other
levels, even though I wasn't really cognizant of the Frankfurt School at the
time.

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techbio
There is a fantastic series of talks he gave in the late '60s at Harvard. It
can be almost meditative to hear him addressing literature, poetry and
philosophy in his own thoughtful voice.

Listen at:

[http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/jorge_luis_borges_1967-8_...](http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/jorge_luis_borges_1967-8_norton_lectures_on_poetry_and_everything_else_literary.html)

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kornish
For Borges fans: Jonathan Basile put together a Library of Babel web app [1]
based on the short story of the same name [2]. You can search for up to any
string of 3200 characters. While most of it is (predictably) meaningless
gibberish, it's kind of mesmerizing to see what results appear near results -
such as your own name.

[1]:
[https://libraryofbabel.info/search.html](https://libraryofbabel.info/search.html)
[2]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel)

~~~
jazzyjackson
I've really wanted to start something similar but with a natural language
dictionary randomly assembling plausible, grammatically correct sentences as a
way to pre-emptively copyright creative work.

Actually that reminds me of a question I had, is there any legal precedence
for copyrighting the output of a computer program? One could argue either the
program is a creative work, or, the program is a tool that allowed me to
create many creative works, but is the output of my program considered
'creative' ?

~~~
lainga
In this case I think it's moot, because by Borges' original description there
are 25^(1 312 000) books in the Library, much more than the number of atoms in
the observable Universe. So I think (and hope) the site isn't actually storing
anything.

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enriquto
There are few reasons to learn Spanish today, but reading Borges is an
extremely strong one. Stories such as "Pierre Ménard", "The garden of forking
paths" or "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" blow your mind in several different
ways and leave a perennial impression on your intellect.

Fortunately, both of his English translators are excellent.

~~~
gonvaled
There is another valid reason: if you are one of the 1000 million (and rising)
people living in Spanish speaking communities.

~~~
enriquto
Of course, if you live in a Spanish-speaking community you learn it as a first
language when you are a baby; but I was referring to learning Spanish as a
foreign language when you are an adult. Being able to read the original Borges
is a treat for your mind.

~~~
gonvaled
As English speaker you will benefit from learning a foreign language,
something few (fewer than in other demographics) English speakers do.

Take your pick, but Spanish is a good alternative. There is lots of excellent
literature in Spanish, not only Borges. And being in the US (I assume) you
will benefit by improving contact with your fellow mexicans.

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hmart
Borges predicts the Internet :

The Aleph

... “I view him,” he said with a certain unaccountable excitement, “in his
inner sanctum, as though in his castle tower, supplied with telephones,
telegraphs, phonographs, wireless sets, motion-picture screens, slide
projectors, glossaries, timetables, handbooks, bulletins...” He remarked that
for a man so equipped, actual travel was superfluous. Our twentieth century
had inverted the story of Mohammed and the mountain; nowadays, the mountain
came to the modern Mohammed ...

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metaphorical
I would also recommend Borges' Norton Lectures. It provides a lot of unique
insights about his creative process. [https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Verse-
Charles-Norton-Lectures/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Verse-Charles-
Norton-Lectures/dp/0674008200/)

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jesuslop
He appears in the script of the last season of Westword, a couple of lines of
Hopkins for connoisseurs to notice.

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sixdimensional
"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." ― Jorge Luis
Borges

Library science => information science => information systems.

~~~
om_nom_ramen
Especially poignant since he became blind later in life.

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gbaygon
Please mods update the title, there is a typo in the name which is Jorge,
without the final s.

~~~
sctb
Updated. Thanks!

