I learned today from a movie magazine, inTouch, that Britney Spears is upset. She thought that the Chinese character tattooed on her shoulder meant "mysterious" but recently learned that it means "strange." From the same magazine: the cast of Friends are reported to be still friends after the show's end, but not "Friends": they tell us that Phoebe and Monica will never speak again. And our own Star Tribune headlined its story about the presidential campaign this way: "Both Camps Hit the Trail Swinging."
Philosophy in the analytic tradition is about unpacking things. If Britney could explain what she has in addition to being strange that makes her mysterious, if the friends could explain under what conditions the Friends might come back to life and begin speaking again -- or perhaps just nuzzling, if the editor of the Strib could explain how a camp can hit a trail, and whether hitting it makes it swing or whether the camp swings to hit it -- in any of these cases they would be doing philosophy. It would be good if they did.
For those thinking of getting a tattoo in a language other than their first tongue, a suggestion: get the tattoo on some part of your body not normally visible. You can imbue it there with whatever private meaning you choose. Those rare persons who get to see the tattoo will likely go along with whatever story you tell about its meaning. Reserve public spaces for messages in your native language.
Posted by shea0017 at July 9, 2004 12:28 AM