Guy Debord, Situationsim, Psychogeography
René Descartes (1596–1650). Discourse on Method
My second maxim was to be as firm and resolute in my actions as I was able, and not to adhere less steadfastly to the most doubtful opinions, when once adopted, than if they had been highly certain; imitating in this the example of travellers who, when they have lost their way in a forest, ought not to wander from side to side, far less remain in one place, but proceed constantly towards the same side in as straight a line as possible, without changing their direction for slight reasons, although perhaps it might be chance alone which at first determined the selection; for in this way, if they do not exactly reach the point they desire, they will come at least in the end to some place that will probably be preferable to the middle of a forest. In the same way, since in action it frequently happens that no delay is permissible, it is very certain that, when it is not in our power to determine what is true, we ought to act according to what is most probable; and even although we should not remark a greater probability in one opinion than in another, we ought notwithstanding to choose one or the other, and afterwards consider it, in so far as it relates to practice, as no longer dubious, but manifestly true and certain, since the reason by which our choice has been determined is itself possessed of these qualities. This principle was sufficient thenceforward to rid me of all those repentings and pangs of remorse that usually disturb the consciences of such feeble and uncertain minds as, destitute of any clear and determinate principle of choice, allow themselves one day to adopt a course of action as the best, which they abandon the next, as the opposite.
le corbusier - houses are machines for living - 's indifference to local context, geography, history
contemporary city - centerpiece - 66 story skyscraper within large rectangular lawns - airport on top of the structure - radiant city
(leave le corbusier's style to him, suitable for factory's, hospitals, prisons. squashing people under re-inforced concrete. a noble material that can surpass the gothic style... the idea of immediate suicide. destroying the last reminants of joy)
(given the context, compartive to what was built at that time in Paris' suburbs, the architecture is much more interesting)
(de-humanising and homogenising, glorified the automobile)
la derive - when to destroy your own personal mental structure (alcohol, drugs etc.) to be totally open to the envinronment to allow yourself to make encounters with people you would otherwise not speak to or relate to in order to allow into your life things which would otherwise not happen. at the origin of a better understanding of modern society. the outside as an influence on our psyche - you develop whether you want or not a certain flow of ideas, emotion, sensibility. to build psychogeographical maps of Paris. one side completely objective and relating to different areas of the city, but moving from one street to another one is a different atmosphere and this was transferred onto a map
Visit London, Paris with maps from 100 years ago, reconfiguring the walk to allow new encounters
Being on the road in the US- a well represented genre
Baudlaire- le flaneur- the phsychic life of the city through encounters with strangers
the city belonging to the pedestrians vs cars - cars are so numerous today that they create completely different cities, people used to burn cars and have a sense of releaf
festival better than spectacle (passive consumption)
debord - lacks the call for an absolute revolution