The Philosopher's Cloud / by Sandra Meigs

If all of philosophical thought is there in a single cloud, the Human thoughts in the philosophy cloud would include the meaning of life, truth, abstract reasoning,  the nature of beauty, moral principles, whether will is determined or free, and critical theory articulating all the failures and hopes that philosophy holds for society.

Sometimes people imagine that their loved ones are in the clouds because that is heaven. That is spirit talk, not philosoph. So the lovely spirit people would probably not be in this particular cloud.

Clouds are physical manifestations of the weather, so the Earthly events in the philosopher’s cloud would include tornados, hurricanes, dust storms, flood, hail, ice storms, drought, extreme heat, extreme cold, wildfires, as well as pollutant emissions. Because you can’t have clouds without weather.

On the other hand, the weather occasionally provides pleasing Earthly conditions on the ground , so outcomes of clouds could include lovely summer days with trees blowing in the wind, rivers and brooks flowing, food growing in nourished fields, or chillingly beautiful winter days with snowy rooftops, frosted fields, and snow-topped evergreen trees. But there is less and less of those things these days.

Sometimes I look at clouds that way (to quote Joni Mitchel).

The human things in the cloud will cease when all the humans on the planet die. The Earthly manifestations in the philosopher’s cloud will never cease. 

Posted July 19, 2022. Image: Detail. The philosopher’s cloud, No. 2. 2022.