Lists of objects without explication can do the philosophical work of drawing our attention toward them with greater attentiveness.

Let’s work on definitions first.

• “Lists of objects without explication”
  • Explication is, according to Google, “the process of analysing and developing an idea or principle in detail”
  • So, a list of objects without explication is a list of objects cobbled together without proper thought
  • But what is an object, for that matter? Are we talking about literal, physical things? Surely not; that’s so narrow
  • An object can be defined in two ways: “a material thing that can be seen and touched” or “a person or thing to which a specified action or feeling is directed”. Both very interesting and very different in this context. I wonder
• “Philosophical work”:
  • How is that different to regular work?
  • Philosophical: “relating or devoted to the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence”
  • Work: “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result” or “a task or tasks to be undertaken”
  • Philosophical work, then, is effort undertaken to further knowledge
• “Philosophical work of drawing our attention toward them”:
  • Does the notion of philosophical work, as defined above, still make sense in this context?
  • I’m getting a little stuck on the necessity of the word philosophical and how it changes the sentence — what am I missing here? I would
  • Question to ask in class (or I’ll ask it now if you’re reading and wouldn’t mind commenting, Adrian): what makes philosophical work different from regular effort?
• “Greater attentiveness”:
  • Attentiveness: “the action of paying close attention to something”
  • Straightforward, and in context implying that less attention could be payed in other situations

This is my interpretation so far. There’s a lot to untangle but, if I were to rephrase it, my version of the question posed would look like this:

Vague lists of stuff make you pay more attention

My next two questions, which will probably make up the bulk of my essay, are therefore:

Really? Why?

And how is this going to relate to my soundscape? I hope we do get the extra week to think about that, because I’d really like to have a finished product to think about than a hypothetical.