The Irreplaceable Spark Conference - Part V
Reality or Reality Show?
The first four installments in this series about the Irreplaceable Spark Conference delved into four categories of philosophy: Jim Brown’s aerodynamic experience with metaphysics, Catherine Dickerson’s theory and practice of epistemology, Mark Pellegrino’s immersion into collectivist politics, and Darius Gagne’s application of individualist ethics to personal finance.
In that spirit, it is altogether fitting and proper to concretize those themes with the fifth branch of philosophy: aesthetics. To carry that torch was the curator of America’s premier studio for Romantic Realism – Linda Cordair of Quent Cordair Fine Art studios. And passing the torch was Jonathan Hoenig in this excerpt from The Sunday Spark podcast:
It’s a way to help us live our best lives. To be surrounded with positivity and beauty; life as it can and should be. It’s something we should all be doing. Without that, we are really missing out on some amazing opportunities to live our best life.
Yet, creating and distributing works of fine art with the value proposition of people living their best life is not as easy as it sounds. In a culture grounded in the moral code of self-sacrifice as a virtue, it is a major challenge. But the story of the Cordairs is not merely about the theory of helping others with life as it could and should be, it is about the practice of living their own lives with purpose and pride.
Specifically, Linda spoke with passion about Quent’s declaration of independence for reopening the gallery at the height of the abusive lockdowns rationalized by the Wuhan virus pandemic:
It was us telling the state of California and the county of Napa that we weren’t going to put up with it anymore. That we had every right to be open as they misused the word “essential.” They personally were deciding who was essential and we knew that we were essential.
“Essential” they are, as is all productive work. Working and creating value are an existential human need and desire. But not only did their phrase “Not Dying is not Living” become t-shirts and a popular hashtag, threats of arrest by law enforcement and accusations of “killer” by California’s army of humanitarians demanded their unwavering commitment to each other and to the truth.
Toward that end, the theme of the conference was living your life with principles grounded in the moral excellence of reality. And for specific guidance that would apply to a large and diverse audience, a great place to look is the newly published novel of another conference attendee – S. F. Hayes.
As a work fiction, The Red Concerto is an alluring mystery and love story that laces psychology with philosophical themes that a mass market audience can understand and appreciate. For an academic trained in neuroscience and philosophy, she knows her material. And to imbue the plot with the physics of sound and the cognitive stimulus of music makes the story even more fascinating.
But there’s more. Hayes almost begs the reader to ask themselves: Am I living a reality show, or am I striving for the moral excellence of reality?
What kind of music producer doesn’t care about the music? What good is it to be safe if I can’t do the one thing – the only thing – I’ve ever wanted? There were no principles to work out or run afoul of.
Like any great conference, its purpose can also be achieved through interactions with other conference attendees. Or as Sarah Hayes put the combination of themes, speakers, attendees, organizers (hello Ella and Daniel), and local engagement (hello Georgina and Natalie):
The first audition began with a swirl of reds and purples pouring from a cello – sonorous melody that filled all the empty spaces of the room in a beautiful testament to both the cellist and the superior acoustics of the hall.
Or as philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand put it, “The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it’s yours.”