#commonality

The artist is Adrian Tomine. As Tomine is an American artist, I would like to think that part of this piece is an explanation of America.

Every person depicted, it can be said accurately, looks American. Yeah, that's right, they all look American...

Apart from that, I see a couple of ways of interpreting this image:

1 Everyone is minding their own business and doesn't care to look around, self absorbed -or-

2 Everyone is PEACABLY coexisting and doing what is needed to educate themselves [I prefer this interpretation], waiting as needed for their lives to continue [due to weather, as seen by the snowfall] .

“Philosophy football” is one of my most favorite episodes in the Monty Python Series.

  Philosophy and football, “soccer” in American English, have something in common. That makes this meaningful to us and make laugh.

Even if you are not familiar with both games, you will find that there are shared rules that looked strange at the first glance. Using hands is more efficient to make a ball into the goal, but football players do not. Taking the time to just think rather than “Just do it” seems less interesting for many sports fans, but they have kept thinking. The fact that rules are shared among players in both different kinds of activities is one of the commonalities.

This comedy makes it very clear. Monty python may be inspired by Wittgenstein’s “A language game”. Wittgenstein is a player on the German team in this comedy, and the philosopher, who was born in Austria-Hungry and made his career in England, got the idea of “Language game” from a football in his real life.

The concept is argued in “Philosophical Investigations”. It has received attention from socio-cultural anthropologists.

Wittgenstein argued that a word or even a sentence has meaning only as a result of the "rule" of the "game" being played. We can talk about the contents of our minds only once we have learned a language and that we can learn a language only by taking part in the practices of a community. The starting point for philosophical reflection, therefore, is not our own consciousness but our participation in communal activities. The participation in communal activities is the source and legitimacy of “rule”.

"মানুহে মানুহৰ বাবে।"

- ডক্টৰ ভূপেন হাজৰিকা

Bengali original:

"মানুষ মানুষের জন্য।"

- ডক্টর ভূপেন হাজরিকা

English translation:

"Humans are for humans."

- Dr. Bhupen Hazarika