tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post3437919090934917660..comments2023-10-21T07:44:20.549-04:00Comments on The Existence Machine: Pastoral ThinkingRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08014014605639738887noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23471801.post-41009463136938473402009-06-01T12:44:57.326-04:002009-06-01T12:44:57.326-04:00Hi Richard,
A great post; it reminds me of a pub-...Hi Richard,<br /><br />A great post; it reminds me of a pub-quiz historical tidbit from the Victorian age.<br /><br />When trains first became popular forms of public transport in the nineteenth century, the public were concerned about the physical and psychological damage such high speeds could induce on the human body.<br /><br />As far as I know, this development in technology prompted the first suggestions that psychological disturbances could manifest themselves as physical symptoms of trauma. It has been suggested, as a result, that speed and technology can effect not only the way we think, but we way we feel and even function.<br /><br />In the case of railway transportation, the public scare was more of a moral panic than a real threat to human safety; but culturally, technological advances in the speed of travel and communication have often prompted genuine concerns about the physical and mental stability of Western society.<br /><br />Kafka, conveniently, belongs to a generation that was beginning to express the latent traumas and anxieties the new technology introduced to everyday life.<br /><br />Since then, a whole academic discipline has sprung up around us, addressing issues of Trauma and Speed on the human subject. It's all pretty interesting, too, and well worth looking into.<br /><br />All the best,<br />RhysRhys Tranterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324349620090364098noreply@blogger.com