Andy Warhol was Kidding
Thanks to the Village Voice we now know Sartre invented existensionalism to impress girls. Sufficient time has passed, fifty years, allowing an adjustment for those attempting to live by his lights, that is to say yes, we’re here and this is reality. Fifty years from now future generations may adjust other fragments of wisdom currently in vogue and come to the conclusion that Andy Warhol, like Sartre, was pulling our leg.
This idea puts a different spin the non-fiction moment. Whatever gravitas may be accredited to Doctor Phil or Trent Lott over time we will discover the undercurrent of manipulation whose shadowy presence we sense yet fail to recognize. For example, weight loss philosophy as expressed by dozens of books overlooks the fact that weight loss programs are not rooted in philosophy. Like Sartre these authors have something else in mind. As the Holidays fade books will emerge with entirely new ways to lose weight, systems as they are called, and these systems create byproducts. A true philosopher, a Descartres or Socrates for example, might wonder if that can of Super Slimfast represents a kind of collective delusion, a January Effect. From the bulges of our Santa suit we emerge at month’s end retooled in the image of Bianca Jagger, slender, exotic, eternal, and desirable. As Caligula remarked when surrounded by Praetorians, paraphrasing now, “heaven can wait.” It turns out, of course, he was kidding.