Gin Tastings and Musings About "Distilling" Philosophy

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We humans are a funny bunch. We create problems we cannot solve. I think there is a philosopher who said something along the lines that humans are a problem that we cannot figure out. We think and we can reflect on our thinking and doing, and this gap between just doing unreflectively and thinking about what we are doing and thinking about our thinking is what really troubles us.

Or this is what causes our problems.

But this is also what leads us to creativity, to do think like make art, think about art, and thinking about thinking about art - we can go on about this ad infinitum until it becomes absurd and funny. Think about all of the writings on art, and art-writing about writing, and all of the really funny philosophy out there.

We even have academic papers about the philosophy of holes...

Funny bunch we are really...

And alcohol does not help in any way really. Coffe makes us think rationally (apparently), and alcohol helps with creativity. And philosophizing under the influence can be a dangerous hobby.

But there are some truths that come from even the process of making alcohol.

On a recent gin tasting, my philosophical brain kicked in and I began thinking about distilling philosophy, and in many regards, this is a really famous topic. Not necessarily in these alcoholic terms, but the idea remains the same.

Philosophy is essentially distilling.

Like a true philosopher, one might begin with asking, what is philosophy? By thinking about what philosophy is, we might already begin with the distilling process: we separate what is not philosophy from what is philosophy.

But even at this initial stage, we run into our first problem: is poetry philosophy? According to some, it is philosophy, according to others, those who philosophise about the ontology of holes, would not consider poetry philosophy.

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Let us not get stuck in the jumping blocks.

Distilling itself can be a philosophical process.

By boiling alcohol, we separate the "dirty" elements from the "clean" elements. We get what we want, the payload, the expensive and clear spirit, and we are left with the dirty by-products that we do not want.

What is left is a clear spirit that burns your mouth, but which soothes your soul.

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Philosophy in many regards burns the mind, we are left baffled by the conceptual analysis that absolutely and fundamentally destroys the notion of a chair. When we zoom in on what the concept tries so show us, we are left with a fuzzy and hazy image of the world, familiar concepts are now only a blur that does not make the world a better place.

Much like the burning sensation of the gin, this initial moment of absolute hell soon leads to a feeling of freedom, one in which the mind after the initial shock is opened up; beyond the fuzzy boundaries are not the elusive clarity but the eternal bliss of seeing deeper than the eye can see and the pre-philosophy-mind can think.

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Even though the mind might want clarity, the effect of alcohol is the opposite, muddy waters and fuzziness that lead to dizziness.

Philosophy takes us on a similar route. Through the drink, through the distillation, through thinking and processing, we come to this strange place in the world where rich ideas are not rich because they are understood, but rich because they are not understood, but we can think about them.

Much like the process of getting drunk, when we think philosophically, when we live philosophically, the world of our senses can utterly destroy any clarity but this process is where the worth of philosophy shines. Just like getting drunk, ideas are in their purest when we cannot grab hold of them but when they make us think, reflect, produce art, and write poetry.

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We are a funny bunch we humans. We create our own problems, we become the very problem we cannot solve. Happiness lies just beyond our own bafflement concerning our existence.

For now, let us get drunk on the idea of our own misunderstanding, unlearning, and bafflement.

Happy drinking, and I hope that the gin and philosophy in your mouth bring you clarity.

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All of the musings and writing are my drunken own, albeit inspired by the very beautiful Dullstroom Gin Distillery. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.