The Beauty in Trash: A Philosophical Perspective

Is the Holy Grail a crushed beer can in the gutter? JF and Phil consider the implications of Philip K. Dick's line, "the symbols of the divine initially show up at the trash stratum." Gnosticism, Aleister Crowley's Thoth tarot, Thomas Ligotti's "The Order of Illusion," Jack Smith's glorification of moldy glamour, saints' relics that look like beef jerky -- all this and more in the first of a two-part conversation.

REFERENCES

Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth
Phil Ford, "What Good News Do You Bring?"
Philip K. Dick, The Exegesis
Philip K. Dick, VALIS
Stanislav Lem, Microworlds
Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind
Robertson Davies, The Rebel Angels
Thomas Ligotti, Noctuary
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
Frank Darabont (dir.), The Shawshank Redemption
Weird Studies podcast, On Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' Part 1 and Part 2
Richard Wagner, Parsifal

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