Tradition and Change

[Calgacus]

With all the respect to Father Bill, not only for his calling to Vocation, but to his efforts as Forum Moderator, I reply...

I'm not trying to educate anyone. People here are already educated.

I believe (think) Nathan was offering, at my most vulgar paraphrase, that THCD invokes a schema which at a cultural level, ought to be preserved, perpetuated and perfected.

I believe (think) Mr. Cook was offering, at my most vulgar paraphrase, that THCD may very well be the inadvertent mode of individual self-expression, which must also recognize the "contemporary / alternative" modes of kilt / Highland Dress.

I offered the expanded notion that "meaning", poignantly related to culture as a subordinate of Society, is only defined by context, e.g.
I wear THCD because I don't wear Utilikilts. I don't wear THCD because I wear Utilikilts
From this premise, "meaning" and value inherent in culture is derived.

CONTEXT Within Japan; OUTSIDETEXT We looking in:
The same debates occur re: Kimono...is it only Ceremonial? Is it a regressive reminder of an era best relegated to history? Is it the embodiment of cultural artistry and societal ethos worthy of preservation, perpetuation and perfection?

Sixty-five years prior to J. Derrida, Edward Sapir postulated the same notion. Specifically, Sapir studied "individual self-expression though attire" and its transition into "fashion", e.g.
I dress as a Punker because I don't wear business suits. I don't dress as a Punker because I wear a business suits
However, the "meaning" and cultural value of each associated group must exist or the fashion-identity does not.

CONTEXT Within Scotland; OUTSIDETEXT Diaspora:
Twenty people in a room, nineteen of which are in blue business suits, one in THCD. The THCD wearer exercises "individual self-expression" only in context of that room. As well, if the nineteen had no prior knowledge of anything Scottish, the THCD wearer must either explain the context of their mode of dress or be resolute being perceived having "dressed in the dark with their toes". The minute someone from the nineteen recognizes the THCD wearer as emanating from a THCD group, it affirms "individual self-expression" as only relevant to the twenty in that room. The larger associated group and its recognized fashion are acknowledged. If we flip the script, the same thing occurs. Which is exactly what I quoted from Mr. Cook's post.

I actually agreed with both Nathan and Mr. Cook. Not only do I respect their educational backgrounds, but their creative and artistic endeavors (to both of whom are vocational) as perpetually facilitating their education. For that reason alone, they are invaluable, like Mr. Smith-MacPherson, Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Newsome, McMurdo, Calgucus and others.

Finally, I'm not a Philosopher, nor do I care about Jacques Derrida's personal history or politics (anathema to Deconstruction). The Yale School of Criticism actually thought Derrida went to extremes which did his ideas dis-service. Hence, why I offered their counter-balance.

As for these ideas and their relation to the OP...
They are absolutely on point as they go to the heart of "meaning" and value defined through culture, especially a culture which exists as diasporic or borrowed.

Ryan M Liddell

Thank you, Ryan, for your most transparent post yet!

My acquaintance with philosophy is only in passing (I briefly studied Logic & Philosophy of Science) and so I generally find your posts rather opaque, if you don't mind me saying. I was however able to extract the meaning of this last one at first parsing.