This fantastic animal is a “unicorn”. The miniature was part of an exhibit on Mughal and Deccani Painting at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich[1]. By the way, the collector was Konrad SEITZ, a German diplomat and writer.
An artist’s whim, in obvious violation of the principle on non-contradiction so dear to Western mind? Think again.
Daniel SCHECHTMAN won this year’s Nobel Prize for discovering crystals, whose atoms are placed neither in “orderly” nor in “disorderly” fashion, but something in between. What is more contradictory than such a structure? Yet it exists.
Nature at its most fanciful? Yes, but the human mind did not wait for SCHECHTMAN to discover this property of reality. Arab tilings[2] created centuries ago
are built on the same counterintuitive and mysterious principles – in reverence to inexpressible God.
As I’ve often maintained: diplomacy is where there are no rules… or logical principles – just reality.
[1] John SEYLLER et als. (2010): Mughal and Deccani Paintings. Museum Rietberg, Zürich.
[2] See Enzo PUPPIN (2012): Una struttura implossibile. Le Scienze, forthcoming.
Reflections on Diplomacy 
Elsa Fischer
December 27, 2011
I somehow don’t think that is a Unicorn, Aldo!
Elsa
Elsa Fischer
December 27, 2011
What do you mean?
Aldo Matteucci
December 30, 2011
Elsa,
in this context – non-contradiction – it does not matter whether is is a unicorn or not.
The animal is a hybrid, half antelope half dragon or eel. It is the hybrid nature of the thing
that we tend to reject categorically, until nature tells us she does love non-categorisable things,
and the more we learn about nature, the more vwe’ll learn that “categories” are bunk. In fact,
philosophers of the level of Russell, Gödel, and others had a field day proving that one cannot create categories” that can be uniquely defined.
The classic example is the categorisation
– in a village men either shave themselves or go to the barber
– where do you fit in the barber?
All categories are ambiguous and shuld be treated not as “holy objects” – as in Western thought, but as useful conventions, where useful is the key word. Use and discard as needed.
Aldo
Jean-Pierre Lehmann
December 28, 2011
I don’t think it is a Unicorn, either! But I like the story.
Jean-Pierre
Aldo Matteucci
December 28, 2011
Look,
I’m quoting the Museum, who is quoting, Isuspect, either the owner or the author.
As always, money talks (nonsense maybe)
Aldo