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Flashcards

Q. How is "improvisation" typically defined? A. As doing something without pre-vision, implying that having a plan is preferable.

Q. Why is a negative definition of "improvisation" misleading? A. Because it reinforces the erroneous idea that reality should be fixed in form.

Q. In reality, which comes first: fixed forms or improvisation? A. Improvisation comes first. All fixed forms are derived from improvisation.

Q. How does the creation of a philosophical work like Being and Time illustrate the primacy of improvisation? A. No one plans out an entire complex work in advance. Instead, new ideas and formulations emerge through a process of improvisation.

Q. What makes improvisation more than simply the absence of a plan? A. It involves a "coming" of new forms, a process that cannot be fully controlled but can be facilitated by being receptive to what emerges.

Q. What are the three levels of improvisation in the arts? A. Creating a new score or script. Developing a unique way of performing the score or script. Allowing a previously formed work to emerge freshly and authentically in performance

Q. How is performing a written script or musical score still considered improvisation? A. Because the goal is not to merely reproduce the existing form but to allow it to come alive in a new and unique way. Each performance can be a fresh emergence of the work.

Q. How does improvisation function in fields like logic, theory, and philosophy? A. Established methods and texts serve as starting points for further exploration and fresh thinking, allowing new insights to emerge from a deep engagement with existing knowledge.

Q. Can language adequately capture the experience of "coming from underneath"? A. Traditional language may struggle to express the implicit and intricate nature of improvisation, but new phrases and metaphors can be created through improvisation to better describe this process.

Q. How does language itself function as a form of improvisation? A. When we speak, words come to us in a process of "coming from underneath." Even familiar words can be "re-meant" to express something new in a particular situation.

Q. Why should we continue to explore and refine our language for talking about improvisation? A. To develop more nuanced and accurate ways of describing this fundamental process, enabling a deeper understanding of creativity, the human subject, and many other important aspects of experience.

Q. What does the phrase "coming from underneath" refer to in improvisation? A. It describes the process by which new forms, ideas, or actions emerge in a way that feels authentic, alive, and surprising, even to the creator.

Q. What are some examples of things that "come from underneath"? A. Sleep, appetite, orgasm, tears, love, anger, dreams, imagery, laughter, words, and artistic expressions.

Q. Why is the concept of "coming from underneath" important for understanding the human subject? A. Because it suggests that our authentic self is not a fixed entity but a process of emergence, a dynamic interplay between our conscious intentions and a deeper source of creativity and insight.

Q. How does the process of "implying" work in relation to "coming from underneath"? A. "Implying" is a bodily felt sense that anticipates and guides the next step in improvisation. It involves a kind of "implicit crossing" of multiple factors that have never existed separately.

Q. Does "coming from underneath" always involve a sense of being stuck? A. No. Improvisation can flow smoothly, with new steps emerging effortlessly. Even in these cases, the process of "coming from underneath" is still operative, as can be seen in the complexity and coherence of the outcome.