We’re on a path which though indefinable and unpredictable is nonetheless certain. Before that eventuality called certainty arrives, reality assumes many different characteristics and textures some of which are frightening, others of which are entrancing. Whatever the axes or descriptions by which reality is figured it is once again certain to be or become wondrous and possibly filled with delight or maybe even remorse. Yet all this certainty is expressive largely of external and exterior forces, external because they transpire without our control, exterior because they are beyond our control. What then if anything is capable either within or because of our control? Is reality merely as changeable as the weather and just as endurable or otherwise? Or have we a way to manipulate or manifest reality to our liking? I think we do.
To address this postulation adequately we must first examine documented reality (this in order to overcome a limiting or scurrilous assertion that our perception alone is reality). If indeed there is a governable reality beyond the capacity of our own lenses, then it behooves us to enquire into the development of that theory. I am reminded here of Wittgenstein:
Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1889–1951), British philosopher, born in Austria; full name LudwigJosef Johann Wittgenstein. His two major works, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921) and Philosophical Investigations (1953), examine language and its relationship to the world.
Wittgenstein says: “If I am inclined to suppose that a mouse has come into being by spontaneous generation out of grey rags and dust, I shall do well to examine those rags very closely to see how a mouse may have hidden in them, how it may have got there and so on. But if I am convinced that a mouse cannot come into being from these things, then this investigation will perhaps be superfluous. But first we must learn to understand what it is that opposes such an examination of details in philosophy.”
It may be helpful to benefit from this codswallop by the following explanation:
To be sure, there is a wealth of empirical data that does indicate that where a mouse appears a colony is found in a vicinity, nevertheless while being inspired by the empirical data, the sentence becomes grammatical, and stops being temporal or experiential. It teaches or references the technique of not bothering to look for evidence in the cases where spontaneous creation might fit prima facie, which is our normal response.
A similar example of his is a sentence like, “If the stove puts out smoke then the chimney must be blocked.” This isn’t experiential, in that we haven’t observed a number of such happenings and recorded the outcome, nevertheless it is the inference/technique we use to guide us to the restoration of the proper use of the stove.
If on balance however the investigation of the theory of reality proves contrary or unpropitious, calling it a theory nonetheless affords useful application not only to myself but also to others. This is particularly so because otherwise there is no merit in a theory of reality if indeed it is a substance, disposition or intelligence arising only from an individual. Its universal application depends upon reality being a theory, one that is somehow extracted from the empirical world and having nourishment and bounty in a more ephemeral realm such as mathematics or other collection of abstract axiomatic truths.
Henry VIII occurs to me as a topical historic (that is, recorded) example of an ancient (that is, longstanding) persuasion in this regard. If one were to examine an enviable example of reality, Henry VIII approaches that desire.
Henry’s contemporaries considered him an attractive, educated, and accomplished king. He has been described as “one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne” and his reign described as the “most important” in English history. He was an author and composer.
Henry VIII was as you know, dear Reader, not only successful. He had his failings too, infirmities which were yet another usefully authentic expression of reality.
As he aged, he became severely overweight and his health suffered. He is frequently characterized in his later life as lustful, egotistical and paranoid, a tyrannical monarch.
indeed I recall from having read a number of biographies and autobiographies (including Tennessee Williams, Vladimir Horowitz, Sir Alec Guinness and Samuel Langhorne Clemens aka Mark Twain) each of them experienced hardship in addition to prominence. But the reminder of bipolar division is not only of its fortuity but also of its improbability. Who is to say what will transpire? Who has control of the moment of birth? Who dares to predict how it will all unfold? Once again, Henry VIII comes to mind. His life was as improbable as any I know; but it happened, all of it, the good and the bad.
The only thing that matters in this Brummagem analysis is that Henry is dead, you are not. Any other detail or persuasion I may advance to promote a theory of reality is, frankly, irrelevant. While most certainly it is amusing to consider all that happened in the lifetime of Henry VIII, the sole utility I derive (and, may I say so with no small degree of conviction) is that the sustainable majesty to being a king or a commoner is one’s own resource of interpretation and manifestation. While this may appear to contradict the premise of universality, it does not in fact contradict the premise of individuality. Ironically each of us has a separate reality. Somehow we have learned to “live with it”, to accept one another’s idiosyncrasies (though not always without objection), to survive what at first appeared to be insurmountable, to reckon with ourselves and the Universe that we are going to make this happen. Determination is in my opinion the only alternative because the other disappoints me.
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547)
King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death
Died
28 January 1547 (aged 55)
Palace of Whitehall
Westminster, England
Burial
16 February 1547
St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Spouses
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Catherine Howard
Catherine Parr
Henry brought radical changes to the Constitution of England, expanding royal power and ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to papal supremacy. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial using bills of attainder. He achieved many of his political aims through his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmerall figured prominently in his administration.
Henry was an extravagant spender, using proceeds from the dissolution of the monasteries and acts of the Reformation Parliament. He converted money that was formerly paid to Rome into royal revenue. Despite the money from these sources, he was often on the verge of financial ruin due to personal extravagance and costly and largely unproductive wars, particularly with King Francis I of France, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King James V of Scotland, and the Scottish regency under the Earl of Arran and Mary of Guise. He expanded the Royal Navy, oversaw the annexation of Wales to England with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, and was the first English monarch to rule as King of Irelandfollowing the Crown of Ireland Act 1542.