Janusing in Short
Some answers to welcome questions
My recent article on the Janus generated some responses and new subscribers for which I am grateful. There were also some questions, which I understand, given that the article was intended as a fairly radical exposition.
As with my other articles, I will expand on this subject with follow-up articles that will clarify further. For now, however, I would like answer the most legitimate and relevant questions about the piece and things that nagged me too.
What the [*] is a Janus?
A Janus is an autonomous being who reshapes the future by radically revising uses of the past for the benefit of people around him/her. Potentially the Janus can benefit man kind in general through this.
Why will the Janus rise?
Because too many important concepts in our society have gone broken.
Why bother about this concept?
It is a way of looking at the world around us that I propose here. A way of acting that I think we need right now. I predict that the Janus will rise.
How will the Janus act?
The Janus motives are altruistic, pragmatic and quite simple: if something has become hollow and needs an upgrade to suit the human needs of the now the Janus will find ways to change it for the better.
Who are you to think up this?
Anyone can think up anything and I think I think too much. But if you want to know, read more about me and my background and views here.
Can I be a Janus?
Of course. Look around you. What needs to be changed for the sake of the better and for generations to come?
Get to it. And speak up.
Does a Janus need to be recognized as such?
Well, not necessarily. The Janus is a concept I would like to apply to the changes we are faced with in our current time.
We have a need for them now. And please note: a Janus is not an artist per se. Everyone can act as a Janus by refusing to uphold the status quo wherever it needs changing.
One man’s Janus is another man’s racist.
I get the point that the concept of the Janus might seem a relative matter.
However, a Janus works in the interest of mankind. Of people. So… a Janus will not be a racist. But to say a Janus is by definition a good person, that’s another thing.
I don’t think it is relevant for my concept though.
You mention the digital, but this didn’t exist for Januses from the past! Can you explain?
I expressly state that the digital domain is the main challenge for the Janus of today.
For the Januses of the past there were similar challenges and sometimes way more extreme ones I would say. Think of women’s rights, abolition of slavery, civil rights etc.
Why is the digital and online domain a challenge?
Let me be clear: the digital will not disappear. But it will be changed and needs to be changed in order to be rebalanced.
Tech giants and monopolies will not bring about this change. The Januses will because they look beyond the concepts of financial gain, politics and exploitation.
Is your theory based on esoteric predictions? Or astrology?
No, but this is an interesting question. In those fields they make predictions of major changes. Even more radical ones than my vision of the Janus.
You gave examples. How were these people a Janus?
They all shut the door to the past and opened the door to the future.
Mary Wollstonecraft realized that women’s rights could not be held back much longer and understood that education and literature were the place to start the change.
Picasso understood that art was ready for a new multi-interpretable language after the rise of photography and the rise of mass reproduction of art.
Miles Davis took jazz in new directions and showed that there is no point in being snobbish about music.
Bob Dylan gave folk a new allure and brought the lyrical tradition back to life and prominence. In fact, up to this date, he is one of the very very few to uphold this tradition which is the oldest in the world. Thanks to Dylan it will survive for centuries to come.