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Metaphysics is a philosophical branch that deals with, in part, the concept of existence; in other words, how do you know something is real? We have all heard the philosophical conundrum, “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to witness it, does it make a sound?” The metaphysical philosopher would ask, “How do you know the tree exists?”
John Locke, an English 17th century philosopher, once said, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” In other words, we cannot actually be 100% certain of knowledge, we only have comparables.
The concept of beauty, for instance, is not real. How do you know a woman is beautiful? According to Locke, her beauty is based on your subconscious list of other women and you are comparing her beauty with that of every other woman. Therefore, “beauty” does not actually exist.
(For the record, I KNOW my wife is beautiful!)
How do you know something is the colour red? Does red exist or have you seen a similarity to red before? The human experience depends on categorizing objects so we gave similar objects the name red, and then we decide how red something is based on our experience with other reds.
Regardless of your views on reality, after watching the Habs lay an egg against the Jets Saturday night, I am 100% certain the Montreal Canadiens are mediocre - Metaphysically and “North Divisionally”. Comparatively speaking, the Habs are too young at the center ice position - for now. I have written about this before, however, it is worth repeating because I do not like putting Kotkaniemi on the wing for Gallagher. Kotkaniemi was drafted as a center, he has play-making ability oozing out of him, and his defensive-zone awareness is solid.
How is he going to get better at center by playing on the wing in the absence of Gallagher?
Furthermore, at what point does the rest of the team wake-up and realize Gallagher isn’t coming back? Who is going to step-up and lead through feistiness and courage? I know Gallagher is not popular with other fan bases, but all 31 teams, including the Seattle Kraken, would take him. (Comparatively speaking, the Kraken is a stupid name!) Is Ducharme sacrificing the future development of Kotkaniemi to cement his own future as head coach in thinking that qualifying for the playoffs will ensure his “interim” tag is gone? Comparatively speaking, hockey is the biggest team game there is. In the NFL. a star QB has the ball in his hands on every offensive possession. And in the NBA, a star like Lebron James plays over 80% of the minutes and can have the ball in his hand on every offensive possession with a better than 50% chance of scoring. In baseball, a starting pitcher decides your success and in soccer, the best players never come off the field. This is why I do not want to pin the Habs mediocrity on any one player. This is a collective issue. North Divisionally speaking, the Habs are the very definition of mediocre. They sit 4th out of 7, nine points behind the Oilers and six points ahead of the Flames. Yes, the Oilers went 9-0 against the Senators, however, the Habs are 3-2-2 against the Senators with 2 games remaining. The Habs have 4 games in-hand on the Oilers, but with 5 games remaining against the Flames, whom the Habs are 1-3 against, what gives anyone the hope the Habs can catch the Oilers? I heard some pundits this week speaking about the Habs jockeying for playoff positioning. What reality, metaphysical or otherwise, are these talking heads in? If the Habs do make the playoffs, Toronto and Winnipeg will decide who plays Montreal, not the other way around. If philosopher John Locke lived to see this version of the Montreal Canadiens, he would probably feel vindicated with his metaphysical claim regarding experience and reality. In my experience as a Habs fan, my reality is that this team is mediocre. Philosophers and sports writers have to agree that the North Division Standings are a numerical reality. No matter how you slice it on April 11th, 2021, the Habs, Metaphysically and North Divisionally, are just another team. Waldo 1947 | The Disgruntled Habs Fan
I agree that the Habs are mediocre. For them to rise above this each player must accept his role and the team must play 60 minutes as a whole.
wow...i am many years removed from the one or two philosiphy courses i took in university, and may i say, that was a thing of beauty. clearly you payed closer attention than i did, or maybe its that it was some 40 years ago for me...either way, well done.
i also don't really understand kk at wing other than perhaps not wanting to dump him to fourth line minutes, but in terms of creativity at the center position he and suzuki are the future. i kind of thought they might start staal at fourth line center until he got comfortable and then ease him upward. unfortunately they chose otherwise and now they are in a bit of a predicament a…