A ‘blik’ is a term that the philosopher R M Hare uses to talk about the way we see the world. There are lots of different bliks. Religious bliks. Scientific bliks. Paranoid bliks.
Hare gives the example of a paranoid blik:
The Story of the Killer Dons (aka The Parable of the Paranoid Man)
“A certain lunatic is convinced that all dons want to murder him. His friends introduce him to all the mildest and most respectable dons that they can find, and after each of them has retired, they say, ‘You see, he doesn’t really want to murder you; he spoke to you in a most cordial manner; surely you are convinced now?’ But the lunatic replies, ‘Yes, but that was only is diabolical cunning; he’s really plotting against me the whole time, like the rest of them; I know it, I tell you.’ However many kindly dons are produced, the reaction is still the same.”
No matter what evidence is produced to the contrary, the ‘paranoid man’ is going to believe that the dons are out to kill him.
Present two different people with the same set of facts and they will interpret them in different ways, depending on their blik.
British playwright Sarah Kane’s last play 4.48 Psychosis takes on this theme.
When I unearthed the article that I wrote about 4.48 Psychosis and found that it was published almost six years ago to the day (20th Nov, 2005), it seemed a serendipitous way to begin this blog.
“4:48am – the time most suicides are purported to take place. Said to be the time of night when people suffering mental disorders report feeling very clear and cold, while those outside perceive them to be in their deepest delirium. The title is also a reference to C.S Lewis’ The Silver Chair, in which a prince experiences one hour of sanity every night, perceived by everyone else to be an hour of madness.”
Read more… Psychosis 4:48 – Life – The Sofia Echo.
Today, I also came across a definition of a blik which I hadn’t heard before: ‘An odd coincidence that is out of the ordinary.’ (The Urban Dictionary).
writer's blik 