Zeroth Law & Bass Clarinet.

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What is “zero^th  Law”?

Seeing that I was having a variety of musical endeavors, in 1999 I began to organize them all under the “umbrella” term of “zero^th  Law”.  A phrase taken from Isaac Asimov’s 4^th and disenfranchised Robot Novel, it is the attempt at a 20,000 year old telepathic robot to improve on the Three Laws of Robotics.  This zero^th Law supersedes the First Law (not to harm a human being or, through inaction, allow them to come to harm) by placing the well-being of humanity as a whole above that of the individual human being.

These days, I am not sure that these are two different things (read Sri Nisargaddata Maharaj’s I Am That) but it originally struck me as more of a model that we can observe in nature.  Our individualism (see the N.R.A.) and our individuation (see C.G. Jung) are often in discord with the common perspective of the “small self.”  How is balance achieved?  How do we resolve the paradox of self & other?  Human history seems to proceed from struggle (caveman vs. elements/gods/creatures) to separation (man vs. man) to…madness? enlightenment?

Anyways, if Life is not a Blessing and Existence is not a Mystery, where does Inquiry come from?

As I describe on the Philosophy page, as creators and performers we have a duty to hold Inspiration & Transformation at the core of our pursuits.  This is my artistic rendition of a zero^th Law.