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Description
The full title for this piece is "Asking the General about the Specifics", but it wouldn't fit in the title field.
I remember reading a quote by Aleister Crowly in which he stated that "The universe is the practical joke of the general at the expense of the particular", which I suspect is what inspired the title of this image.
Here the Private questions the General about his own specific problems, but the general isn't listening.
The "General" refers not only to the rank of an overseer, but to a general view of the world, and the generalisations we take to be fact. Science, religion and politics are all based upon such sweeping generalisations. Though these broad assumptions are vital for our understanding of the complex world in which we live, it is equally important to remember that life is governed not by rules and generalities but by specifics, which vary so wildly that we cannot ever be sure of anything, and must remain suspicious of any statement that parades itself as absolute fact.
The books behind the General represent the vast archive of human accomplishment and learning, itself based on the subjective experiences and observations of great men, and baring no relevance to the problematic enigma the Private carries with him.
The empty upper shelf signifies true spiritual knowledge, which cannot be expressed in words, but which must be experienced.

Description
The full title for this piece is "Asking the General about the Specifics", but it wouldn't fit in the title field.
I remember reading a quote by Aleister Crowly in which he stated that "The universe is the practical joke of the general at the expense of the particular", which I suspect is what inspired the title of this image.
Here the Private questions the General about his own specific problems, but the general isn't listening.
The "General" refers not only to the rank of an overseer, but to a general view of the world, and the generalisations we take to be fact. Science, religion and politics are all based upon such sweeping generalisations. Though these broad assumptions are vital for our understanding of the complex world in which we live, it is equally important to remember that life is governed not by rules and generalities but by specifics, which vary so wildly that we cannot ever be sure of anything, and must remain suspicious of any statement that parades itself as absolute fact.
The books behind the General represent the vast archive of human accomplishment and learning, itself based on the subjective experiences and observations of great men, and baring no relevance to the problematic enigma the Private carries with him.
The empty upper shelf signifies true spiritual knowledge, which cannot be expressed in words, but which must be experienced.