And here is a link to the twitter thread version of this post. click
so I thought I would analyze it....
Anyways let's get started.
This is part one in a likely four-part series wherein each part analyzes the text from a different song's preview. Part one is about Ghost and Adrenaline.
Normally, I know I just said that each part was for one song, but these two are very similar so to make things easier... one part.
The preview text is as follows:
Deep in my heart,
deep in my soul.
When external noise grows louder;
listen more closely to the voice within.
As external noise intensifies;
emotional contagion and confusion values may occur.
In moments like these,
remember your first resolve.
Cartesianism
My first connection here was to the French philosopher René Descartes and Cartesianism. Cartesianism is a type of rationalism wherein knowledge is derived through reason, observation, and experiments. They say that the human intellect is finite (in direct opposition to God’s omnipotence) meaning that humans can only be sure of three things: 1) God exists, 2) whatever God says is true, and 3) that the self exists. Number three was added by Descartes with his famous phrase “Cogito, ergo sum” (latin: I think, therefore, I am) in his 1637 Discourse of Method.
Cartesians are also dualists in the sense that mind exists and matter exists as finite substances. However, they also include God as a necessary infinite substance and humans as a final compound substance. In his Meditations, Descartes says that we can only be sure of the ideas that represent the material world, rather than the material world itself. Humans obtain knowledge through sensations in the mind and the way it interacts with matter. Knowledge of the world is indirect.
Another French philosopher, Pierre-Sylvain Régis, said that human beings experience interaction between mind and body, God can and does make the interaction take place, even if we, as humans, cannot understand how. According to Cartesians, sensible ideas arise from the union of mind and body for the sole purpose of preserving the body by presenting harmful things as painful and beneficial things as pleasurable. Human beings learn by experience what to seek and to avoid, and the memory of these experiences is preserved in the brain.
Many philosophers were influenced by Descartes. One of these being Malebranch and The Search After Truth; he said that there is no direct causal interaction between mind and body: there are only separate but parallel sequences of mental and material events intermediated by God. Some other philosophers, though this list is not exclusive, include Benedict de Spinoza’s Ethics, Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology, and Jean-Paul Sarte’s existentialism.
I’m getting distracted. Anyways! The important part here is the idea of the cogito: I think, therefore, I am. Both the teaser texts for Ghost and for Adrenaline mentioned looking inward: “listen more closely to the voice within” and “remember your first resolve.” I think that the cogito applies more towards Ghost than Adrenaline, but both of the texts sound very similar, so I’m putting them in the same category.
In his second meditation, Descartes used the story of a cunning deceiver to explain his theory. “There is a supremely powerful and cunning deceiver who deliberately deceives me all the time! Even then, if he is deceiving me I undoubtedly exist: let him deceive me all he can, he will never bring it about that I am nothing while I think I am something. So after thoroughly thinking the matter through I conclude that this proposition, I am, I exist, must be true whenever I assert it or think it.”
In the lyrics of Ghost (which wasn’t originally a part of this analysis, but it took me so long that I might as well include them too) they say “there’s no way out, a warning message; don’t say it out, I whisper in your ear” and “when I linger even in your dream; I am the host that easily traps you; just trust me, even if I’m unreliable.” This sounds to me at least similar to the idea of a cunning deceiver. There are also the general connotations of ghosts being evil. Another connection I made with this is the line “your subconscious is calling me,” now, I’m not sure if this fits exactly, but the subconscious is where the cogito happens. In Adrenaline we also see Hongjoong say “our existence alone is the guarantee.”
Stoicism
The next topic I thought of was the Stoic passions. The passions are various forms of emotional suffering: distress, fear, lust, and delight (these can be divided into millions of sub categories as well). Specifically something that causes one to reason incorrectly. These forms of emotional suffering upset the natural balance of the soul and destroy self-control. The alternative to the passions are the good-feelings: joy, wish, and caution.
I thought about this when I saw the lines “when external noise grows louder” from Ghost and “emotional contagion and confusion values may occur” from Adrenaline. This can also definitely play into Sopro as a character right now, because it intensifies emotions without restraint. In Golden Hour we see Sopro express intense joy via Wooyoung and San; showing that even intense joy can be negative as it leads to an imbalance. Sopro also expressed sorrow, via the factory owner, then embarrassment and shame, via the woman on the date. At this point Sopro is able to evaluate and understand emotions on its own: first shame, then fear, and finally anger.
The entirety of Adrenaline reminds me of this and how it feels to be overwhelmed by emotions. Especially Hongjoong’s line “0-100 bust out the garage.”
Kierkegaard
The idea of “external noise” is present in both the teaser texts for Ghost and for Adrenaline. I think that relates more to Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard’s existentialism than the other two options. More specifically, his idea of “the crowd as untruth.” Kierkegaard said that the crowd is a source of deception. He said that the crowd stifles critical thinking, individuality, and personal responsibility as it is driven by a desire for comfort, security, and conformity. This means that the individual is led away from its true self.
I am sure that you have experienced this. It is much easier to follow a crowd than to stand out and do your own thing. The crown creates false comfort and security to stop the individual from embracing challenges and uncertainties. The crowd often encourages individuals to identify with a group, rather than themselves. This leads individuals to adopt beliefs and opinions that are not their own; to suppress their own individuality in favor of the crowd.
Kierkegaard’s theory of the crowd highlights the dangers of conformity (which also reminds me of 1984 and Animal Farm). There is also the idea of social media and echo chambers creating an incredibly difficult space for individuals to engage in critical thinking or even encounter alternative perspectives.
So when I saw “external noise” I thought of this and how easily the individual is influenced by the crowd. I don’t really see connection to the crowd in the lyrics of Adrenaline, but I was reminded of the music video and how there are several scenes in which the members are completely surrounded by a crowd.
Samsara
Samsara is the cycle of endless wandering in circles. It is life, death, and rebirth, for eternity… until one is able to reach enlightenment. I also related this to the “external noise” part of the teaser texts because it reminded me of the temptations of the material world that stop one from reaching enlightenment.
In Hinduism, Avidya, or false knowledge, deludes individuals and prevents them from understanding their true self and their karma, while ego and desire lead to the actions that create karmic consequences that impact future rebirths. In Buddhism, Samsara is described by words like suffering and desire. In Jainism, it is described as mundanity and suffering. All pursuits of the soul are considered distractions from the true goal: enlightenment.
There is a more conflicting idea between this and the Cartesian philosophy from earlier though. This consciousness has no intrinsic existence of its own. In most of these beliefs, the soul ceases to exist once enlightenment is reached.
Authenticity
The idea of the authentic soul is the last thing I connected to Ghost and Adrenaline. I saw this with that very first line: “deep in my heart, deep in my soul.” Not only was this line a callback to HALA HALA, but it also brings attention to something innate. Both the teaser texts for Ghost and Adrenaline talk about that internal feeling: “the voice within” and “your first resolve.”
Kierkegaard discussed authenticity a bit, which I mentioned earlier. He says that the self is defined by concrete expressions through which one manifests oneself in the world and thereby constitutes one’s identity over time.
Anyways. I bring up authenticity, because it appears that both teaser texts are saying to look inwards in yourself no matter how the external world exists. The only thing one can be sure of is oneself’s existence, and even then one must search for their authentic self, not the self plagued by the crowd.
TL;DR
The four main philosophical ideas I saw in the preview texts were: Cartesianism, where your internal consciousness and existence are the only things you can guarantee; Stoicism, where unchecked emotions (via Sopro) are messing with the natural balance of a person; Kierkegaard, where "external noise" is displayed by the dangers of conformity; and Samsara, where "external noise" is the endless cycle of suffering and worldly desires that distract the soul.
In short: no matter how chaotic and deceitful the external world becomes, block out the noise and stay true to your authentic self.
Whenever I find the motivation, hopefully before Golden Hour: Part 5, I'll finish this up!
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