http://www.taoruspoli.com/The Berkeley Video and Film Festival 2010 presented  to Tao Ruspoli at the Berkeley Film Festival Saturday night the Grand Festival Best Documentary award after the presentation of the film to a full house.  Dr. Bert Dreyfus, a former professor of Tao, and central to the context and meaning of the film was present for the film and the award, joining in the discussion after the film's presentation.  The deep appreciation and intention directed to creation, the source and act of being,  seemed central to the inquiry Ruspoli presented.  The fabric and content were rich and lustrous with jazz musicians, artists, craftsmen and philosophers who all spoke about that particular quality of Being, and the distinctions that make for its presence in art and in philosophy.  Bert Dreyfus, featured in the film, spoke of and represented the privilege of passion in living your life.  Full out.  As one of the philosophers described it, it is that moment of 1) where else would I want to be 2) who else would I want to be with 3) what else would I want to be doing- that moment of Being. 

Four other Profs. of Philosophy from Harvard, McGill, Berkeley and Northwestern, all former Dreyfus students, spoke of their experiences of passion in their lives and in their work.  Noting that we "think to learn and then we stop thinking" is not where it has to end.  And that to get beyond thinking, is where you will find your self and where your passion and purpose align.  The contributions by the philosophers were underscored and enhanced by the alive and inspired jazz musicians playing and demonstrating in the moment those qualities being discussed. 

Bert Dreyfus is  known, as having been Chairman for the Dept of Philosophy for twenty years, still producing excellent work ongoingly, and working with students still to achieve their life's work.  His work was in conflict with science thirty years ago when he took the position that computers could never replace man.  That as tools, they had proficiency and competence, but it took the human being "to care."  That element of "caring" as a discipline in the art of philosophy, art, music to bring the best from what is present into a state of being was evident in the presentation of the film by Tao Ruspoli.  The Celebration of being Human in a Technological Ages was the subtitle and the thread of the work presented in this exquisite work and evening.