The Spanish painter Francisco de Goya produced a series of etchings in 1797, the most famous of which he titled: El sueño de la razón produce monstruos (The Sleep of Reason brings forth Monsters).
In this masterpiece of thought and technique, a writer is asleep at his desk, his head resting in his arms, while behind him are owls, bats, and a gathering storm of other creatures of the night, all menacingly swooping down on him, while a perplexed cat looks on. But, soon after this daring caution, Goya panicked and withdrew his etching, for fear of the Inquisition whose shadow hovered on Spanish society at that time.
Goya captured the mood of his age, and as Europe and America woke up to reason and science, these two continents moved on from those dark times.
Because of humanity’s uneven moulting, however, the story is different elsewhere, and reasons continued and perilous repose in Africa and Asia is a cause for grave concern. These two continents make up for two thirds of the world’s population, but are heavily weighed down by a magical conception of the world, and by dangerous superstitions.
continue: http://postnoon.com/2012/04/02/the-sleep-of-reason/41127
