The Eye is the Measure of the Man

"The eye is the measure of the man"

The lyric in David Byrne's song Home by David Byrne & Brian Eno in the film Wall Street: Movie Never Sleeps brings to mind two quotations. One is "the eye is the window of the soul" attributed to Renaissance patron Lorenzo de Medici, which means something like the eyes reflect our inner nature, as well as what our eyes seek reflects our nature. The other quote is "man is the measure of all things" attributed to Protagoras, a sophist in Socrates' day who subscribed to philosophical relativism, what is true for an individual's perception is true for them and only them. In Byrne and Eno's lyric man the individual takes the place of a transcendent soul. Wall Street is a movie all about perception having the power in financial capitalism to move money and power. Gordon Gekko presents himself as a father figure to Shia LaBeouf's character Jake wanting to reconnect with his daughter Winnie, and ends up using him to take his Winnie's sizable inheritance away. Gekko after taking back his place on Wall Street does give back money to Jake and Winnie and they live together as a family. Gekko doesn't change his nature after years in prison, but upon seeing the ultrasound of his grandson has a change of heart, after making his money of course. The message of the movie is somewhat cynical, people don't really change but under appearances can live together. The eye is the measure of the man means that who we are is constituted, indeed satisfied, with appearances.