Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own; therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness. ~Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History (1952)
Brendan
1167 posts
by JC Sevcik, UPI, April 16, 2014 WASHINGTON, April 16 (UPI) — Oligarchy is a form of government in which power is vested in a dominant class and a small group exercises control over the general population. A new study from Princeton and Northwestern Universities concluded that the U.S. government represents not the interests of the majority of citizens but those of the rich and powerful. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens” analyzed extensive data, comparing nearly 1,800 U.S. policies enacted between 1981 and 2002 with the expressed preferences of average and affluent Americans as […]
Greg Stevens, Science Correspondent, The Kernel, Thursday, 10 April 2014 You can have an out of body experience right now, and it isn’t even that hard. Some people can do it more easily than others, and it may take a little practice. But it is something that anybody can do, and it can be done scientifically. Senses and the self Let’s start with a question: Where do you feel like the center of your “self” is right now? Most people feel like the center of their consciousness—the vantage from which they are experiencing the world—is somewhere behind their eyes. This […]
This piece was originally published in Michael E. Zimmerman, J. Baird Callicott, George Sessions, Karen J. Warren, and John Clark (Eds.), Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology (Prentice-Hall, 1993), pp. 253-267.
This piece comes from A Sand County Almanac (Oxford University Press, 1948).
This text is from Thinking Like a Mountain: Toward a Council of All Beings in John Seed, Joanna Macy, Arne Naess & Pat Fleming (New Society Publishers, Philadelphia, 1988). First published in Ecophilosophy 5 (Sierra College, California) and reprinted in Pantheism, Oikos, Awakening in the Nuclear Age, and several Australian journals.
Originally published in Environmental Ethics, volume 10 (1988), pp. 101-120. Thanks to David Abram for permission to post this piece here.
Our selections come from the W. F. Trotter translation (introduced by T. S. Eliot) (New York: Dutton, 1958) of Pascal’s Pensées.
Turing, A.M. (1950), “Computing machinery and intelligence.” Mind, 59, 433-460.
This translation of Descartes’ 1641 Meditations is from the 1911 edition of The Philosophical Works of Descartes (Cambridge University Press), translated from the Latin by Elizabeth S. Haldane.1I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:Download an imperfect PDF of this page.[blockylist tag=”Descartes” id=”4634″]
by Andrew Ross, The Daily Beast (09.27.12). Millions of grads are saddled with unpayable student loans, yet colleges still say they’re a sound investment. NYU professor Andrew Ross asks if it’s time to stop repaying the loans. Straight talk about the crushing burden of student debt is everywhere—except the one place it should be: on college campuses themselves. Students, professors, and college administrators seem to be in denial. For students who have never managed their own finances before—certainly the vast majority of undergraduates—the silence isn’t so surprising. After all, they’re not required to pay a penny on their loans until […]
When we entertain therefore, any suspicion that a philosophical term is employed without any meaning or idea (as is but too frequent), we need but enquire, from what impression is that supposed idea derived? And if it be impossible to assign any, this will serve to confirm our suspicion. By bringing ideas into so clear a light we may reasonably hope to remove all dispute, which may arise, concerning their nature and reality. Let an object be presented to a man of ever so strong natural reason and abilities; if that object be entirely new to him, he will not […]
Lovers of Wisdom – on the Go.
The Grand Honey Bunny.
by SAMUEL SCHEFFLER. The New York Times, “The Stone,” September 21, 2013 I believe in life after death. No, I don’t think that I will live on as a conscious being after my earthly demise. I’m firmly convinced that death marks the unqualified and irreversible end of our lives. My belief in life after death is more mundane. What I believe is that other people will continue to live after I myself have died. You probably make the same assumption in your own case. Although we know that humanity won’t exist forever, most of us take it for granted that […]
Socrates Come then, what is “taking pains over oneself” — 128a for we may perchance be taking, unawares, no pains over ourselves, though we think we are — and when does a man actually do it? Does he take pains over himself at the same time as over his own things? Alcibiades I at least believe so. Socrates Well now, [hide]when does a man take pains over his feet? Is it when he takes pains over what belongs to his feet? Alcibiades I do not understand. Socrates Is there anything you can name as belonging to the hand? For instance, […]
Ah, my remarkable friend, listen to me and the Delphic motto, 124b “Know thyself”; for these people are our competitors, not those whom you think; and there is nothing that will give us ascendancy over them save only pains and skill. [hide]If you are found wanting in these, you will be found wanting also in achievement of renown among Greeks and barbarians both; and of this I observe you to be more enamored than anyone else ever was of anything. Alcibiades Well then, what are the pains that I must take, Socrates? Can you enlighten me? For I must say […]
[hide]Alcibiades But I am not sure I should be able, Socrates, to set it forth to you. Socrates Well, my good sir, imagine I am the people in Assembly; even there, you know, you will have to persuade each man singly, will you not? Alcibiades Yes. Socrates And the same man may well persuade one person singly, 114c and many together, about things that he knows, just as the schoolmaster, I suppose, persuades either one or many about letters? Alcibiades Yes. Socrates And again, will not the same man persuade either one or many about number? Alcibiades Yes. Socrates And […]
[hide]Alcibiades I think, Socrates, that the Athenians and the rest of the Greeks rarely deliberate as to which is the more just or unjust course: for they regard questions of this sort as obvious; and so they pass them over and consider which course will prove more expedient in the result. For the just and the expedient, I take it, are not the same, but many people have profited by great wrongs that they have committed, whilst others, I imagine, have had no advantage from doing what was right. Socrates What then? Granting that the just and the expedient 113e […]
Alcibiades But what if I cannot? Do you think I could not know about what is just and unjust in any other way? Socrates Yes, you might, supposing you discovered it. Alcibiades But do you not think I might discover it? Socrates Yes, quite so, if you inquired. Alcibiades And do you not think I might inquire? Socrates I do, if you thought you did not know. Alcibiades And was there not a time when I held that view? Socrates Well spoken. Then can you tell me at what time it was 110a that you thought you did not know […]
Socrates Now then: you intend, as I say, to come forward as adviser to the Athenians in no great space of time; well, suppose I were to take hold of you as you were about to ascend the platform, and were to ask you: “Alcibiades, on what subject do the Athenians propose to take advice, that should ? Is it something ?” What would be your reply? 106d Alcibiades I should say, I suppose, it was something about which I knew better than they. Socrates Then you are a good adviser on things about which you actually know. Alcibiades To […]
We should reflect that there is much reason to hope for a good result on other grounds as well. one of two things. it is the dead have no consciousness of anything, or, as we are told, it is really a change — a migration of the soul from this place to another. Now if there is no consciousness but , death must be a marvelous gain. I suppose that if anyone were told to pick out the night on which he slept so soundly as not even to dream, and then to compare it with all the other nights […]
I should very much like to say a few words to reconcile you to the result, while the officials are busy and I am not yet on my way to the place where I must die. I ask you, gentlemen, to spare me these few moments. There is no reason why we should not exchange fancies while the law permits. I look upon you as my friends, and I want you to understand the right way of regarding my present position. Gentlemen of the jury — for you deserve to be so called — I have had a remarkable experience. […]
35e There are a great many reasons, gentlemen, why this result — I mean — but the chief reason is that the result was not unexpected. but now it seems that if a mere thirty votes had gone the other way, I should have been acquitted. Even as it is, I feel that so far as Meletus’ part is concerned I have been acquitted, and not only that, but anyone can see that if Anytus and Lycon had not come forward to accuse me, would actually have forfeited his one thousand drachmas for not having obtained one fifth of the […]
— high-principled and patriotic as he claims to be — and after that against the rest. first again, as though it represented a fresh prosecution. Such is the charge. Let us examine its points one by one. First it says that I am guilty of corrupting the young. But I say, gentlemen, that Meletus is guilty of treating a serious matter with levity, since he summons people to stand their trial on frivolous grounds, and professes concern and keen anxiety in matters about which he has never had the slightest interest. I will try to prove this to your satisfaction. […]
After puzzling about it for some time, I set myself at last with considerable reluctance to check the truth of it in the following way. and pointing out to my divine authority, You said that I was the wisest of men, but here is a man who is wiser than I am. this person — I need not mention his name, but it was that I was studying when I had this experience — At any rate it seems that I am wiser than he is to this small extent, that I do not think that I know what I […]
[hide][/hide]103a Socrates Son of Cleinias, [hide]I think it must surprise you that I, the first of all your lovers, am the only one of them who has not given up his suit and thrown you over, and whereas they have all pestered you with their conversation[/hide] I have not spoken one word to you for so many years. The cause of this has been nothing human, but a certain spiritual opposition, 1 of whose power you shall be informed at some later time. However, it now opposes me no longer, 103b so I have accordingly come to you; and I […]
I was especially astonished at one of their many misrepresentations; I mean when they told you that you must be careful not to let me deceive you — the implication being that I am a skillful speaker. I thought that it was peculiarly brazen of them to tell you this without a blush, since they must know that they will soon be effectively confuted, when it becomes obvious that I have not the slightest skill as a speaker — unless, of course, by a skillful speaker they mean one who speaks the truth. If that is what they mean, I […]
Socrates’ interrogations lead to a condition the Greeks called ‘aporia‘ (literally translated, ‘perplexity’, ‘impasse’, ‘puzzlement’). Socrates himself refers to it as “the torpedo” and claims its “shock” is “of advantage,” intellectually speaking. But its tendency in the larger process is not only destructive. In Plato’s Meno, Socrates says of his befuddled young interlocutor that far from being harmed by the ignorance that resulted from our “causing him to doubt and giving him the torpedo’s shock,” he is “better off” for it: At first he did not know what [he thought he knew], and he does not know even now: but […]
Not every account of philosophy gives such prominence to values and the dimension of personal meaning. It is true that some modern philosophers consider their work to be primarily technical and analytical, without any necessary connection to the personal. Some of these thinkers say the philosopher’s job is primarily the clarification of concepts; or the evaluation of views and the evidence for them; or the unconvering of hidden meanings, or untying of intellectual knots, whether by appeal to logic and analysis or to ordinary language. There is certainly merit to these accounts, even if they are incomplete. At times, they […]
Socrates was put to death for philosophizing. Of course, his style might have had something to do with it, too. In our reading of The Apology, we’ll encounter something of the flavor of the man. Here, I’ll introduce some ideas about Socrates’ role in shaping a conception of philosophy, which through his life takes a distinctive turn and receives a permanent coloring. Socrates carried out his philosophical mission by means of open-ended discussion or dialogue, modeling a practice involving others not by happenstance, but essentially: for Socrates, philosophy implies community, critical scrutiny and equality. Anyone might contribute key insights, and […]
“What is philosophy?” Rather than starting with a formal definition, I propose we pay attention to what philosophers do and how they do it. This will sooner lead us to deeper insight into what they’re up to. So that’s the plan. We’ll start by getting to know someone doing philosophy — and that someone is Socrates. Then we’ll trace his influence through a couple more philosophers — his disciple Plato; and, in turn, Plato’s student, Aristotle. Tracing this line will provide a sense of how philosophic themes morph or change over generations, even while remaining recognizably similar. But some would […]
Our text comes from Plato in Twelve Volumes. Trans. W.R.M. Lamb. Vol. 8. Harvard University Press, 1955. The numbered notes derive from the Perseus Digital Library.Numerals styled like this reflect 16th century “Stephanus pagination”, still standard for references.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:
BigThink – August 3, 2013 by Anders Poulsen In the wake of the financial crisis, an era of severe turbulence, rapid changes and increasing complexity has emerged. A black cloud hangs over the past decade’s economic prosperity and global consumption habits, which fundamentally challenges the purpose of business. All too often the approach to business practices has been one-dimensional, lacking in richness and depth. This goes for both the cheerleaders and the critics of the current business practices. In these times, it is important to be able to view the world in different shades – one of possibilities, rather than […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Here’s a sample of readings drawn from the Texts on this site: We open with some “Socratic Lives” – that of Martin Luther King, Jr., and that gadfly on which King in part modeled himself: Socrates. Each in his way, these thinkers were doers. Challengers of the status quo beliefs, they called for rational consistency and for justice. Each in his way created a situation of what King called “constructive tension,” in which we – as individuals and as “society” – must confront ourselves, and respond to the challenges of consistency and justice. (Warning: Carrying such a message can be […]
As I passed, I wondered: “Did this author know what ‘inpeach’ ment?” Then it struck me: Seriously, though, this is a wonderful summer idea — imagine the president amid cool, sweet peaches during this hot summer.
What? Skip the label? How? Check out her TED talk.
Richard Schiffman | The Atlantic Monthly Apr 18 2013 Sometimes financial crises can force lifestyle changes for the better. When Cuba’s benefactor, the Soviet Union, closed up shop in the early 1990s, it sent the Caribbean nation into an economic tailspin from which it would not recover for over half a decade. The biggest impact came from the loss of cheap petroleum from Russia. Gasoline quickly became unobtainable by ordinary citizens in Cuba, and mechanized agriculture and food distribution systems all but collapsed. The island’s woes were compounded by the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which intensified the U.S. trade embargo […]
by Roxanne Palmer | April 16 2013 2:50 PM, International Business Times
[ Thanks to Chelsea Smith for passing this piece along. ~BL ]
“Pain extends beyond tissue damage and hurt feelings, and includes the distress and existential angst&nb…
Marx wrote The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts between April and August 1844.
Reason #9:
The Huffington Post | by Eline Gordts (Posted: 03/20/2013) [ Despite the U.S. military’s repeated denials, it appears the U.S. in fact took action knowing that the “casualties” of war would be the next generation of Iraqi children. ~BL ] Ten years after the start of the U.S. invasion in Iraq, doctors in some of the Middle Eastern nation’s cities are witnessing an abnormally high number of cases of cancer and birth defects. Scientists suspect the rise is tied to the use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus in military assaults. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8QOvr0PLW4 On the war’s ten-year anniversary, Democracy Now! spoke with […]
This main text here is the lecture Sartre delivered October 29, 1945 to a packed Club Maintenant in Paris. It served also as the basis for the 1946 book, Existentialism and Humanism.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:[blockylist tag=”Sartre”]
Our text is the 1916 P. E. Matheson translation of The Manual Of Epictetus.
Items in grey rows fall on the formal/mechanics side of the spectrum of evaluation. They refer to criteria such as length requirements, spelling, and grammar. Items in green rows fall on the content/conceptual side, and include criteria for assessing the articulation of ideas, the evaluation of evidence, and the composition and presentation of arguments. [help][/help] links to help pages. This list is worth some attention prior to paper-writing, as a guide to common issues to keep in mind.
Our text is Epicurus’ Letter to Menoikos. Trans. Peter Saint-Andre. 2011.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:
[blockylist tag=”Aristotle”]
Our text comes from Plato: The Collected Dialogues (17a to 42a), Eds. Huntington and Cairns. Trans. Hugh Tredennick. Princeton University Press, 1961. 4-26. I have included some section headings from Jowett’s translation. I’ve used a highlighter so that you should be able to read the marked portions for an overview on your first look through.Numerals styled like this reflect 16th century “Stephanus pagination”, still standard for references.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:
Our text is King’s “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” – an “open letter” of April 16, 1963.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:
Also check out my “I Sartre Huckabees.”
This section of our text is selected from Books VIII-IX of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (Εθικη Îικομαχοι). Trans. W.D. Ross.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:[blockylist tag=”Aristotle”]
Our selections come from Hume’s 1748 An Enquiry Concerning Human UnderstandingI indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins:
Our selections come from the common Jowett translation of Plato’s Republic. For further study, I recommend C.D.C. Reeve’s better, albeit non-free, translation for Hackett Publishing, from 2004.Numerals styled like this reflect 16th century “Stephanus pagination”, still standard for references.I’ve inserted speaker-labels (e.g., Socrates) to indicate the flow of dialogue — even in cases where Socrates is reporting what the speaker said. Once characters are established, I thin them out.I indicate where my commentary ends by using our writer’s avatar where the primary text begins: [blockylist tag=”Plato,Socrates”]
The millet crust. 1.5 cups millet to 3 cups of water boiled; simmer for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat; add 2 Tbsp butter, and let millet sit to cool for about 10 minutes. Coat the baking pan with butter. Press the millet into the pan to form the crust, pressing with fingers or a spoon. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 Farenheit. The filling. Cut 2-3 leeks into half-inch rounds. Add minced garlic to your liking (we add a whole head). Sautee together in olive oil. Add veggies to your liking. We add lightly sauteed chopped broccoli & […]
Use a pre-baked pie shell to keep the pie from bottom sogginess. Layer with tomatoes and top with herbs of your choosing. Use 2 cups of shredded cheddar (Michelle uses extra sharp and 1 cup of mayonnaise mixed together). Top the first layer of tomatoes with half the mixture and then do a second layer of tomato and mixture with the rest. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes; let cool about 15 minutes, and enjoy. This is highly recommended by Michelle and Brendan. 🙂
Cartwright Bonanza.
Heavy Levitas Whispy Gravitas And from classy sources: The Original Position (Rawls); Cognitive Dissonance
By Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman, Washington Post (April 29, 2011) Long after blacks and Jews have made great strides, and even as homosexuals gain respect, acceptance and new rights, there is still a group that lots of Americans just don’t like much: atheists. Those who don’t believe in God are widely considered to be immoral, wicked and angry. They can’t join the Boy Scouts. Atheist soldiers are rated potentially deficient when they do not score as sufficiently “spiritual” in military psychological evaluations. Surveys find that most Americans refuse or are reluctant to marry or vote for nontheists; in other words, […]
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 30th August 2011 Who are the most ruthless capitalists in the Western world? Whose monopolistic practices makes WalMart look like a corner shop and Rupert Murdoch look like a socialist? You won’t guess the answer in a month of Sundays. While there are plenty of candidates, my vote goes not to the banks, the oil companies or the health insurers, but – wait for it – to academic publishers. Theirs might sound like a fusty and insignificant sector. It is anything but. Of all corporate scams, the racket they run is most urgently […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
… and other good ideas.
The eclectic electrics?
The phantom in the rear-view mirror.
[picasa album=6246074564301215297] This is local soundscape from the night of August 17th – owls, peepers, coyotes, frogs, geese, a click or two from an otherwise quiet me, a distant engine…
It’s the 10th anniversary of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. Have things improved? Here’s her new, wake-up-call afterward. Posted by Barbara Ehrenreich at 7:05am, August 9, 2011. It was at lunch with the editor of Harper’s Magazine that the subject came up: How does anyone actually live “on the wages available to the unskilled”? And then Barbara Ehrenreich said something that altered her life and resulted, improbably enough, in a bestselling book with almost two million copies in print. “Someone,” she commented, “ought to do the old-fashioned kind of journalism — you know go out there and try it for […]