Search found 1516 matches
- Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:22 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Modern Economics: Natural or Social Science?
- Replies: 0
- Views: 7574
Modern Economics: Natural or Social Science?
<t>Modern Economics: Natural or Social Science?<br/> <br/> Economics is a natural science because natural science is about the study of objects rather than subjects. Labor, land, and money, the basic elements of economics, are all commodities of modern economics (objects of commerce), i.e. humans ar...
- Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:33 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Why do Social Theories Become Ideologies?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2158
Why do Social Theories Become Ideologies?
<t>Why do Social Theories Become Ideologies?<br/> <br/> An ideology is systematically biased by its assumptions and it constantly must protect its assumptions from erosion if it is to maintain the status of its ideology. For Marx the ideologist becomes a constant apologist for his ideology. An uncri...
- Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:50 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Greed is a Character Trait not an Emotion!
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1990
Greed is a Character Trait not an Emotion!
<t>Greed is a Character Trait not an Emotion!<br/> <br/> Greed is a habit formed through constant repetition. It is an act of will. Emotion, also called instinct, is a product of natural selection. Only the human animal is greedy.<br/> <br/> What is character? Character is the network of habits that...
- Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:16 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: How can I learn what are my illusions?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1742
How can I learn what are my illusions?
<t>How can I learn what are my illusions?<br/> <br/> In the dialogue “Apology†Plato writes about Socrates while in the dungeon just before drinking the hemlock that the citizens of Athens condemned him to be executed.<br/> <br/> In the dungeon shortly before drinking from the hemlock cup Socrat...
- Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:11 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
- Replies: 11
- Views: 8235
Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
<t>Bill Sikes;1317735 wrote: And yet progress in human evolution has very largely stopped over the last 50 years or so - and the brakes are still being applied. It could be, however, that science gives adaptation a huge and rather unpredictable kick in the next few years.<br/> <br/> <br/> The proces...
- Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:20 pm
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
- Replies: 11
- Views: 8235
Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
<t>The natural sciences brush aside that which cannot be "measured" with standard "scientific" methods. That technique works well for such matters as the natural sciences deal with. However, there are vitally important matters that cannot use such techniques and to ignore them is to endanger the hum...
- Sun Jun 20, 2010 3:04 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
- Replies: 11
- Views: 8235
Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!
<t>Natural Science “don allow no meaning in hereâ€!<br/> <br/> Natural science clears the land before it builds its structures. NATURAL SCIENCE IS BULLDOZIER might be a useful linguistic metaphor for comprehending how the natural sciences function.<br/> <br/> The first thing that a Normal Science...
- Sun Jun 20, 2010 2:33 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
- Replies: 8
- Views: 7398
Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
<t>Royd Fissure;1317223 wrote: I hadn't even thought of Habermas, will have to re-read with that in mind. I really only focused on the issue of dialectic because when I was scanning the uni library online I was looking for material to help me understand a particular interpretation of one of Vygotsky...
- Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:11 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
- Replies: 8
- Views: 7398
Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
<t>Royd Fissure;1317055 wrote: Have you read Vygotsky or his interpreters on dialectical learning? Vera John-Steiner has written some really interesting stuff on it. I'm still trying to come to grips with it myself but it's fascinating.<br/> <br/> Sociocultural Approaches to Learning and Development...
- Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:07 pm
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
- Replies: 8
- Views: 7398
Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
<t>A person can walk the corridors of any big city hospital and observe the effectiveness of human rationality in action. One can also visit the UN building in NYC or read the morning papers and observe just how ineffective, frustrating and disappointing human rationality can be. Why does human reas...
- Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:36 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
- Replies: 8
- Views: 7398
Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?
<t>Does Natural Science Encourage a Narrow Mind?<br/> <br/> Paradigm directed science encourages the scientist to steadfastly adhere to carefully crafted narrow minded thinking. Because “normal science†has been so successful in achieving its narrow goals I claim that our whole society has becom...
- Thu Jun 17, 2010 1:47 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
- Replies: 5
- Views: 2001
The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
<t>What is this disease to which I allude?<br/> <br/> There is a chain of cause and effect in many things and it is difficult to determine the sui generis of this chain of reaction. I shall just take the present obvious effect to define our (American) disease to be our uncritical faith in laissez-fa...
- Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:10 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
- Replies: 5
- Views: 2001
The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
<t>Clodhopper;1316205 wrote: But knowledge is grist to the mill of understanding. Education is a constant balancing act between the two, and the varied natures of the subjects.<br/> <br/> Not sure how you got there from the oilspill though!<br/> <br/> <br/> To quote the post "Caring is necessary for...
- Wed Jun 16, 2010 3:45 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
- Replies: 5
- Views: 2001
The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom
<t>The Oil Spill is Only a Symptom<br/> <br/> The Gulf oil spill is a minor skin rash that is of great importance primarily because it signals us of the presence of a disease capable of destroying our civilization. <br/> <br/> The herd is stampeding toward the cliffs and there is an unsophisticated ...
- Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:44 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Flag: Making the Abstract Concrete
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1433
Flag: Making the Abstract Concrete
<t>I think that symbols, like flags, appeal primarily to the emotions. Manipulation of the emotions is the primary means for manipulating the naive and manipulating the naive is necessary for power within a democracy such as we have in America. "Tea" is such a symbol and we can see how this symbol, ...
- Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:29 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Flag: Making the Abstract Concrete
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1433
Flag: Making the Abstract Concrete
<t>Flag: Making the Abstract Concrete<br/> <br/> The flag is a symbol of an ideology; a symbol is an act, sound, or objects having cultural significance and the capacity to excite an emotional response. Ideology often reifies, i.e. making into an object an abstract idea, for the purpose of concretiz...
- Thu Jun 10, 2010 2:42 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Individuality: Creation versus Adaptation
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1357
Individuality: Creation versus Adaptation
<t>Individuality: Creation versus Adaptation<br/> <br/> Creation/Adaptation—Meaning/Biology—creation is to adaptation as meaning is to biology.<br/> <br/> Our species is a great experiment by Mother Nature—can a species of animals with self-consciousness survive quick extinction?<br/> <br/> We...
- Tue Jun 08, 2010 2:11 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Psychoanalysis is Quantum Mechanics
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1516
Psychoanalysis is Quantum Mechanics
<t>Psychoanalysis is Quantum Mechanics<br/> <br/> I use the metaphor Psychoanalysis is Quantum Mechanics as a linguistic means to convey to you my comprehension of PSA (psychoanalysis) is somewhat based upon my comprehension of QM (quantum mechanics). This is not to say that I know a lot about eithe...
- Sat Jun 05, 2010 10:17 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Socrates says “know thyselfâ€: I say which self?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1313
Socrates says “know thyselfâ€: I say which self?
<t>Socrates says “know thyselfâ€: I say which self?<br/> <br/> I don’t know what happened to me. I was beside my self with worry.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> My pet dog Fido uses his imagination to create image schemas to help him to comprehend and move about in his world. I use my imagination in mu...
- Fri Jun 04, 2010 5:18 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Evolution has not prepared us for this
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1407
Evolution has not prepared us for this
<t>DrLeftover<br/> <br/> I agree with your statement “The difference is that while we also communicate those thoughts, we can also think in abstract terms, and communicate those as well.†Therein lay the difference in kind between the human animal and all other animals. We can think abstractly a...
- Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:35 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Evolution has not prepared us for this
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1407
Evolution has not prepared us for this
<t>Evolution has not prepared us for this<br/> <br/> Humans are animals with self-consciousness. This self-consciousness may show it self to some small degree in other animals but this capacity for self-consciousness makes our species different in kind from other animals and this difference makes al...
- Mon May 31, 2010 1:50 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
<t>Wiki says: “Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct."<br/> <br/> To call this situation poetic justice is not to say that it is justice th...
- Sat May 29, 2010 1:56 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
The United States with 5% of the global population, which consumes 25% of the global production of petroleum, becomes tarred with petroleum; that is poetic justice!
- Thu May 27, 2010 1:27 pm
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
<t>spot;1312525 wrote: <br/> <br/> The American People are the victims of events in their own country, not the perpetrators.<br/> <br/> <br/> The American people are too naive to comprehend the problem and too frightened of reality to accept their responsibility.<br/> <br/> The basic problem began w...
- Thu May 27, 2010 9:28 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
<t>Bill Sikes;1312464 wrote: a) That's a horribly complicated statement, and:<br/> <br/> b) If I read it rightly, those words are wrong.<br/> <br/> <br/> Do a Google of poetic justice and then rewrite my statement so as to make my statement clearer and less complicated. I would appreciate your help....
- Thu May 27, 2010 9:26 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
<t>spot;1312462 wrote: American People. Poetic justice should only overtake the perpetrators, not their victims, and the People are surely the latter.<br/> <br/> <br/> In a democracy such as we have in the United States the people are sovereign and thus responsible for the situation that exists. The...
- Thu May 27, 2010 2:01 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Crude Poetic Justice?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2230
Crude Poetic Justice?
<t>Crude Poetic Justice?<br/> <br/> Wikipedia informs me that “poetic justice†is a notion that fictional literature takes on as a cultural demand whereby literary outcomes must support moral standards by justifying in the end the virtuous behavior of the good guy and punishing the bad behavior ...
- Thu May 06, 2010 5:22 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Twinkies Chips—Sound Bites Bumper Stickers
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1441
Twinkies Chips—Sound Bites Bumper Stickers
<t>Twinkies & Chips—Sound Bites & Bumper Stickers<br/> <br/> A steady diet of Twinkies and chips will give us a fat gut while a steady diet of sound bites and bumper stickers will give us a fat head.<br/> <br/> Political parties and television commercials often depend upon well-crafted sou...
- Wed May 05, 2010 4:21 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Art and Wit are Subversive of Civilization; in a ‘Playful Way’
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1341
Art and Wit are Subversive of Civilization; in a ‘Playful Way’
<t>TruthBringer;1307768 wrote: Man need not interfere with the balance of nature. To do so could result in disturbing that balance, which would lead to the creation of new problems which could be far worse than the problem of overpopulation.<br/> <br/> <br/> We are meaning creating creatures. Humans...
- Tue May 04, 2010 3:24 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Art and Wit are Subversive of Civilization; in a ‘Playful Way’
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1341
Art and Wit are Subversive of Civilization; in a ‘Playful Way’
<t>Art and Wit are Subversive of Civilization; in a ‘Playful Way’<br/> <br/> The repressions of modern life have lost for us the “primary pleasures of which the censorship disapprovesâ€. Art and wit liberates repressed instinct; both rid us of our inhibitions and open the unconscious for insp...
- Sun May 02, 2010 3:26 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Dialogue/Cooperation as Debate/Conflict
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1223
Dialogue/Cooperation as Debate/Conflict
<t>Dialogue/Cooperation as Debate/Conflict<br/> <br/> Dialogue is to cooperation as debate is to conflict. Dialogue utilizes communication to facilitate harmony with the other while debate utilizes argumentation power to facilitate victory over the other. <br/> <br/> Internet discussion forums advan...
- Sat May 01, 2010 2:00 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Traditional Thinking
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2593
Traditional Thinking
<t>albertpollard;1307029 wrote: A changeless society, a traditional society, is characterized by the lack of alternatives.<br/> <br/> I would say a changeless or traditional society does not LACK alternatives, it simply sees itself as having no need to change. “It is the way it is, it is good this...
- Sat May 01, 2010 1:54 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Traditional Thinking
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2593
Traditional Thinking
<t>LarsMac;1306985 wrote: Sometimes I think I live on a different planet than you do.<br/> <br/> After this one, I am certain of it.<br/> <br/> No offense intended.<br/> <br/> <br/> Therein we can see a lesson. <br/> <br/> I think that one very important difference that an intellectual life might ha...
- Fri Apr 30, 2010 4:27 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Traditional Thinking
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2593
Traditional Thinking
<t>Traditional Thinking<br/> <br/> If it did not happen yesterday it cannot happen tomorrow—it has always been this way therefore it can be no other. This might be regarded as the traditional mode of thought. It is the mode of thinking taught to us by our educational institutions. Such thinking re...
- Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:56 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1453
Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
<t>Lon;1306480 wrote: What would a typical day be like in the life of a true intellectual? From waking to bedtime. It would be interesting to get your opinion and how that day might vary from the non intellectual.<br/> <br/> <br/> I would say that an individual seeking to develop an intellectual lif...
- Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:30 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1453
Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
<t>albertpollard;1306421 wrote: I see your point however unless one is independently wealthy one must concern themselves with the role of creater/consumer. No longer is there a society where one has a rich patron to support you while you concentrate on intellectual endevors. That being said you can ...
- Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:48 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1453
Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?
<t>Does an Intellectual Life Endanger Peace of Mind?<br/> <br/> Few individuals discover and display a talent, a personal resonance that can truly excite public appreciation. Those who do display such a resonance are truly rewarded. However, I am not particularly interested in those few but I am int...
- Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:41 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: What is Courage?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2062
What is Courage?
<t>Personal heroism by means of individualism is a task requiring courage and self-confidence. Courage and self-confidence are characteristics of few sapiens, young or old. It is a path less traveled because it imposes terrifying burdens; these burdens display themselves by isolation from the common...
- Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:34 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
<t>AussiePam;1304629 wrote: I expect it's absolutely normal (not enlightened, not intellectual) for older people once in a while to consider old age as some kind of burden on family, society, etc... and then find a reason why somehow getting rid of this burden should not justifiably apply to them pe...
- Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:32 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
<t>Lon;1304618 wrote: What you say is of course true-------oligarchy exists through out our society and we see it in not only corporate America but in Religious and Military America. But my preference is for this kind of structure (it's not that severe in my view) as opposed to having all things run...
- Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:20 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Would IT have happened had Greenspan studied SGCS?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1023
Would IT have happened had Greenspan studied SGCS?
<t>Would IT have happened had Greenspan studied SGCS?<br/> <br/> Allan Greenspan is the former director of the Federal Reserve; “IT†is the giant financial boondoggle that almost sent the globe into another Great Depression.<br/> <br/> Greenspan admitted that the “model†he was trusting was ...
- Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:04 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
Ahso
Thanks for taking up the baton.
Thanks for taking up the baton.
- Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:59 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
<t>Lon;1304464 wrote: I don't think it's the intellectualism that most people seem to dislike, but the arrogance of many intellectuals.<br/> <br/> I would appreciate an example of how Corporate America keeps us dumb----IBM, Microsoft, Monsanto for example.<br/> <br/> Hasn't the government done a fai...
- Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:01 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: ido
- Replies: 0
- Views: 805
ido
<t>Imagination and Ideology sent april 19<br/> <br/> When I read page 12 of “Ideology and Discourse†I became convinced that the metaphor ‘Ideology is Paradigm’ might be a good learning tool. I quote “ideologies may have a schema-like nature, that is, consist of a number of conventional ca...
- Sun Apr 18, 2010 4:25 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
<t>Lon<br/> <br/> Thanks for posting your ideas.<br/> <br/> First, I will say that our (American) culture is very anti-intellectual and therein, I think, lays the rub. <br/> <br/> We are anti-intellectual because those who control public policy (Corporate America) keep us like dumb bovine because it...
- Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:43 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: The Cost of Stayin Alive!
- Replies: 23
- Views: 3360
The Cost of Stayin Alive!
<t>The Cost of Stayin Alive!<br/> <br/> I once asked a professor of philosophy “what is philosophy about?†he responded “philosophy is a radically critical self-consciousnessâ€. It took me thirty years to understand this statement.<br/> <br/> I shall take a “radically critical self-consciou...
- Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:37 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Human Cognition is an Embodied Activity
- Replies: 0
- Views: 685
Human Cognition is an Embodied Activity
<t>Human Cognition is an Embodied Activity<br/> <br/> We have all grown up to consider thought to be primarily a matter of language and propositions. We have not generally been taught this notion explicitly but have acquired it through social osmosis (picked it up without conscious effort because it...
- Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:20 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Can humans live without religion?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4859
Can humans live without religion?
<t>We all do look inward and unfortunately one of the first things we see is that we are mortal. This becomes so anxiety producing that almost everything that we do is a result of humanity's first inward glance. First humans created soul, then gods, then God, then religion in our search for life eve...
- Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:49 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Objectivity is Our Shared Subjectivity
- Replies: 1
- Views: 604
Objectivity is Our Shared Subjectivity
<t>Objectivity is Our Shared Subjectivity<br/> <br/> Fingerprint and now DNA analysis are what I would call the epitome of objective truth. I say this because these two human characteristics are defining evidence upon which we judge a person guilty and thereby subject to the death penalty.<br/> <br/...
- Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:29 am
- Forum: Philosophy
- Topic: Industrial Revolution: The Tipping point?
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1073
Industrial Revolution: The Tipping point?
<t>Industrial Revolution: The Tipping point?<br/> <br/> We live in two very different worlds; a world of technical and technological order and clarity, and a world of personal and social disorder and confusion. We are increasingly able to solve problems in one domain and increasingly endangered by o...