Addendum
The dynamics of Monarchical Logic were the topic of discussion with Paul Ricoeur in 1989 or 1990 during one of his seminars at the University of Chicago- a few elements of which are discussed in this post.
One point that he made regarding the dynamics of truth and the Monarch in a system of Monarchical logic, I disagreed with and elaborated on in a way which was convincing. He said that in Monarchical logic, that the Monarch was the final arbiter of the truth because of absolute authority within that Nation state- that the Monarch literally determined what was the truth. I disagreed, and still do.
Objective truth outside the thinking of the monarch is always at the basis of the operation of Monarchical logic and decision making- but it's value gets masked and obscured. What Monarchical logic claims in might makes right is the embrace of the principle to be wrong without personal consequence.
What really occurs in a system of Monarchical logic are the interplay of two separate systems of event(cause and effect) attribution. The first system- we will say sits to the right- is 1)the system of objective knowledge of the sciences. This includes physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, the behavioral sciences of free action & the applied sciences of engineering. The Monarch can do nothing to change the truth- the reality- of the effectiveness of the information and discoveries in operation. He or she cannot rewrite or change the principles and formulas of aerodynamics, nor or medicine, nor any of the other scientific discoveries that work in the world. These principles and formulas are what they are, and follow the development of verifiable scientific discovery.
What the Monarch controls absolutely is the utilization of these principles and processes in 2) the system of social order among people through the use of absolute force through execution and torture which can be used to a) defeat resistance of all others to these decisions and designations if they are false and harmful, and b) direct others in the production of events that an individual normally wouldn't do.
The Monarch merely chooses which principle and process of science and engineering to use if he or she wishes to be effective, chooses to misuse the process in error or through force in the social order without consequence, and then utilizes definition or proclamation authority- correctly or incorrectly- without consequence.
In might makes right the Monarch in reality is never the final arbiter of truth, he or she in reality embraces the principle to be wrong without personal consequence- uses the total accumulation of force to claim and enforce the "right to be wrong" without consequence regardless of the event, regardless of the harm done to others- regardless of the truth.
Ivan "The Terrible" & the Martial Ideology of Aggression: the Effect of the false tenet of the Individual Perceived as Enemy, Might Makes Right & The False Justification Drama of Torture
Historical literature indicates that with absolute power over Russia, the Rurik Dynasty Czar 'Ivan the Terrible' eliminated through serial mass murder as much as 10% of the population of Russia until his death at the turn of the 15th century.
With the two decision making systems of "Might makes Right" and the false tenet of Martial Ideology that the human individual is absolutely evil, not capable of being trusted and thus the ultimate "enemy", these two systems implant blurring mechanisms(indicated previously in posts on this subject) that lead to inaccurate assessment of events and the behavior of others. They also ingrain a distrust of all other individuals in the most extreme way that causes a type of ultimate total war thinking in the sovereign towards others- towards his own citizens.
(new), 1/31/09
The distrust in the assessment of the behavior of others in the thinking of Martial Ideology is so severe that Ricoeur stated that it overwhelms any and all objective data based evidence to the contrary. This distrust is then compounded and exacerbated by the blurring mechanisms in the evaluation of the external and internal data of the behavior of individuals, which causes events to appear much more chaotic than they are. The behavior of the individual under both these systems this system is not trusted, and very often also not understood clearly, literally causing what Ricoeur called a "war of suspicion and confusion/chaos" that exist only in the head of the sovereign.
These are the mechanisms in operation that lie at the basis of the mindset of the torturor. This is why the literature of the documentation of torture describes over and over again a type of questioning that extends beyond the barrier of behavior and it's attribution to intention.
It is because of the ingrainged false presumption that the human individual is ultimately evil, and thus "guilty", that regardless of all evidence of benign behavior and all evidence of the absence of negative behavior, that the torture continues and the questioning continues until the "ultimate" distrust of the individual is confirmed and satisfied in the mind of the torturor- regardless of the truth. This is then how torture becomes the terrible and false "justification drama" of the torturor- in the forced and false confirmation of "guilt" through the administration of pain and the use of pschological techniques that will not be stopped until such a false "confession" is received. Thus it is through torture that both the initial suspicion and the torture itself become falsely "justified".
These are the dynamics of the false confession in torture, and the function which they serve- 1) the disbelief of the absence of any evidence of aggressive behavior or intent. This is generated by 2) the distrust and lack of respect for others, and
the aggression of the torturor that drive the need of the torturor to then 3) produce through torture such "evidence"- either through pronouncement or through forced action. 4) This then makes extant and "confirms" the fictional suspicion of the torturor, and 5) satisfies, only temporarily- for only the subject under the torture- the "punishment principle" at work in the aggression of the torturor toward the "guilty" subject of torture.
It is in this way that although there was complete and benign evidence of the behavior of the great majority of the citizens of Russia across half a century, that a sovereign like 'Ivan the Terrible', through the distrust inherent and ingrained in such thinking, lead to overwhelming evidence being completely ignored and the serial false "justification dramas" of torture and murder that defined his reign, and that were irrevocably documented in the history literature of the age and more importantly in the experience of the people of Russia.
The experience and the memory of the people under such a sovereign though is a long term "logic trap" in the thinking of "might makes right"- the "trap of history". The sovereign can indeed use might negatively to act in any way in which he or she pleases - right or wrong (the "right to be wrong")- without physical barrier or physical consequence from others because the sovereign controls all force and can use it brutally to defeat objection and dissent. However when he or she does use might negatively, he or she will be thought of negatively by the citizenry to the very extent that he or she does so.
To the extent in freedom and without coercion that the citizens do not do the same then becomes the truth of the contrast between the citizens and the sovereign, and the undeniable proof of the falseness of the thinking of the sovereign.
And so it is that Ivan acted merely as he did, but was experienced, thought of and remembered throughout all Russia and all history as 'Ivan the Terrible'- for the torture and murder of 10% of the population- of the people- of Russia.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
**Active Identity, Utilitarian Implications & The "Spotless Mind"
The theory of human identity known as "active identity" is the theory that the true identity of a human individual is realized through his or her free acts, the intentions formed to generate those acts, and the effect that those acts have on others- how those acts are considered by others.
A person who wakes up every day and chooses the act of writing is a writer, the person who runs often is a runner...etc etc. It is not only an objective description of identity, but also can be a method of operation for the human individual.
Clearly then, the operational aspects of "active identity" have implications and impact in the sphere of moral action, and can be an operational method of moral choice. Following the explanation of active identity above, if a person wishes to act in a manner considered "good" or benevolent, then what are required are: 1) the intention to produce a positive feedback result for others; 2) the care in the act's execution of objective requirements in the world necessary to produce the positive result; 3) the achievement of a positive result confirmed in the feedback of the other person; and 4) the absence of effects from the action that harm others. With these elements achieved, it can be said in the framework of this theory that the action did indeed produced a "good" result- that it was, in review, a good action.
In this way, with this as an operational method, with repeated "good" results, and extremely limited or absent negative results the person who consistently operates in this manner is attributed a positive moral designation.
Research indicates that this method has tremendous ethical and mental health benefits for sorting through emotional influences and exterior influences of events not produced through the action of the individual, but are experienced as "happening" around them or "to them"- in the choice of action. As active identity toward the "good" becomes habitually operational, it becomes a type of clearing mechanism for discarding choices that would not produce a good result, a type of clearing of emotional and exterior negativity in the narrowing of choice.
What gets produced from adotion of this method over time is a type of thinking that clears itself of negative influences. It is not the rah-rah associated with what is perceived in such self-help methods as "the power of positive thinking", but becomes a method of choice generated with a view towards the regard of others that produces in habit consistent positive - or at least benign- thinking, action, and results. Recent research also shows that this type of clear and positive thinking is confirmed through objective memory testing of the recollection of the events.
It is my contention, that this is similar, only from the viewpoint of the individually generated act, to the moral system of Utilitarianism described by John Stuart Mill. It won't be worked out in detail now, but think of it as Mill contained within the system of Kant. It begins with the respect of the other indicated in the goal to produce a positive result, yet it does accumulate in the piecemeal fashion described in Mill- each instance, over time, in the results, feedback and memory of the events of others. It can be seen as how the individual contributes to the overall social good.
As positive experiences and memories accumulate from one' own action and verifiable positive feedback from others, in relation to very little negative, what gets produced in review is what can be described undeniably as a clear experience/positive experience quotient or "happiness quotient". Call it the benefit of the clearing mechanism- with the result confirmed demonstrated in research results through what others have called a relatively "spotless mind".
(*Recent medical research, on some news shows, has indicated that memory imaging that normal individuals utilize when recalling memories, occur because it is actually a visual image in the brain that is produced through what we know now as Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) technology. Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) technology television screens, according to these shows, were developed through exterior replication of the biological miracle that reproduces these images.
Therefore in the future with the use of nano technology, scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the actual visual and audio memory of the inner thought processes of individuals will be able to be retrieved, transmitted and viewed just as audio and video images are viewed through digital electronic transmission today. Some anecdotal evidence indicates it may already be happening.)
In this way then, the effect that a person has had on others, the quality of life through a type of happiness quotient discussed above, could be quantified through the generation of their own memories of experience with others, and the memories of the others experiences with them- verifiable in a way beyond debate, whether experience with a person was positive, neutral or negative.
A person who wakes up every day and chooses the act of writing is a writer, the person who runs often is a runner...etc etc. It is not only an objective description of identity, but also can be a method of operation for the human individual.
Clearly then, the operational aspects of "active identity" have implications and impact in the sphere of moral action, and can be an operational method of moral choice. Following the explanation of active identity above, if a person wishes to act in a manner considered "good" or benevolent, then what are required are: 1) the intention to produce a positive feedback result for others; 2) the care in the act's execution of objective requirements in the world necessary to produce the positive result; 3) the achievement of a positive result confirmed in the feedback of the other person; and 4) the absence of effects from the action that harm others. With these elements achieved, it can be said in the framework of this theory that the action did indeed produced a "good" result- that it was, in review, a good action.
In this way, with this as an operational method, with repeated "good" results, and extremely limited or absent negative results the person who consistently operates in this manner is attributed a positive moral designation.
Research indicates that this method has tremendous ethical and mental health benefits for sorting through emotional influences and exterior influences of events not produced through the action of the individual, but are experienced as "happening" around them or "to them"- in the choice of action. As active identity toward the "good" becomes habitually operational, it becomes a type of clearing mechanism for discarding choices that would not produce a good result, a type of clearing of emotional and exterior negativity in the narrowing of choice.
What gets produced from adotion of this method over time is a type of thinking that clears itself of negative influences. It is not the rah-rah associated with what is perceived in such self-help methods as "the power of positive thinking", but becomes a method of choice generated with a view towards the regard of others that produces in habit consistent positive - or at least benign- thinking, action, and results. Recent research also shows that this type of clear and positive thinking is confirmed through objective memory testing of the recollection of the events.
It is my contention, that this is similar, only from the viewpoint of the individually generated act, to the moral system of Utilitarianism described by John Stuart Mill. It won't be worked out in detail now, but think of it as Mill contained within the system of Kant. It begins with the respect of the other indicated in the goal to produce a positive result, yet it does accumulate in the piecemeal fashion described in Mill- each instance, over time, in the results, feedback and memory of the events of others. It can be seen as how the individual contributes to the overall social good.
As positive experiences and memories accumulate from one' own action and verifiable positive feedback from others, in relation to very little negative, what gets produced in review is what can be described undeniably as a clear experience/positive experience quotient or "happiness quotient". Call it the benefit of the clearing mechanism- with the result confirmed demonstrated in research results through what others have called a relatively "spotless mind".
(*Recent medical research, on some news shows, has indicated that memory imaging that normal individuals utilize when recalling memories, occur because it is actually a visual image in the brain that is produced through what we know now as Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) technology. Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) technology television screens, according to these shows, were developed through exterior replication of the biological miracle that reproduces these images.
Therefore in the future with the use of nano technology, scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the actual visual and audio memory of the inner thought processes of individuals will be able to be retrieved, transmitted and viewed just as audio and video images are viewed through digital electronic transmission today. Some anecdotal evidence indicates it may already be happening.)
In this way then, the effect that a person has had on others, the quality of life through a type of happiness quotient discussed above, could be quantified through the generation of their own memories of experience with others, and the memories of the others experiences with them- verifiable in a way beyond debate, whether experience with a person was positive, neutral or negative.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Root of Contest/Martial Logic- Reason & The Death Instinct..Part I
Prelimary thoughts on the Root of Either/or Thinking
Some thinkers have suggested that the logic of Contest/Martial either/or thinking- "us vs Them"- historically regarded as a fallacy in everyday thinking, is the primary logic form of human experience. This is false, though the form of the dynamic is functional within the larger adopted frame of contest, war, and physical sustainment and survival.
The root of this thinking, which has been treated in seminars in the past, lies in the combination of the use of reason as an architectonic categorization of information and the knowledge of ability, with what is known as the death instinct- in situations where the use of reason is necessary in the decision making that avoids immanent serious injury or death.
Following the form of Aristotelian and Kantian categorization/organization of knowledge, the pressure from immanent physical threat, implied in the formulation of the basis of natural right as the fear of death, elaborated in Leo Strauss Natural Right and History, and developed further on this blog, literally provides the structure of a point at which failure to decide and act correctly renders the result of death. We all know this in the more benign social forms of deadlines, bill due dates, qualifying educational tests, etc..
When normally at leisure, or under very little time pressure, the individual has a tremendous array of information and choices by which to select in order to further material and physical sustainment of needs. In physical threat situations where the element of threat is observed but moving closer in distance and time, the information that is useful and the options of successful avoidance or thwarting of the threat, become lesser and lesser, and the individual quickly sorts through the options to find the most effective means of survival- "best thing" to do.
This type of heuristic mechanism then reduces to the deadline and a decision must be made- and historically and anthropologically this meant "fight or flight".
There will be more added later.
Some thinkers have suggested that the logic of Contest/Martial either/or thinking- "us vs Them"- historically regarded as a fallacy in everyday thinking, is the primary logic form of human experience. This is false, though the form of the dynamic is functional within the larger adopted frame of contest, war, and physical sustainment and survival.
The root of this thinking, which has been treated in seminars in the past, lies in the combination of the use of reason as an architectonic categorization of information and the knowledge of ability, with what is known as the death instinct- in situations where the use of reason is necessary in the decision making that avoids immanent serious injury or death.
Following the form of Aristotelian and Kantian categorization/organization of knowledge, the pressure from immanent physical threat, implied in the formulation of the basis of natural right as the fear of death, elaborated in Leo Strauss Natural Right and History, and developed further on this blog, literally provides the structure of a point at which failure to decide and act correctly renders the result of death. We all know this in the more benign social forms of deadlines, bill due dates, qualifying educational tests, etc..
When normally at leisure, or under very little time pressure, the individual has a tremendous array of information and choices by which to select in order to further material and physical sustainment of needs. In physical threat situations where the element of threat is observed but moving closer in distance and time, the information that is useful and the options of successful avoidance or thwarting of the threat, become lesser and lesser, and the individual quickly sorts through the options to find the most effective means of survival- "best thing" to do.
This type of heuristic mechanism then reduces to the deadline and a decision must be made- and historically and anthropologically this meant "fight or flight".
There will be more added later.
'Witness to the Positive Goodness of Human Nature'- Response Against Martial ideology's False Depiction of the Individual as Absolutely Evil
This is a response against Martial ideology's false depiction of the nature of the individual as absolutely evil. It is a witness account of waitering and the direct interaction of questions and conversations with 96000 customers over 11 years.
It complements a more objective view of individual human nature that is found in the acts of individuals- which are found statistically. On this blog this response then complements the low rate of crime depicted in statistics in James Patterson's 'America in the 20th Century'. (or 'The United States in the 20th Century'- I must check before finalizing this reference)
While waitering mostly in famous Chicago Steakhouses- I had the pleasure of serving, and thus interacting with 35 customers per day, 5 days, 50 weeks, 11 years. (already adjusted for "repeats and regulars"). This comes to approximately 96,000 customers.
I found customers to be normal people, concerned mostly with the people they were with, and the reasons they were there. As the restaurants were expensive downtown Chicago steakhouses, the clientele profile generally was educated and with economic resources. I found if I put effort into serving them well, that they would be receptive to questions I had that were about them- where they were from, what they did for a living, what their jobs entailed, what they liked about their jobs and what they liked about where they were from.
I found that if my attitude towards this interaction was positive, and it was engaged with confidence, imagination and personality, that more often the clientele would initiate and interject their own personalities and spirit into the interaction, display a sense of comfortableness with the surroundings, enjoy their time more at the restaurant and come back again.
For me it was a tremendous benefit of the job to meet them, serve them, talk with them, learn about them, and make their time at the restaurant more enjoyable.
As the restaurant was expensive, they had high but for the most part reasonable expectations, and if there were satisfaction problems, that with sincere and reasonable efforts to accommodate these issues, for the great majority these efforts would resolve the issue at hand.
In the 11 years, of the days when I worked and which included ALL restaurant and bar customers, there were 4 behavior incidents of customers which required immediate summoning of the police- all which can be attributed to intoxication, three of which were bar customers.
To my recollection, there were only two "dine and dash" incidents in those 11 years.
It complements a more objective view of individual human nature that is found in the acts of individuals- which are found statistically. On this blog this response then complements the low rate of crime depicted in statistics in James Patterson's 'America in the 20th Century'. (or 'The United States in the 20th Century'- I must check before finalizing this reference)
While waitering mostly in famous Chicago Steakhouses- I had the pleasure of serving, and thus interacting with 35 customers per day, 5 days, 50 weeks, 11 years. (already adjusted for "repeats and regulars"). This comes to approximately 96,000 customers.
I found customers to be normal people, concerned mostly with the people they were with, and the reasons they were there. As the restaurants were expensive downtown Chicago steakhouses, the clientele profile generally was educated and with economic resources. I found if I put effort into serving them well, that they would be receptive to questions I had that were about them- where they were from, what they did for a living, what their jobs entailed, what they liked about their jobs and what they liked about where they were from.
I found that if my attitude towards this interaction was positive, and it was engaged with confidence, imagination and personality, that more often the clientele would initiate and interject their own personalities and spirit into the interaction, display a sense of comfortableness with the surroundings, enjoy their time more at the restaurant and come back again.
For me it was a tremendous benefit of the job to meet them, serve them, talk with them, learn about them, and make their time at the restaurant more enjoyable.
As the restaurant was expensive, they had high but for the most part reasonable expectations, and if there were satisfaction problems, that with sincere and reasonable efforts to accommodate these issues, for the great majority these efforts would resolve the issue at hand.
In the 11 years, of the days when I worked and which included ALL restaurant and bar customers, there were 4 behavior incidents of customers which required immediate summoning of the police- all which can be attributed to intoxication, three of which were bar customers.
To my recollection, there were only two "dine and dash" incidents in those 11 years.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Previous Public Affairs Writing- 'The Mexico Essays' & Other Writing
This Post serves as a window to another blog that features previous issue oriented public affairs writing. I elect to use this other blog because the frame of reference of this writing is more narrow than the wider Philosophical frame of reference that constitutes the writing on The New Citizenship blog.
http://mexicoessays.blogspot.com/2008/10/mexico-en-la-piel.html
http://mexicoessays.blogspot.com/2008/10/mexico-en-la-piel.html
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Warm Wishes to Rod Blagojevich and Richard Durbin- Lithuanian/Russian Heritage Affiliation
Warm wishes and support are extended to Governor Rod Blagojevich, his wife and his children. I met him at a Stripeik(my mother's family) family event in the early 1970's, and met he, his wife and his children at another such event before one of his elections. Even though he has Serbian heritage, this qualifies he and his family at least as honorary Lithuanian/Russian.
Warm wishes and support are also extended to Senator Richard Durbin and his family, who are also of Lithuanian/Russian heritage. I met him in the lobby of the Seneca hotel on Chestnut street in Chicago, just outside of the door of the restaurant where I worked.
May both elected officials of high government position from the State of Illinois find the strength and wisdom to guide them through the important and difficult decisions that continually confront today's leaders and their families- in their positions.
Warm wishes and support are also extended to Senator Richard Durbin and his family, who are also of Lithuanian/Russian heritage. I met him in the lobby of the Seneca hotel on Chestnut street in Chicago, just outside of the door of the restaurant where I worked.
May both elected officials of high government position from the State of Illinois find the strength and wisdom to guide them through the important and difficult decisions that continually confront today's leaders and their families- in their positions.
Vengeance As An Operative Concept in History Has Been Obsolete Since 1945
In a discussion in the last two years with an intelligent person, the question was posed as to what would I do, or how I would feel about it, if my family were the victim of some great injustice of the wars of History from over 100-150 years ago.
My answer to that was that if it were the case, there would be nothing that I could do in the present to rectify that, and that as the hypothetical posed was an INJUSTICE, that I would attempt to make the best contribution I could as a citizen in the present and not follow the example of the attacker.
My answer was met with considerable skepticism. I followed up with this rejoinder: but don't you think that the day of vengeance as a real operative force in history is past- done and gone. With the advent of ever advancing technology and control of Military weaponry through the concentration of superpower control, (effectively on the world stage as it is presented today, there is really only Nato, Russia and China as real military powers) and the institutions of law, isn't vengeance really an obsolete concept for practical application for the average citizen?? I said, At least for me it is.
For all intents and purposes hasn't vengeance as a functional concept really been done and gone since 1945?? And with GPS and nano-tech tracking of individual retail items that has been demonstrated in Wall Street Journal articles, don't tell me that our government, and therefore NATO, hasn't had every one of those weapons tagged for quite some time now, whether they inform us about it or not.
I said that I thought this was a good thing, that there hasn't been the big nationalistic race of the nation throwing itself as a war machine into the all-or-nothing war since then, and that the world has been much safer for it, and that there has been nothing like the total destruction that occurred in Europe with WWI and WWII.
I said that I thought this was a very good thing for the common citizen, to focus on working and making a living, contributing to his or her community and the lives of his or her family and it's members. The machinery of Vengeance has been institutionalized and concentrated and is out of our hands, so it doesn't make any sense to focus on it and live that way and poison the good things that can be done with one's time. These institutions don't operate perfectly, but I told the speaker that I wouldn't live that way. Better to focus on the good that can be done with one's freedom.
The day of Vengeance as an operative concept on the big stage of history in changing those and the institutions in control of the world order is done and gone, and has been since 1945. Citizens now need only to focus on contributing on whatever level they can and on improving their daily lives. Citizens need now only to focus on the good that can be done with their freedom.
My answer to that was that if it were the case, there would be nothing that I could do in the present to rectify that, and that as the hypothetical posed was an INJUSTICE, that I would attempt to make the best contribution I could as a citizen in the present and not follow the example of the attacker.
My answer was met with considerable skepticism. I followed up with this rejoinder: but don't you think that the day of vengeance as a real operative force in history is past- done and gone. With the advent of ever advancing technology and control of Military weaponry through the concentration of superpower control, (effectively on the world stage as it is presented today, there is really only Nato, Russia and China as real military powers) and the institutions of law, isn't vengeance really an obsolete concept for practical application for the average citizen?? I said, At least for me it is.
For all intents and purposes hasn't vengeance as a functional concept really been done and gone since 1945?? And with GPS and nano-tech tracking of individual retail items that has been demonstrated in Wall Street Journal articles, don't tell me that our government, and therefore NATO, hasn't had every one of those weapons tagged for quite some time now, whether they inform us about it or not.
I said that I thought this was a good thing, that there hasn't been the big nationalistic race of the nation throwing itself as a war machine into the all-or-nothing war since then, and that the world has been much safer for it, and that there has been nothing like the total destruction that occurred in Europe with WWI and WWII.
I said that I thought this was a very good thing for the common citizen, to focus on working and making a living, contributing to his or her community and the lives of his or her family and it's members. The machinery of Vengeance has been institutionalized and concentrated and is out of our hands, so it doesn't make any sense to focus on it and live that way and poison the good things that can be done with one's time. These institutions don't operate perfectly, but I told the speaker that I wouldn't live that way. Better to focus on the good that can be done with one's freedom.
The day of Vengeance as an operative concept on the big stage of history in changing those and the institutions in control of the world order is done and gone, and has been since 1945. Citizens now need only to focus on contributing on whatever level they can and on improving their daily lives. Citizens need now only to focus on the good that can be done with their freedom.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
First Quarter 2009 Blog Story Forecast- 'Contradictions in the Darwin/Hobbes Position' & Other Pieces...
First Quarter 2009 blog forecast...Here are a few of the story pieces that are to be posted on this blog over the next few months....
1) The true Magic Realism- the superabundant(as Paul Ricoeur terms it) calculus of human relationship and interaction.
2)Historical addendum on the unstated enormous impact of the development of both: A) the printing press, and B) the musket/rifle, that combined in the change of the balance of power between the government and the individual, demonstrated in the history of political events and ideas from 1700 to 1865.(period ends because of the development of the Gatling gun).
Part 2- C) In conjunction with the impact of the developments of the printing press and the musket/rifle, there was also the codification in law by the 2nd amendment of the right of the individual to bear arms that- at that time- had real and significant impact on the outcome of military battle. This in effect officially militarized the American household and American citizenship both in a material sense and in a psychological sense in ways that have no equivalent to life as we know it in the United States today.
What we can call the military character of United States citizenship from 1776 onward was transformed then into a more benign form only after the development of the Gatling gun, the ending of individual guerilla insurrection(indicated in 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' and 'The Assassination of Jesse James') and the restoration of order extended in the reconstruction period after the end of the Civil War in 1865, and in the reconstruction amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
As every man with a gun before 1865 literally had the power to make war, it gives a different and concrete connotation to the phrase (of the French Revolution) that "every man was a king".
3) Contradictions in the Darwin/Hobbes position of what is known on this blog as Philosophy Case #1- Darwin/Hobbes vs. Kant/St. Paul: 1) False- Heidegger conference attendees claim that the plaintiff system of law equals aggression/vengeance, 2) Sophie's Choice result merely confirms Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs- when properly configured, and contradicts character flaw claim
4) Why are the Philosophical Positions of the Revolutionary War era group of founding American figures & Abraham Lincoln not taught as a bachelors degree core curriculum class of American Political Philosophy in American Universities?
5) Disagreement with S. Zizek's Interpretation in 'Tarrying with the Negative' of the Kantian formation of Radical Evil as evidence for the primacy of "the negative" in human life.
6) (maybe), Comments on poorly constructed and false Philosophical themes in the movies 'Seven', 'The Bourne Identity', 'The Hunted' & Other movies.
1) The true Magic Realism- the superabundant(as Paul Ricoeur terms it) calculus of human relationship and interaction.
2)Historical addendum on the unstated enormous impact of the development of both: A) the printing press, and B) the musket/rifle, that combined in the change of the balance of power between the government and the individual, demonstrated in the history of political events and ideas from 1700 to 1865.(period ends because of the development of the Gatling gun).
Part 2- C) In conjunction with the impact of the developments of the printing press and the musket/rifle, there was also the codification in law by the 2nd amendment of the right of the individual to bear arms that- at that time- had real and significant impact on the outcome of military battle. This in effect officially militarized the American household and American citizenship both in a material sense and in a psychological sense in ways that have no equivalent to life as we know it in the United States today.
What we can call the military character of United States citizenship from 1776 onward was transformed then into a more benign form only after the development of the Gatling gun, the ending of individual guerilla insurrection(indicated in 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' and 'The Assassination of Jesse James') and the restoration of order extended in the reconstruction period after the end of the Civil War in 1865, and in the reconstruction amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
As every man with a gun before 1865 literally had the power to make war, it gives a different and concrete connotation to the phrase (of the French Revolution) that "every man was a king".
3) Contradictions in the Darwin/Hobbes position of what is known on this blog as Philosophy Case #1- Darwin/Hobbes vs. Kant/St. Paul: 1) False- Heidegger conference attendees claim that the plaintiff system of law equals aggression/vengeance, 2) Sophie's Choice result merely confirms Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs- when properly configured, and contradicts character flaw claim
4) Why are the Philosophical Positions of the Revolutionary War era group of founding American figures & Abraham Lincoln not taught as a bachelors degree core curriculum class of American Political Philosophy in American Universities?
5) Disagreement with S. Zizek's Interpretation in 'Tarrying with the Negative' of the Kantian formation of Radical Evil as evidence for the primacy of "the negative" in human life.
6) (maybe), Comments on poorly constructed and false Philosophical themes in the movies 'Seven', 'The Bourne Identity', 'The Hunted' & Other movies.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
'Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics'- How are Synthetic Apriori Judgments Possible?
I'm reading the corpus of Martin Heidegger's work right now to see if there are philosophical issues and stances that need to be addressed. As so many University philosophy departments throughout the U.S. and Europe since WWII have been influenced by his work, it is necessary to do a careful review of the work and the secondary scholarship surrounding it.
Of course the two main texts that lay out his early Philosophical positions are 'Being and Time' and 'Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics', which is a technical exposition of Heidegger's interpretation of 'The Critique of Pure Reason'.
Although I am still in the middle of reading the latter of these two works, there is one Philosophical issue that can be addressed. The nature of this address has nothing to do, right now, with Heidegger's interpretation, but addresses the central question of the 'Critique of Pure Reason'. This question determines the layout of the entire Kantian project of such a critique, and as such is one of the most famous questions in the history of Philosophy.
This question is 'How are synthetic apriori judgments possible?'
As Kant answers this question in the form of a Critique of Pure Reason, and as the technical issues of this question are complex, but also reductive to a few central focal points- as Heidegger demonstrates, this is not the time nor the forum to address at length these issues.
What I will say in way of a very general statement about Heidegger's treatment, is that he reduces what Kant calls the two pure intuitions of Time and Space into that of only Time, and then from this focuses on what Kant calls the "Power of the Imagination as a faculty of the Mind or Soul" as the main mental instrument of the core synthesis of what Heidegger calls "Pure Intuition and Pure Thinking". This, in a very general answer, is the overall approach Heidegger takes in his technical exposition of the Kantian elaboration of the answer of "How are synthetic apriori judgments possible?" that forms 'The Critique of Pure Reason'. The 'Critique of Pure Reason' is then Kant's demonstration, through an exposition of pure reason alone, of how synthetic apriori judgments are possible.
What I will say about the answer to this central question, of "how are synthetic apriori judgments possible?", is that way too much has been made about the formalistic charge against Kant by critics after the the turn of the 20th century. But then what would Philosophers and Kant's political opponents do if it were admitted that he really had it right?
There is a simple answer to this question that completely supports both Kant's approach and exposition- and this answer is one that is empiricist, pragmatic, and embodiedly realistic in nature. It does however every so slightly modify, or vary from, the original Kantian exposition, but it is an answer that will make it much simpler for students of Philosophy to understand. It was an answer I gave at a graduate seminar audited on the Critique of Pure Reason in SIU Carbondale somewhere between '83 and '85.
How are synthetic apriori judgments possible? Kant answers the question from the position of utilizing only Pure Reason- from the what we know of thinking and experience from only thinking. From another angle it can be answered in only two words.....The Brain.
A Note on Heideggerian "Primordial Thinking"
In Being and Time Heidegger states the goal of reaching a more "primordial thinking". The way that this thinking is described in 'Being and Time', 'Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics', and the essay 'What is Called Thinking', renders this project nothing less than MYTHICAL. As Heidegger attempts to describe it, there is no such thing.
The goal of this project of Heidegger's is merely a contrarian reaction to the beginning of Kant's 'Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals', which advocates a precise and careful approach to the study of the roots of Practical reason and morals, so that public discourse and thinking on these matters does not fall into "a barbaric state".
If there is such a thing as "primordial thinking", it is precisely using knowledge and expertise to advantage in practical situations- the use of practical reason- and the ever advancing increase in this knowledge and expertise.
This is indicated in 'the Kant Variations' in a couple of places, but for this note it is found specifically in the analysis of the root of math and numbers- of the number one which is derived from the ONE thing as the object of desire. Reason "zeroes in" on the object that is useful for need, and so desire is brought to the precision of action that meets specific need through the process of thinking. So then also FINDING the precision that is necessary for useful knowledge and action to be useful through study and research is equally part of this natural thinking. This is then TRUE "primordial thinking".
But this is nothing less than normal practical thinking, the analysis of which is found in the 'Critique of Practical Reason'.
Addendum 2: "Being There"- The Claim of the Problem of Translation
In 'Being and Time', Heidegger's formulation of Dasein(Being There)as a fundamental condition of human experience, led to a claim of a diminished transfer of the essence of experience in communication, and in later Heidegger scholarship to what was referred as the "problem of translation". This leads to the false conclusion that experience between humans is not really common, and that the experiences of others cannot really be understood.
It is a bizarre book that attempts to communicate that communication doesn't communicate, as the expression of writing is just as much experience as other experiences. Why even write a book if your belief is that experience and understanding cannot be communicated? The true believer in such a false theory doesn't even write the book, why would one waste their time?
In the pathological sense- the bodily sense- we know this to be false, as each of us with normal neurological activity must take our hand from the stove burner lest it be permanently damaged, as each of us do not see bone structure through only movement- as the t-rex did, as noone on earth possesses xray vision.
Paul Ricoeur rightly located this perspective in an overly self-absorbed and concentrated analysis of inner personal feeling, in the mistake that because experience is lived as "mine", that it is essentially unlike others. If this were true there would never be ANY human family connection, of love established between mother and children, or between sisters and brothers. Empathy works to help establish these connections- these connections that last, and these connections that we mourn if lost. But we do feel the pain when our mother cries, and we do feel the pain and are worried when our brothers are sick, and we feel the pain through the stories of these experiences of our loved ones.
Heidegger's formulation of Dasein as fundamental is incorrect, it describes the view of the conscious choice to stop connecting with others, and the view of self inner "feeling" as a priority over action. It was for this reason that Ricoeur did not subscribe to Heidegger's position. Ricoeur felt it led to an unnecessary self pity- I agree with his view.
Of course the two main texts that lay out his early Philosophical positions are 'Being and Time' and 'Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics', which is a technical exposition of Heidegger's interpretation of 'The Critique of Pure Reason'.
Although I am still in the middle of reading the latter of these two works, there is one Philosophical issue that can be addressed. The nature of this address has nothing to do, right now, with Heidegger's interpretation, but addresses the central question of the 'Critique of Pure Reason'. This question determines the layout of the entire Kantian project of such a critique, and as such is one of the most famous questions in the history of Philosophy.
This question is 'How are synthetic apriori judgments possible?'
As Kant answers this question in the form of a Critique of Pure Reason, and as the technical issues of this question are complex, but also reductive to a few central focal points- as Heidegger demonstrates, this is not the time nor the forum to address at length these issues.
What I will say in way of a very general statement about Heidegger's treatment, is that he reduces what Kant calls the two pure intuitions of Time and Space into that of only Time, and then from this focuses on what Kant calls the "Power of the Imagination as a faculty of the Mind or Soul" as the main mental instrument of the core synthesis of what Heidegger calls "Pure Intuition and Pure Thinking". This, in a very general answer, is the overall approach Heidegger takes in his technical exposition of the Kantian elaboration of the answer of "How are synthetic apriori judgments possible?" that forms 'The Critique of Pure Reason'. The 'Critique of Pure Reason' is then Kant's demonstration, through an exposition of pure reason alone, of how synthetic apriori judgments are possible.
What I will say about the answer to this central question, of "how are synthetic apriori judgments possible?", is that way too much has been made about the formalistic charge against Kant by critics after the the turn of the 20th century. But then what would Philosophers and Kant's political opponents do if it were admitted that he really had it right?
There is a simple answer to this question that completely supports both Kant's approach and exposition- and this answer is one that is empiricist, pragmatic, and embodiedly realistic in nature. It does however every so slightly modify, or vary from, the original Kantian exposition, but it is an answer that will make it much simpler for students of Philosophy to understand. It was an answer I gave at a graduate seminar audited on the Critique of Pure Reason in SIU Carbondale somewhere between '83 and '85.
How are synthetic apriori judgments possible? Kant answers the question from the position of utilizing only Pure Reason- from the what we know of thinking and experience from only thinking. From another angle it can be answered in only two words.....The Brain.
A Note on Heideggerian "Primordial Thinking"
In Being and Time Heidegger states the goal of reaching a more "primordial thinking". The way that this thinking is described in 'Being and Time', 'Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics', and the essay 'What is Called Thinking', renders this project nothing less than MYTHICAL. As Heidegger attempts to describe it, there is no such thing.
The goal of this project of Heidegger's is merely a contrarian reaction to the beginning of Kant's 'Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals', which advocates a precise and careful approach to the study of the roots of Practical reason and morals, so that public discourse and thinking on these matters does not fall into "a barbaric state".
If there is such a thing as "primordial thinking", it is precisely using knowledge and expertise to advantage in practical situations- the use of practical reason- and the ever advancing increase in this knowledge and expertise.
This is indicated in 'the Kant Variations' in a couple of places, but for this note it is found specifically in the analysis of the root of math and numbers- of the number one which is derived from the ONE thing as the object of desire. Reason "zeroes in" on the object that is useful for need, and so desire is brought to the precision of action that meets specific need through the process of thinking. So then also FINDING the precision that is necessary for useful knowledge and action to be useful through study and research is equally part of this natural thinking. This is then TRUE "primordial thinking".
But this is nothing less than normal practical thinking, the analysis of which is found in the 'Critique of Practical Reason'.
Addendum 2: "Being There"- The Claim of the Problem of Translation
In 'Being and Time', Heidegger's formulation of Dasein(Being There)as a fundamental condition of human experience, led to a claim of a diminished transfer of the essence of experience in communication, and in later Heidegger scholarship to what was referred as the "problem of translation". This leads to the false conclusion that experience between humans is not really common, and that the experiences of others cannot really be understood.
It is a bizarre book that attempts to communicate that communication doesn't communicate, as the expression of writing is just as much experience as other experiences. Why even write a book if your belief is that experience and understanding cannot be communicated? The true believer in such a false theory doesn't even write the book, why would one waste their time?
In the pathological sense- the bodily sense- we know this to be false, as each of us with normal neurological activity must take our hand from the stove burner lest it be permanently damaged, as each of us do not see bone structure through only movement- as the t-rex did, as noone on earth possesses xray vision.
Paul Ricoeur rightly located this perspective in an overly self-absorbed and concentrated analysis of inner personal feeling, in the mistake that because experience is lived as "mine", that it is essentially unlike others. If this were true there would never be ANY human family connection, of love established between mother and children, or between sisters and brothers. Empathy works to help establish these connections- these connections that last, and these connections that we mourn if lost. But we do feel the pain when our mother cries, and we do feel the pain and are worried when our brothers are sick, and we feel the pain through the stories of these experiences of our loved ones.
Heidegger's formulation of Dasein as fundamental is incorrect, it describes the view of the conscious choice to stop connecting with others, and the view of self inner "feeling" as a priority over action. It was for this reason that Ricoeur did not subscribe to Heidegger's position. Ricoeur felt it led to an unnecessary self pity- I agree with his view.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
JAN 20- Schopenhauer Was Wrong, and Has No Followers- (2nd Workout Mix)
Henceforth this post will serve to provide examples each week in music that clearly demonstrate the innaccuracy of the quote by Arthur Schopenhauer of the overly dark view of what he called the "real nature of the world".
It is my contention that the position outlined in the quote by Schopenhauer below has no genuine long term followers and adherents. This is because anyone who truly embraces the position outlined below is dead by their own hand shortly thereafter. Thus any thinker who claims to be a long-term adherent of this position in truth is really only an adherent of complaining about life. Schopenhauer has no real followers in Philosophy.
How do the songs with themes below belong in a post against the negative Philosophy of Schopenhauer?? Simple- one person's terrible and false philosophy of life is another person's awesome workout mix!!(below is the 2nd group of workout mix music)
And after an hour and a half of hard sports, anybody feeling "the edge" in these songs-of work or the commute- discovers that it goes away all by itself, with only endorphin release.
Who would have thunk that both one of the real weak points and in my mind the only real strong point in Schopenhauer's philosophy are both functionally connected and subordinate to endorphin release through healthy exercise??!!
In some places it's the season to hit the slopes...in the spring it will be time for putting on skates and rollerblading along Lake Michigan in Chicago, hitting the wave wall at Shedd Aquarium or the stairs at the Field museum, and asphalt basketball in the cities.
Green day- Basket Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ7PKybyoxc
Foo Fighters- Everlong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0BMfqFP9c
Rage Against the Machine
Killing in the Name Of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY
Guerilla Radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv3xM3v4-rI
Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPQR-OsH0RQ
Evanescence- Bring Me to Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TILCIRspO0
Schopenhauer: "The purpose of this highest poetical achievement is the description of the terrible side of life. The unspeakable pain, the wretchedness and misery of mankind, the triumph of wickedness, the scornful mastery of chance, and the irretriveable fall of the good and the innocent are all here presented to us; and here is to be found a significant hint as to the nature of the world and of existence...The motives that were previously so powerful now lose their force, and instead of them the complete knowledge of the real nature of the world, acting as a quieter of the will, produces resignation, the giving up not merely of life, but of the whole will-to-live itself".
Previously Featured:
Linkin Park- Numb, What I've Done, In the End, Daughtry- Its Not Over, There and Back Again, Metallica- Enter Sandman, From Phantom of the Opera: Think of Me, Music of the Night, All I ask of You, Masquerade, Prima Donna, Colbie Caillat- Bubbly, John Mayer- Your body is a wonderland, Sting - Fields of gold, Sarah Mclachlan- Ice cream, Don Henley - End of the Innocence, Gloria Estefan- 'Oye Mi Canto', Juanes- 'La Camisa Negra', Chambao- 'Ahi Estas Tu', Ricky Martin & Mari de 'Chambao'- Tu Recuerdo, Sublime- 'Santeria', Counting Crows- 'Angels of the Silences', Led Zeppelin- 'Fool in the Rain', Tim McGraw- 'Something Like That', Jessia Andrews- 'Who I Am', Michael Jackson- 'I'll Be There', 'Never Can Say Goodbye', 'Black or White', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Thriller', Fifth Dimension/Marilyn McCoo-'Wedding Bell Blues', 'Stone Soul Picnic', 'One Less Bell to Answer'(her voice and the music are beautiful, despite the words), 'You Don't Have to Be a Star', 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In', Fleetwood Mac- 'Sarah', Pearl Jam- 'Even Flow', John Mayer- 'Daughters', Carrie Underwood- 'All American Girl', Pretenders- 'Show Me', Jackson 5- ABC, Eric Clapton- 'Wonderful Tonight', Elvis, Gloria Estefan- '1, 2, 3', , Stevie Ray Vaughn- 'Little Wing', Taylor Swift- 'Our Song', Stevie Wonder- 'Isn't She Lovely', Mariah Carey- 'Always Be My Baby'
It is my contention that the position outlined in the quote by Schopenhauer below has no genuine long term followers and adherents. This is because anyone who truly embraces the position outlined below is dead by their own hand shortly thereafter. Thus any thinker who claims to be a long-term adherent of this position in truth is really only an adherent of complaining about life. Schopenhauer has no real followers in Philosophy.
How do the songs with themes below belong in a post against the negative Philosophy of Schopenhauer?? Simple- one person's terrible and false philosophy of life is another person's awesome workout mix!!(below is the 2nd group of workout mix music)
And after an hour and a half of hard sports, anybody feeling "the edge" in these songs-of work or the commute- discovers that it goes away all by itself, with only endorphin release.
Who would have thunk that both one of the real weak points and in my mind the only real strong point in Schopenhauer's philosophy are both functionally connected and subordinate to endorphin release through healthy exercise??!!
In some places it's the season to hit the slopes...in the spring it will be time for putting on skates and rollerblading along Lake Michigan in Chicago, hitting the wave wall at Shedd Aquarium or the stairs at the Field museum, and asphalt basketball in the cities.
Green day- Basket Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ7PKybyoxc
Foo Fighters- Everlong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0BMfqFP9c
Rage Against the Machine
Killing in the Name Of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY
Guerilla Radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv3xM3v4-rI
Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPQR-OsH0RQ
Evanescence- Bring Me to Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TILCIRspO0
Schopenhauer: "The purpose of this highest poetical achievement is the description of the terrible side of life. The unspeakable pain, the wretchedness and misery of mankind, the triumph of wickedness, the scornful mastery of chance, and the irretriveable fall of the good and the innocent are all here presented to us; and here is to be found a significant hint as to the nature of the world and of existence...The motives that were previously so powerful now lose their force, and instead of them the complete knowledge of the real nature of the world, acting as a quieter of the will, produces resignation, the giving up not merely of life, but of the whole will-to-live itself".
Previously Featured:
Linkin Park- Numb, What I've Done, In the End, Daughtry- Its Not Over, There and Back Again, Metallica- Enter Sandman, From Phantom of the Opera: Think of Me, Music of the Night, All I ask of You, Masquerade, Prima Donna, Colbie Caillat- Bubbly, John Mayer- Your body is a wonderland, Sting - Fields of gold, Sarah Mclachlan- Ice cream, Don Henley - End of the Innocence, Gloria Estefan- 'Oye Mi Canto', Juanes- 'La Camisa Negra', Chambao- 'Ahi Estas Tu', Ricky Martin & Mari de 'Chambao'- Tu Recuerdo, Sublime- 'Santeria', Counting Crows- 'Angels of the Silences', Led Zeppelin- 'Fool in the Rain', Tim McGraw- 'Something Like That', Jessia Andrews- 'Who I Am', Michael Jackson- 'I'll Be There', 'Never Can Say Goodbye', 'Black or White', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Thriller', Fifth Dimension/Marilyn McCoo-'Wedding Bell Blues', 'Stone Soul Picnic', 'One Less Bell to Answer'(her voice and the music are beautiful, despite the words), 'You Don't Have to Be a Star', 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In', Fleetwood Mac- 'Sarah', Pearl Jam- 'Even Flow', John Mayer- 'Daughters', Carrie Underwood- 'All American Girl', Pretenders- 'Show Me', Jackson 5- ABC, Eric Clapton- 'Wonderful Tonight', Elvis, Gloria Estefan- '1, 2, 3', , Stevie Ray Vaughn- 'Little Wing', Taylor Swift- 'Our Song', Stevie Wonder- 'Isn't She Lovely', Mariah Carey- 'Always Be My Baby'
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