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Index for this page...
All The Following Items Were Posted On July 1, 2007 Change: The word "change" is a synonym for the word "becoming" and an antonym for the word "being." Things that come into being and pass away have a permanent being while they are subject to all forms of accidental change, such as change of place, change of quality, and change in quantity. For example, the apple that reddens on the sunlit tree is, from moment to moment, the same apple, otherwise it could not be said to be an identical object undergoing change in color or size. This leads to the distinction between substantial and accidental change. The birth and death of animal organisms is substantial change; their motions from place to place, their changes in quality and quantity, are accidental changes. That which changes substantially in coming to be and passing away does not change from being to nonbeing. Substantial change is rather an alteration in mode of being, a kind of transformation, as when a living organism becomes a decaying corpse. In the physical cosmos nothing passes away absolutely; nothing violates the laws of conservation. When it is said that God creates ex nihilo, nothing or absolute nonbeing is the antecedent of the created cosmos. But when animal organisms procreate offspring, they are generated from preexistent seeds. The importance of this point is that if the cosmos were ever to cease to be, the consequence of this change would be nothingness or absolute nonbeing. That radical change is not a transformation of being, as the decaying corpse is. It is being's negation or denial. From Adler's Philosophical Dictionary: 125 Key Terms for the Philosopher's Lexicon. Have you a copy of this book in your personal library? If not, consider getting one. Read Max Weismann's review of this book by Clicking Here.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) "Wittgenstein is known (1) for being the founder of two philosophic movements, one dedicated to the analysis of an ideal logical language, the other aiming to clarify thought through analysis of ordinary language; (2) for his conviction that analysis is the only proper role of philosophy; (3) for his belief that all philosophical problems can be either solved or dissolved; (4) for the 'picture theory' of language; (5) for his conclusion that meaning is determined by context." -- Professor James L. Christian. Read about Ludwig Wittgenstein in The Radical Academy.
Source: Volume 1I of The Wisdom Seekers: Great Philosophers of the Western World, by James L. Christian. If you want an excellent and comprehensive history of philosophy, the two volumes in this set are among the best available. And I'm not just saying that because Professor Christian is a personal friend. I used his introductory textbook in philosophy -- Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering -- when I was teaching an introduction to philosophy course many years ago. It is an excellent introduction. J.D.
FOR THE RECORD 1. Influential American Philosopher Richard Rorty Dead At 75 "On June 8, 2007, American philosopher Richard Rorty died at the age of 75. Rorty is now commonly associated with one of the roster of scare words used to get Americans to vote against their own self-interests: He was (supposedly) that bicoastal monster known as a "relativist." Take heart, Rorty was also despised by the bien pensant left, who found him a political quietist and, in matters of taste, an airy-fairy Proustian snob. I knew Rorty briefly, when I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia, and to me he was never a relativist, a quietist, or a snob. He was the perfect embodiment of an American Enlightenment founded by Mr. Jefferson. If such words are restorable to their least debased senses, he was a liberal and a democrat -- that is, a thinker who wanted America to fulfill its charter, and devote itself to maximum human flourishing." -- Stephen Metcalf, on Slate.com. Source: Richard Rorty: What made him a crucial American philosopher? - Slate.com Resources:
2. Ten Years After ACLU v. Reno, Free Speech Still Needs Defending Online free speech faces many threats today, but the Internet's incredible abundance and variety of expression might never have blossomed to begin with if the first major court battle had gone the wrong way. This is the ten-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Reno v. ACLU, which recognized that free speech on the Internet merits the highest standards of Constitutional protection. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) participated as both plaintiff and co-counsel in the case, which successfully challenged the online censorship provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996. The Court's decision -- its first involving the Internet -- was issued on June 26, 1997. The CDA fight was one of the first big rallying points for online freedom. When the law passed, thousands of websites turned their backgrounds black in protest. EFF launched its "blue ribbon" campaign and millions of websites around the world joined in support of free speech online. Even today, you can find the blue ribbon throughout the Web. [Ed. Note: The Radical Academy is a member of the "blue ribbon" campaign.] EFF Senior Counsel David Sobel, who served as co-counsel in the case, notes: "The Reno decision defined the First Amendment for the 21st century. The Court wrote on a clean slate and established the fundamental principles that govern free speech issues in the electronic age." EFF's work over the past ten years demonstrates that while the technology might evolve, threats to online expression persist and core First Amendment principles must be vigilantly defended. The CDA was a crystal clear case of unconstitutional government censorship, and the challenges today are sometimes more complex. EFF's efforts today include:
The fight against direct government censorship of online speech continues, too. EFF continues to participate in the pending litigation against the Children's Online Protection Act (COPA), a slightly narrower but still gravely dangerous version of the CDA that the Supreme Court has twice enjoined. While it can sometimes seem that there are more fronts than ever in the fight for free speech online, the battles we face today would be much, much harder without that first victory in ACLU v. Reno. With your help, we'll fight to make sure that ten years from now, we can look back and see how today's battles helped pave the way for an even better future online. Source: The Electronic Frontier Foundation Resources:
3. The "Quiet Revolution" Against The Welfare State Millions of Americans are abandoning government services in favor of private alternatives, in a "quiet revolution" that may ultimately render the welfare state obsolete. That's the tantalizing argument made by Richard Ebeling in his article "Ending the Welfare State Through the Power of Private Action." Ebeling is president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), America's first free-market think tank, and his article appeared in the April issue of the Foundation's fine magazine The Freeman. "I believe that while many Americans find it difficult to think politically "outside the box" of Big Government, they have in fact lost confidence in much of what government has promised or tried to deliver," Ebeling says. "As this confidence has been eroded, people have begun once more to take care of themselves and their families." Ebeling looks at three of the biggest, and seemingly most entrenched, areas of today's federal government: Social Security:
Education:
In all, Eberling says, about 12% of the U.S. student population is being educated outside government schools. That's an impressive number -- indeed, it is a revolution -- and it is growing rapidly despite government taxes and restrictions. Health Care:
We might also note the dramatic growth of lower-cost walk-in healthcare clinics at stores like Wal-Mart, CVS, and Walgreen's. Such clinics are expected to double in number this year alone to 700, and will continue to expand -- a market response to government-created health care failures. Concludes Eberling: "In these three areas individuals are taking back personal responsibility from the government. They are not waiting for a political movement to 'free' them. Instead, their actions preceded and sparked the political debate over whether government should monopolize these services. Their cumulative effect has the potential to transform society. ... "By taking care of their own affairs, they are delegitimizing the welfare state. Their actions then influence the arena of ideas." Source: Advocates for Self-Government (James W. Harris) Resources:
[Ed. Note: I have lived with house cats for almost seventy years. I have always considered them the most "philosophical" of our domestic animals (you know -- independent, aloof, skeptical, distrustful, argumentative, etc.). My current companion, "Tigger" (13 years old this summer), is stretched out on my desk as I write this wondering when I will finish this darn E-Zine for some quality "lap time." While this story has nothing to do with philosophy or politics per se, I found it interesting and wanted to share it.] "Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats. "The rodents that infested the settlers' homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight. At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. "And from these five matriarchs all the world's 600 million house cats are descended. A scientific basis for this scenario has been established by Carlos A. Driscoll of the National Cancer Institute and his colleagues. He spent more than six years collecting species of wildcat in places as far apart as Scotland, Israel, Namibia and Mongolia. He then analyzed the DNA of the wildcats and of many house cats and fancy cats." To read the entire story see: Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East (Registration may be required) 5. Quote Of The Month: On Freedom "The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it." -- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), English philosopher and economist, who wrote On Liberty (1859).
COUNSELING CORNER: Helping those in the Old East understand those in the Old West . . . We who live in the western part of the United States (the "Old West" as it's sometimes called), are often misunderstood by our brother and sister citizens in the eastern part of the country. Sooooo...to help out our eastern brethren, we provide a few common remarks with their appropriate translation: 1. The engine's runnin' but ain't nobody driving. Translation: Not overly-intelligent. 2. Tighter than bark on a tree. Translation: Not very generous. 3. Big hat, no cattle. Translation: All talk and no action. 4. We've howdied, but we ain't shook yet. Translation: We've made a brief acquaintance, but not been formally introduced. 5. He thinks the sun come up just to hear him crow. Translation: He has a pretty high opinion of himself. 6. As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party. Translation: (self-explanatory). 7. She's/He's got tongue enough for 10 rows of teeth. Translation: Talks a lot. 8. It's so dry the trees are bribin' the dogs. Translation: We really could use a little rain around here. 9, Just because a chicken has wings don't mean it can fly. Translation: Appearances can be deceptive. 10. This ain't my first rodeo. Translation: I've been around awhile. 11. He looks like the dog's been keepin' him under the porch. Translation: Not the most handsome of men. 12. They ate supper before they said grace. Translation: Living in sin. 13. As full of wind as a corn-eating horse. Translation: Rather prone to boasting. 14. You can put your boots in the oven, but that don't make 'em biscuits. Translation: You can say whatever you want about something, but that doesn't change what it is.
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: Numbers are like people; torture them enough and they'll tell you anything. A Little Advice: Work is the greatest thing in the world, so we should always save some of it for tomorrow. A Little Question: If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong? A Little Put-Down: Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition. A Little Proverb: All good things in moderation ..... including moderation. A Little Reflection: There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. A Little Definition: ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. A Little Quote: "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American poet and essayist. A Little Observation: "When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country." -- Elayne Boosler. A Little Quip: And on the 8th day God said, OK Murphy, you take over.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: When Totalitarianism Comes to America, It Will Come Wrapped in a Whole-Grain, Low-Sodium, Decaffeinated, Re-Usable, Non-Carbon-Footprint Wrapper, by Karen De Coster: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sponsoring more food totalitarianism for the purpose of suitably herding the kiddies in their daily food round-ups in public schools. An Institute of Medicine committee -- set up at the behest of congress -- is proposing strict standards for all foods available in the government's daily internment camps. They call this a consensus?, by Lawrence Solomon: "Only an insignificant fraction of scientists deny the global warming crisis. The time for debate is over. The science is settled." So said Al Gore ... in 1992. Amazingly, he made his claims despite much evidence of their falsity. A Gallup poll at the time reported that 53% of scientists actively involved in global climate research did not believe global warming had occurred; . . . Ron Paul vs. the Throng - The Last of the Texas Outsiders, by Alexander Cockburn: Put together Murdoch's Fox News, a mid-May debate between Republican presidential candidates and the state of South Carolina and you have a hotbed of stupidity. But to the fury of the Republican organizers there was an intrusion of rational thought, in the person of Ron Paul, a US congressman from Texas, classed as a rank outsider in the nomination race. What if our mercenaries turn on us?, by Chris Hedges: Armed units from the private security firm Blackwater USA opened fire in Baghdad streets twice in two days last week. It triggered a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, a reminder that the war in Iraq may be remembered mostly in our history books for empowering and building America's first modern mercenary army. Studies Say Death Penalty Deters Crime: Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey. ... What gets little notice, however, is a series of academic studies over the last half-dozen years that claim to settle a once hotly debated argument -- whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder. The analyses say yes. Trashing Teens: Psychologist Robert Epstein argues in a provocative book, The Case Against Adolescence, that teens are far more competent than we assume, and most of their problems stem from restrictions placed on them. Epstein spoke to Psychology Today's Hara Estroff Marano about the legal and emotional constraints on American youth. Insensitivity Training: Facing the Crybaby Culture, by Mark P. Shea: Every couple of days it seems somebody falls apart due to "insensitivity." The problem has been buzzing around in our headlines for years. Danger - boys having fun: A book of old-fashioned, adventurous pastimes for lads and dads has become a surprise bestseller. Christopher Middleton watched his 11-year-old son transformed into a Middle Earth warrior. No Guns, by Charley Reese: I'm ready at last to support gun control. I believe every police agency in the United States -- local, state and federal -- should be disarmed. After all, the gun-control people have been saying for years that we private citizens have no need for firearms. Well, if that's true for us, it's true for the police. Wanted - Moral Education for Secular Children, by Paul Kurtz: Secularism and humanism are among the most powerful intellectual and ethical streams of modern civilization. Their influence is felt all across our planet. These streams have been growing ever since the Renaissance:...
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