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Index for this page...
All The Following Items Were Posted On March 1, 2008 Immortality: This word has widely varied meanings when it is used to designate things that people regard as not destined to pass away. They think of a person's fame as immortal if it endures forever. They think of various institutions as immortal if their endurance is unending in time. But then they are not thinking philosophically, or they are not thinking of personal immortality as an article of faith in the three great religions of the West -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The schoolbook syllogism "Socrates is a man, all men are mortal, Socrates is mortal" asserts that, as a matter of observable fact, Socrates is not immortal. The affirmation that the soul is immortal is an article of faith. It is not provable by reason. It is sometimes said that the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and the freedom of the will are all articles of faith. But the immortality of the soul differs from the existence of God and the freedom of the will. The latter two are in the sphere of reason. They are provable by reason in purely philosophical theology. But unlike the existence of God and free will, the immortality of the human soul is not within the province of philosophical theology. It is entirely in the sphere of religious faith. In purely philosophical theology, all that can be affirmed by human reason is that the human intellect, being immaterial, is capable of subsisting after the death of the body. But the intellect's capacity for existing apart from the mortal body requires divine intervention to assure it of imperishable existence, either in heaven or in hell. Source: 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.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Biblical scholar, musician, philosopher, medical doctor "As Schweitzer matured it became clear to him that his good fortune in having a relatively happy youth should not be taken for granted. 'Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to held in diminishing the pain of others. We must all carry our share of the misery which lies upon the world.' So at age twenty-one, while still a college student, he vowed to devote his life until he was thirty to the Christian ministry, to medical science, and to music; he would accomplish all he could in each of these fields. Then, when he turned thirty, he would devote the rest of his life to the service of humanity." -- Professor James L. Christian. Read about Albert Schweitzer 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. J.D.
FOR THE RECORD Showdown: The Final Battle Against REAL ID Has Begun, by James W. Harris The national ID battle, brewing for years, is now underway in earnest. On January 11, the Department of Homeland Security released its final rules on what states must do to implement REAL ID, the national identification law Congress passed in 2005. Homeland Security has taken the gloves off. States have until May to accept the plan. Beginning May 11, 2008, says Homeland Security, residents of states that have not agreed to implement REAL ID will not be allowed to use their state drivers licenses to board airplanes or enter federal buildings. They can use a U.S. passport or possibly other documents in some circumstances, but they must expect to "suffer delays due to the requirement for enhanced security screening." In other words, take your shoes off, pal, and get in that LONG LONG line over there. States that agree to comply may be granted extensions of several years to fully implement REAL ID. But when REAL ID is in place, notes CNET NEWS, in addition to flying and entering federal buildings, "REAL ID could in theory be required for traveling on Amtrak, collecting federal welfare benefits, signing up for Social Security, applying for student loans, interacting with the U.S. Postal Service, entering national parks" as well as purchasing firearms. In practice, it may be impossible even to get a job or open a bank account without REAL ID. REAL ID is widely expected to become the standard ID for the private sector. And that's just the start. Homeland Security is already floating additional uses for the cards, including "reducing unlawful employment, voter fraud, and underage drinking," and monitoring the purchase of over-the-counter medicines. The REAL ID Act explicitly says that REAL IDs shall be required for "any other purposes that the Secretary [of Homeland Security] shall determine." A more open-ended grant of power could not be written. REAL ID requires all states to make major changes to their driver's licenses, turning them into police-state national ID cards that will be loaded with sensitive personal information, all of which will be tied together in huge databases. These databases will make it easy to routinely track, monitor, and regulate the movements and activities of all citizens. The cards would also be computer-readable, allowing government and private-sector scanners to collect the personal information on the cards. The stakes are incredibly high, says former U.S. Congressman and current Libertarian Party National Committee board member Bob Barr. "The massive database that would be created by the REAL ID Act, containing all manner of private information on citizens, is potentially one of the most privacy-invasive laws in the history of our country," Barr says. "Anything less than scrapping this offensive national identification card law is unacceptable." The ACLU points out that the REAL ID "will become tantamount to a license to leave your house," since it will be required virtually everywhere you go. "The end result could be a situation where citizens' movements inside their own country are monitored and recorded through these 'internal passports.'" And so the stage is now set for a massive battle right out of the movie "V For Vendetta": Big Brother at its most evil and intrusive versus outraged citizens who cherish civil liberties and privacy rights. A true grassroots rebellion against REAL ID is forming. So far, 17 states have passed laws or resolutions rejecting REAL ID: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. Twenty-one other states have either introduced legislation or had legislation pass in one chamber opposing REAL ID. But all those states are facing tremendous pressure from the federal government. Like so much recent statist legislation, REAL ID was sneaked into law. It was slipped into a May 2005 emergency-spending bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and provide tsunami relief. Such bills are almost impossible to defeat. It passed the House 368-58 and the Senate unanimously. There was not a single debate on the Act in the Senate, and insufficient discussion in the House. President Bush, who, his spokespersons once said, "does not support a national ID card," strongly backed it and quickly signed it into law. There have been attempts to kill the REAL ID beast in Congress. Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to repeal the act, but thus far they have not progressed. As this battle begins in earnest, state by state, no one should be fooled into thinking REAL ID has anything to do with fighting terrorism. The federal government has pushed for a national ID card for years, well before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Previous justifications have included health care, the War on Drugs, protecting children, and controlling immigration. Any excuse, it seems, will do. This is all about massive, Orwellian control of Americans by a federal government run amok. As Ron Paul said when the bill was introduced in 2005: "National ID cards will be used to track the law-abiding masses, not criminals." REAL ID is a Real Bad Idea: a giant move towards a 1984-ish police state where the government monitors and controls everything you say and do. It can still be stopped. But it's now or never. Sources: EPIC: http://epic.org/press/011108.html ACLU: http://www.realnightmare.org/ Libertarian Party: http://www.lp.org/media/article_557.shtml LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-healey22jan22,0,5551102.story Homeland Security on REAL ID: http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/gc_1172767635686.shtm -- James W. Harris is the editor of Liberator Online, a publication of Advocates for Self-Government. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, and he has been a Finalist for the Mencken Award, given by the Free Press Association for "Outstanding Journalism in Support of Liberty." Quote of the Month: The Media Likes Scaring Us, and We Like It "I'm embarrassed by my profession. ... We consumer reporters should warn you about life's important risks, but instead, we mislead you about dubious risks. ... My TV program, "20/20," has done frightening reports on the dangers of paper shredders, soccer goals, lawn chemicals, cell phones, garage-door openers, and more. There's always some truth behind the scares -- someone got hurt, or some study somewhere found a risk. But we rarely put the danger in perspective. We give you a breathless rush of alarm over every possibility, often delivered with a throbbing rock beat." -- John Stossel: The Media Likes Scaring Us, and We Like It.
COUNSELING CORNER: Some Serious Things To Ponder . . . Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak? Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough? Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle? Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection? Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard? Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him? Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets? Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"? If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white? Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale? Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized? Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance? Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try? How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures? When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?" Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over? In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat? How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: "Sweet is a grief well ended." -- Aeschylus (525-456 BC), Ancient Greek soldier, playwright. A Little Advice: "Never undertake anything for which you wouldn't have the courage to ask the blessing of Heaven." -- G. C. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) German physicist, writer. A Little Quip: "I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said." -- William Buckley, Jr., conservative American author, editor, and TV personality. A Little Put-Down: "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." -- Mae West (1892-1980), American vaudeville artist, dramatist, and film actress. A Little Proverb: "Avoid popularity if you would have peace." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th president of the United States. A Little Reflection: "It gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly acclaimed." -- Albert Einstein (1879-1955), mathematician, scientist, and winner of the Nobel prize. A Little Admission: "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." -- Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), American attorney whose most famous case was the Scopes trial in Tennessee. A Little Quote: "Life is a wonderful thing to talk about, or to read about in history books - but it is terrible when one has to live it." -- Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), French playwright. A Little Observation: "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -- Groucho Marx (1895-1977), American comedy star and television host.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: The Nature of Reasons - Two Philosophers Feud Over a Book Review, by Patricia Cohen: Over the ages, philosophy has offered valuable guidance on profound questions of truth, beauty and existence, yet still unresolved is the conundrum of how to respond to a bad book review. This neglect no doubt has helped contribute to a feud between the prominent philosophers Colin McGinn and Ted Honderich. That, and perhaps a slight to an ex-girlfriend 25 years ago, terror in the Middle East and, oh yes, a fundamental disagreement on the nature of consciousness. Should A College Student Study Philosophy, And Answers To Other Questions, by Herb Denenberg: Question: My daughter wants to major in philosophy at the college she is attending. Does that make sense when it comes to earning a living? Answer: There are many ways to answer this question, but one of the most fundamental can be found in Alan Bloom's book The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students. Europe's philosophy of failure, by Stefan Theil: French and German students are being indoctrinated to believe that capitalism is immoral ... Europe's economic prosperity may depend on rooting this out. Millions of children are being raised on prejudice and disinformation. Educated in schools that teach a skewed ideology, they are exposed to a dogma that runs counter to core beliefs shared by many other Western countries. They study from textbooks filled with a doctrine of dissent, which they learn to recite. Getting Duped - How the Media Messes with Your Mind, by Yvonne Raley and Robert Talisse: Statements made in the media can surreptitiously plant distortions in the minds of millions. Learning to recognize two commonly used fallacies can help you separate fact from fiction. Children as young as FIVE get philosophy lessons - and here are the questions they will be asked, by Laura Clark: While other five-year-olds are learning to spell their names and tie up shoelaces, infants at one school are debating life's great mysteries - in philosophy lessons. Staff say that instead of "thumping each other" in the playground, pupils now challenge each other's ideas when they disagree. The Philosophy for Children course encourages pupils to grapple with conundrums such as free will, religion and the nature of luck. Schoolyard fighters taught philosophy: Children as young as five are taking lessons in philosophy - in between learning the alphabet and painting pictures - to stem playground violence. Primary school students who used to "thump each other" in the playground were now discussing questions like "is life a journey?", "do we ever fully appreciate what we have?" and "if life is a puzzle, does it need to be complicated?", the Daily Mail newspaper has reported. Myths About The Founders And Religion, by Michael P. Tremoglie: Misotheists like to claim that the Founding Fathers were deists who never wanted a religious society. They maintain that there is substantial evidence proving they were not Christians. One repeatedly referenced is the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797. This is proffered as absolute proof that the Founding Fathers did not want the United States to be a religious nation. This is sheer sophistry. God is beyond metaphysics, by Giles Fraser: In 1987, the Jesuit scholar Michael Buckley published his masterful work, At the Origins of Modern Atheism (Yale University Press). His thesis was that the main cause of atheism is bad theism. In other words, we brought it on ourselves. The argument is roughly this. As free-thinkers began to challenge the Christian world-view, the Church set its finest minds the task of defending Christianity. As the challenge was basically philosophical, the Church chose Christian philosophers to see off the challenge. The problem was that, in doing so, the Church effectively conceded that the core issues of faith are essentially philosophical. The Materialist Faith of Communism, Socialism, and Liberalism, by Linda Kimball: This demon is embodied in "enlightened" Liberals and the West's transnational "elite," both of which are deeply infected by materialistic Communism (Cultural Marxism) and the delusion that the true enemy of America is always on the Right. Having rejected God and the religious heritage of our civilization, they embrace instead a new order of beliefs of which Communism and Socialism are logical expressions. A new world order is what they seek, but in order that it can emerge, the existing culture must be completely destroyed. The long debate - science and religion, by Russ Wung: Religion and science have never gotten along properly. There is a certain inherent tension between them, a tendency for both to encroach on the territory of the other. Neither is blameless in the bitter, millennia-long battle that has been waged between the more zealous proponents of both disciplines. Despite the efforts of religious scholars to reconcile reason and faith, unnecessary religious dogmatism on scientific issues has persisted to the present day. The persecution of Galileo for advocating the ideas of Copernicus is a good example. Local cataloguing Mortimer Adler's unpublished philosophy: Ken Dzugan, the senior fellow and archivist for the Center for the Study of Great Ideas, is one of several Sedona area residents cataloguing the unpublished writings of deceased philosopher Mortimer J. Adler. Adler, one of the 20th century's most prolific authors, wrote hundreds of articles and books covering a wide range of topics before his death in 2001.
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