|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
Online Newsletter |
 |
|
||
|
|
||||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Index for this page...
All The Following Items Were Posted On June 1, 2008 Sense: This word is used as an abbreviation of what more accurately should be designated our human sensitive powers. The comprehensive enumeration of our sensitive powers, or what may also be called our powers of perceptual thought, include sensation itself, both externally and peripherally. It also includes our sensitive memory and our imagination. Since we also have the power of conceptual thought, it may be asked whether these two sets of powers cooperate or function independently of each other. Our intellectual powers are dependent on our imagination. What in the Middle Ages was called a phantasm is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of conceptual thought. That dependence is a causal dependence. Purely intellectual activity cannot occur without some action by our sensitive powers, but the content of conceptual thought is not affected by it. We can think conceptually of that which is not sensible at all, and not imaginable. The dependence of our sensitive powers upon our intellects is of a different order. The content of perceptual thought is always affected by the action of our intellects simultaneously. Persons who are conceptually blind in one or another of their peripheral sense organs can exercise the conceptually blind sense organ without knowing what it is they are sensing. They can, for example, smell a rose that is put under their nose, but not know that it a rose they are smelling. What is sometimes called the intellectual imagination represents the simultaneous activity of both sensitive and intellectual powers. It is impossible for us to experience the world around us as brute animals experience it, with only sensitive powers and no intellects. For us it is a meaningful world; for them, it is meaningless. 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.
John Dewey (1859-1952), American philosopher of Pragmatism Among recent American thinkers none commands greater respect than John Dewey. His philosophy was no mere product of abstraction; its roots were in our national history, going back to the colonial and frontier days, when ideas had to cling close to every day reality and be tested in application. But though his philosophy was grounded in the past, deeper than is customary to believe, it was also inseparable from the living present. All this can be readily seen from the following quotation:
Source: Problems of Men, by John Dewey (1946). Read more about John Dewey in The Radical Academy.
FOR THE RECORD 1. Earth Day: The Doomsayers Were wrong, by James W. Harris Another Earth Day (April 22) has come and gone. Earth Day is a great time to celebrate our planet and discuss serious environmental concerns. It's also a time to pause and remember that, during the first Earth Day in 1970, some of the world's leading (and loudest) environmentalists were terrifying the public with horrific predictions of planet-wide doom. Predictions that, thankfully, were spectacularly wrong. The Washington Policy Center (WPC), a free-market think tank, reminds us: "Most Earth Day predictions turned out to be stunningly wrong. In 1970, environmentalists said there would soon be a new ice age and massive deaths from air pollution. The New York Times foresaw the extinction of the human race. Widely-quoted biologist Paul Ehrlich predicted worldwide starvation by 1975. "On this Earth Day 2008, new predictions will again be made about looming environmental disasters about to strike our planet. If past experience is any guide, most of these predictions are wrong. People concerned about our planet's future should be wary of statements from activists and other interested groups, so we stay focused on real environmental concerns, and don't waste time on fearsome predictions that will never happen." Here are some examples from 1970, the year of the first Earth Day, gathered by the Washington Policy Center:
Some of this may seem laughable now, but it was taken very seriously at the time. Had the nations of the world followed the prescriptions of these original Earth Day prophets of doom, it is possible that millions or even billions of people would have suffered and died. The Washington Policy Center notes: "By being skeptical about routine portents of doom, we can stay focused on the real threats that face our planet, and on the reasonable and achievable actions we as a society can take to meet them." Today -- as food prices are doubling and food riots taking place in impoverished nations as a direct result of the disastrous ethanol scheme pushed by today's statist doomsayers -- that's a vital lesson to remember. Sources: Washington Policy Center; Washington Post on the ethanol disaster. 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." 2: Quote For The Month: "On Market Magic" "That's the biggest lesson I've learned in 35 years of consumer reporting: The market performs miracles so routinely that we take it for granted. Supermarkets provide 30,000 choices at rock-bottom prices. We take it for granted that when we stick a piece of plastic in a wall, cash will come out; that when we give the same plastic to a stranger, he will rent us a car, and the next month, VISA will have the accounting correct to the penny. By contrast, "experts" in government can't even count the vote accurately. That's why I talk about market magic." -- libertarian journalist John Stossel. Source: http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/market-magic.html.
COUNSELING CORNER: The 3-Minute Management Training Course . . . Lesson 1 of 4 A man is getting into the shower as his wife is getting out, when the doorbell rings. She quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. She opens the door to Fred, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Fred says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, she drops it and stands naked in front of Fred. After a few seconds, Fred hands her $800 and leaves. Wrapping herself in the towel, as she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks: "Who was that?" "It was Fred the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?" Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders (and Management team), in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure. Lesson 2 of 4 A sales rep, an administration clerk and their manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie pops out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first, Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Puff! She's gone. "Me next, Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life," Puff! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch." Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say. Lesson 3 of 4 An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?" The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it. Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up. Lesson 4 of 4 A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree", sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally, after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree. Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there. This ends the 3-minute management course, now get back to work.
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: Silence is foolish if we are wise, but wise if we are foolish. A Little Advice: Always remember the last thing you say to people each day. Because what if it happened to be the last thing you ever get to say to them? A Little Put-Down: Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. A Little Proverb: A peacock who sits on his tail is just another turkey. A Little Question: How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings? A Little Reflection: "No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people." -- William Howard Taft (1857-1930), 27th president of the United States (1909-13). A Little Admission: "My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying." -- Rodney Dangerfield. A Little Observation: The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision. A Little Warning: "Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking." -- H. L. Menckennone. A Little Definition: TOMORROW -- One of the greatest labor saving devices of today. A Little Quote: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -- Albert Einstein.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: Note to Science - Philosophy is Your Friend -- Philosopher Robert Delfino offers science an alternative approach to evaluating evidence., by Greg Soltis: With its emphasis on evidence and focus on truth, philosophy provides several paths for science to follow. Robert Delfino proposes that the evidence -- not a preconceived understanding of nature -- should guide science's attempt to understand and categorize experimental results. "Our ideas must conform to the world," says Delfino, a professor of philosophy at St. John's University's Staten Island campus in New York City. "We cannot say that the world must conform to our ideas." Religion, science and the third way, by Richard Denton: In any debate about science and religion, the American philosopher Dan Dennett has the advantage of looking uncannily like Charles Darwin. The good Lord Robert Winston, on the other hand, has the advantage of being a national treasure. They came together in the last debate in the Rethink series mounted by the Guardian and the think tank Agora to debate the motion that "religion is the greatest threat to scientific progress and rationality today". Selling God to Science, by Ashley Makar: The United Church of Christ has begun reaching out to scientists. Will skeptics trade in their lab coats for their Sunday best? ... Schaper doesn't appreciate the arguments -- from atheists and religious people on either side of the science-faith divide -- that God is diminished by science. For her, the fact that Genesis provides two accounts of how the world came to being (one cosmological, one more anthrocentric), implies that one story doesn't reveal the complexities of creation. Students seek truth in philosophy: A professor I knew once said that, without philosophy, history is ``just one damn thing after another.'' In one way or another, he's right, and that has helped produce the unexpected surge in the number of college students who believe they need to read about Socrates now and worry about money and careers later. A New York Times story last week documented the apparently widespread trend of more college students majoring in philosophy. The story cited several examples of universities where the number of philosophy majors had swollen by as much as 50 percent or more in the past five years Responding to Hitchens - Morality can, but need not, come from religion, by Brian Lockhart: This week, I address his statement that religion is immoral. However, I wish to make a few points before I begin discussing this sensitive subject. First of all, as Hitchens describes himself as an anti-theist, I am not an anti-atheist. Nowhere in my column last week nor this week will I suggest that atheists need to undergo a mass conversion. I did not say that we all must have religion to function and I will not claim that atheists should become theists. Help wanted - Serious thinkers: Once considered an academic pursuit of little practical value, philosophy is becoming an increasingly popular choice of major among university students. This is good news because it shows the ability to think critically is still valued. Enrolments in philosophy programs have been increasing in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States for much of the past decade. German philosopher backs Archbishop in Sharia row, by George Conger: Jurgen Habermas has waded into the debate on Islam in Europe backing the line taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Temple lecture on Shariah law. In the "Dialectics of Secularisation," the noted German philosopher argued that Europe must adopt an inclusive, critical discussion on the role religion plays in public life through a dialogue in which all parties cooperate as equals for the purpose of achieving understanding.
|
|
|
Newsletter Front Page |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
[Homepage] [Newsletter] [Search] [Support the Academy] [Link to Us] [Contact the Academy] [Citing Articles from Our Website] [Privacy Policy & Disclaimer]
Copyright 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07, & 2008 by The Radical Academy. All Rights Reserved.