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Index for this page...
All The Following Items Were Posted On July 1, 2008 Casuistry: As the word itself suggests, we are here concerned with particular cases. When the moral law or the principles of ethics are applied, they are applied to particular cases, each one unique in the circumstances and factors that are operative in the here and now. Aristotle in Book V of his Ethics, on justice, points out that general rules do not apply perfectly to particular cases; and so an equitable dispensation from the general rule is required to do justice in the particular case. In the tradition of the Anglo-American common law, the separation of courts of law from courts of equity, which were the province of the Chancellor, provided an institution that enabled justice to be done in the particular case, justice that departed from the general rule. One way of saying what is sheer dogmatism in the ethics of Immanuel Kant is to point out that his moral law -- his so-called categorical imperative -- completely ignores the circumstances of particular cases. According to Kant, there are no exceptions whatsoever to the general rule that lying violates one's moral duty to tell the truth. We are to imagine the following case. A man is standing at his fence on the roadside. He sees an individual breathless and haggard with fear running down the road, as if pursued. A little beyond his house, the road on which this individual is running branches into two forks, one to the left and one to the right. The individual running away pauses for a moment and then decides to take the fork to the left. A moment later, two villainous-looking individuals brandishing big clubs appear and ask the man who is still standing at his fence whether the man they are pursuing with deadly intent came by and, is so, which fork in the road beyond the house he took. Should the onlooker tell them the truth through he can be almost certain that if the pursuers catch the man who is fleeing, they will do him in with their clubs and fists? Without knowing whether the individual who is fleeing from his pursuers is guilty or innocent of some crime, and without knowing anything about the motivation of the pursuers, Kant answers the question of whether the onlooker should tell the truth flatly in the affirmative. Kant does not allow for any casuistry whatsoever. No moral philosophy that does not provide casuistry for finding exceptions to general rules can be sound. There are many other reasons for finding fault with the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, but the dismissal of casuistry is sufficient in itself to challenge the validity of Kantian ethics. 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.
William Penn (1644-1718), American colonial leader and philosopher William Penn was no theoretician. His reasoning was grounded in keen observation, critical evaluation of human behavior, formation of convictions without prejudice, and solution of practical problems as they arose. All this is exemplified in the following maxims:
Source: Some Fruits of Solitude, by William Penn (1693). Read more about William Penn in The Radical Academy.
FOR THE RECORD 1. Updates On The REAL ID Situation, by James W. Harris [Note: The Radical Academy first brought attention to this federal proposal to our visitors way back in 1998. We have been following it and updating our visitors on this serious matter since then.] REAL ID Victory! Alaska Becomes 9th State to Reject REAL ID The growing grassroots movement to stop the government's Orwellian REAL ID national ID scheme just won another major victory. In late May, a bill passed by the Alaska state legislature to prevent the state from funding the federal REAL ID Act became law. Thus far, 19 states have passed either resolutions or statutes against the program. Nine -- now including Alaska -- have rejected REAL ID completely. REAL ID is a police-state federal mandate that would force a national ID card on all Americans by standardizing state drivers licenses and loading them with sensitive personal information. This information would be held in massive databases, which would make it easy to routinely track, monitor, and regulate the movements and activities of all citizens. The REAL ID card could be required to do almost anything in America: get a job, fly, buy over-the-counter medicine, enter a federal building, and more. REAL ID opponents cheered Alaska. "Alaska has joined a growing nationwide movement against REAL ID," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. "The [REAL ID] act was hastily passed by Congress without receiving the proper assessment of cost and implementation and is now being forced on the states by administration officials who will not be around in 2017, when final implementation is projected to occur." Steinhardt added, "By allowing this vital legislation to become law, [Alaska] Governor Palin has opened the door for other governors to do the same." Let's hope they do! Source: ACLU at http://www.aclu.org/privacy/gen/35470prs20080529.html Another REAL ID Victory! Arizona Rejects REAL ID Add Arizona to the growing list of states that have rejected the police-state REAL ID national ID scheme. On June 17, Gov. Janet Napolitano signed House Bill 2677, which prohibits Arizona complying with the federal Real ID program. The measure passed both the Arizona House and Arizona Senate with near-universal support. Gov. Napolitano cited costs as a main factor, arguing that REAL ID is an unfunded federal mandate that would cost the state billions of dollars to implement. But civil liberties concerns were also strongly behind the measure for many voters. "Governor Napolitano deserves praise for standing up to the federal government," said Dan Pochoda, legal director of the ACLU of Arizona. "Real ID is a real nightmare. The people of Arizona will not just lie down and play dead while this administration continues to dictate unfunded and unconstitutional mandates to the states." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is threatening that citizens will be penalized if their states fail to support REAL ID. For example, according to Homeland Security, by the end of 2009 citizens will be required to carry REAL IDs to fly or enter federal buildings. Nonsense, says the ACLU's Pochoda: "I can guarantee that 25 percent of airline travelers will not be banned from the purchasing of airline tickets in 2009." Thus far, about 20 states have passed either resolutions or statutes against the program. Ten -- now including Arizona -- have rejected REAL ID completely. And anti-REAL ID legislation is pending in several more states. REAL ID is a federal mandate that would force a national ID card on all Americans by standardizing state drivers licenses and loading them with sensitive personal information. This information would be held in massive databases, which would make it easy to routinely track, monitor, and regulate the movements and activities of all citizens. The REAL ID card could be required to do almost anything in America: get a job, fly, buy over-the-counter medicine, enter a federal building, and more. In short, REAL ID is a real bad idea. And it seems more and more Americans are waking up to that realization. Sources: Arizona Republic at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0618real-id0618.html & ACLU at http://www.aclu.org/privacy/gen/35696prs20080617.html 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. John Stossel On The War On Drugs "After years of reporting on the drug war, I'm convinced that this 'war' does more harm than any drug. ... "Few drug users hurt or rob people because they are high. Most of the crime occurs because the drugs are illegal and available only through a black market. Drug sellers arm themselves and form gangs because they cannot ask the police to protect their persons and property. "In turn, some buyers steal to pay the high black-market prices. The government says heroin, cocaine and nicotine are similarly addictive, and about half the people who both smoke cigarettes and use cocaine say smoking is at least as strong an urge. But no one robs convenience stores for Marlboros. "Alcohol prohibition created Al Capone and the Mafia. Drug prohibition is worse. It's corrupting whole countries and financing terrorism. ... "While drugs harm many, the drug war's black market harms more. "And most importantly, in a free country, adults should have the right to harm themselves." Source: "Legalize All Drugs," by libertarian columnist and ABC 20/20 co-anchor John Stossel at http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel.html 3. Walter Williams On Cigarette Taxes Funding Terrorism "While it's politically popular to impose confiscatory taxes on America's 40 million tobacco smokers, there are a number of consequences one might consider, but let's start out with a quiz. If a carton of cigarettes sells for $160 in New York City, and $35 in North Carolina, what do you predict will happen? If you answered tons of cigarettes will be going up I-95 from North Carolina to New York City, go to the head of the class. .... "Who is most likely to engage in cigarette smuggling? It's a mixed answer, but for the most part, organized smugglers will be people with a high disregard for the law. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has found that Russian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Middle Eastern (mainly Pakistani, Lebanese, and Syrian) organized crime groups are highly involved in the trafficking of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes. What's worse is the ATF found that some of these groups use the money to provide material financial assistance to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas." Source: Libertarian columnist and economics professor Walter Williams at http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/08/Cigarette%20Smuggling.htm 4. Glenn Greenwald On "Near-Dictatorial" Presidential Powers [Note: John McCain proudly announced recently the newest member of his staff. Michael Goldfarb, online editor for the neocon magazine The Weekly Standard, is his new Deputy Communications Director. Last April, Goldfarb wrote the following about the powers he thinks the U.S. president possesses: "The framers... sought an energetic executive with near dictatorial power in pursuing foreign policy and war." Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com responds.] "Until the Bill Kristols and John Yoos and other authoritarians of that strain entered the political mainstream, I never heard of prominent Americans who describe the power that they want to vest in our political leaders as 'near dictatorial.' Anyone with an even passing belief in American political values would consider the word 'dictatorial' -- at least rhetorically, if not substantively -- to define that which we avoid at all costs, not something which we seek, embrace and celebrate. "And the very idea that the Founders -- whose principal concern was how to avoid consolidated power in any one person -- sought to vest 'near dictatorial power' in the president is too perverse for words. But that's been the core 'principle' driving the destructive radicalism of the last seven years, and it's an extremist view that is obviously welcomed at the highest levels of the McCain campaign." Source: Liberal columnist Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com at http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/02/goldfarb/index.html 5. Quote For The Month: Jay Leno On Target "According to a Pentagon report this week, more than 1,000 nuclear missile components in the U.S. arsenal are lost and cannot be located. We can't even find our own weapons of mass destruction! Anyway, the Air Force, in their defense ... said today, there's a big difference between something being missing and just not being able to find it. Which would be okay if you're talking about a pair of lost sunglasses." -- Jay Leno, The Tonight Show, June 20, 2008.
COUNSELING CORNER: A Geographic Guide To Where You Are When You Are On Vacation . . . When the driver has, 1. One hand on the wheel, one hand on the horn: CHICAGO 2. One hand on wheel, one finger out the window, NEW YORK 3. One hand on wheel, one finger out the window, cutting across all lanes of traffic: NEW JERSEY 4. One hand on wheel, one hand on newspaper, foot solidly on accelerator: BOSTON 5. One hand on wheel, one hand on nonfat double decaf cappuccino, cradling cell phone, brick on accelerator, gun in lap: LOS ANGELES 6. Both hands on wheel, eyes shut, both feet on brake, quivering in terror: OHIO but driving in CALIFORNIA 7. Both hands in air, gesturing, both feet on accelerator, head turned to talk to someone in back seat: ITALY 8. One hand on 12 oz double shot latte, one knee on wheel, cradling cell phone, foot on brake, mind on radio game, banging head on steering wheel while stuck in traffic: SEATTLE 9. One hand on wheel, one hand on hunting knife, alternating between both feet being on accelerator and both feet on brake, throwing McDonald's bag out the window: TEXAS 10. Four-wheel drive pickup truck, shotgun mounted in rear window, beer cans on the floor; squirrel tails attached to antenna: ALABAMA 11. Two hands gripping wheel, blue hair barely visible above windshield, driving 35 on the Interstate in left lane with left turn signal on: FLORIDA
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: Laughter is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for awhile. A Little Advice: "If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman." -- Margaret Thatcher. A Little Quip: If money could talk, it would say: goodbye. A Little Proverb: Your heart understands what your head cannot yet conceive; trust your heart. A Little Question: If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting? A Little Reflection: Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it. A Little Admission: "I am opposed to millionaires... but it would be dangerous to offer me the position." -- Mark Twain. A Little Observation: "Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them." -- Albert Einstein A Little Warning: Math and alcohol don't mix. Please don't drink and derive. A Little Definition: Polynesia -- Memory loss in parrots. A Little Quote: "An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry." -- T.S. Eliot.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: The Reality Tests - A team of physicists in Vienna has devised experiments that may answer one of the enduring riddles of science: Do we create the world just by looking at it? . . . For more than 70 years, innumerable physicists have tried to disentangle the meaning of quantum mechanics through debate. Now Zeilinger and his collaborators have performed a series of experiments that, while neatly agreeing with the theory's predictions, are reinvigorating these historical dialogues. In Vienna experiments are testing whether quantum mechanics permits a fundamental physical reality. A new way of understanding an already powerful theory is beginning to take shape, one that could change the way we understand the world around us. Do we create what we observe through the act of our observations? Libertarianism isn't a utopian philosophy, by Tibor Machan: Although it is prudent to be skeptical about the entries found at Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia offers a sound account of utopias: "Utopia is a term for an ideal society. It has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempted to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature. The term is sometimes used pejoratively, in reference to an unrealistic ideal that is impossible to achieve..." Standing Up For What You Don't Believe, by Steve Fuller: I draw a strong distinction between what I believe and what I believe needs to be said. The distinction presupposes that knowledge is a collective enterprise, all of whose members potentially benefit from any one of them managing to achieve, or at least approximate, the truth. However, it does not follow that the best way to do this is by trying to establish the truth for oneself as a fixed belief and then making it plain for all to hear or see, so that it might spread like a virus, or "meme", as Richard Dawkins might say. Perceiving 2 Fallacies, a Secularist Faults His Fellows, by Peter Steinfels: Austin Dacey is a philosopher by training and an active secularist not only by conviction but by profession as well: He is a representative at the United Nations for the secularist Center for Inquiry. That he has written a book titled "The Secular Conscience" is not surprising. That his book is subtitled "Why Belief Belongs in Public Life" has lifted quite a few eyebrows -- to say nothing of his claim that "secularism has lost its soul" by putting a "gag order on ethics, values and religion in public debate." Don't write off religion just yet, by John Gray: The idea that the practice of science is at odds with religious commitment has long been part of conventional wisdom. In the 18th century, the philosophers of the French Enlightenment argued that science is the voice of reason while religion is little more than blind faith. Only by embracing science as the one true source of genuine knowledge, they argued, can humankind be rid of superstition. Waging the War of Non-Ideas, by Edward Cline: Ayn Rand was always there first. She articulated the fundamentals of metaphysics and epistemology that govern the continuance of human existence. The statements above are spoken by some villains after they have heard John Galt's speech in Atlas Shrugged. They reveal the dead-end of the kind of consciousness that refuses to acknowledge the existence of anything and everything, including speeches, of a consciousness that wishes A to be non-A at the same time, to be militantly certain of nothing in order to reshape reality to the need of the moment. Objectivism: The Philosophy of Reason, by Thomas Woods: So let's see. We need "total war," which amounts to a murderous denial of individual rights, in order to preserve a government based on individual rights. And since this is WAR, you understand, in defense of individual rights we also need to adopt a utilitarian calculus: whatever it takes to win is what we'll do. These are the imperatives of reason itself. "As a free nation, we have the moral right to defend ourselves, even if this requires mass civilian casualties in terrorist countries," says another Objectivist. The rest of his article accepts every collectivist premise under the sun, including of course the very concept of a "terrorist country." Where the Evidence Leads, by Logan Paul Gage: Antony Flew has long been my favorite atheist. That may be an odd thing for the son of a minister to say, but then again, Flew's father was a minister also. For over 60 years, Flew has been a bugbear, a sort of John McCain maverick, defying theists and atheists alike. Flew, who began his career at Oxford, rejected the smug atheism of logical positivism that blithely dismissed all theological statements a priori as meaningless -- neither true nor false. Flew opted for an atheism that stood on its own two feet; an atheism of reason and evidence. Why Religion Matters, by Krista Tippett: Some say that religion is the cause of our worst divisions, and a threat to democracy and civilization. The truth is more broadly and deeply rooted in the human psyche and spirit. The great religious traditions have survived across millennia because they express insights that human beings have repeatedly found to be true. But they are containers for those insights -- fashioned and carried forward by human beings, and therefore prone to every passion and frailty of the human condition. Creationists unveil 'God Lab': The cat-and-mouse contest between science and creationism took a new turn this week with the unveiling of a "God lab" ostensibly set up to search for scientific evidence for intelligent design. The move follows a 2005 US federal court ruling that ID is a religious idea not a scientific one. The Left's Theft of the Open Society and the Scientific Method, by Jonathan David Carson: The Left misappropriates intellectual capital for perverse ends, in order to lend itself a veneer of respectability and befuddle its critics. According to the website of the Open Society Institute, the George Soros funded nerve-center of today's Left, "The term 'open society' was popularized by the philosopher Karl Popper in his 1945 book Open Society and Its Enemies. Popper's work deeply influenced George Soros, the founder of the Open Society Institute, and it is upon the concept of an open society that Soros bases his philanthropic activity."
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