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Index for this page...
All The Following Items Were Posted On August 1, 2008 Labor: The only difficulty about the word "labor" lies in the ambiguity of the word "work." Everyone understands that when we talk about laborers, we are referring to those who work for a living. Lacking property in the means of production (i.e., capital), they are reduced to toiling for the wages or salaries that they receive for their work. If high-salaried executives have no source of income other than their salaries, and if they would not work unless they were paid for what they do, they, too, are toilers, similar to the least skilled workers who would not be working except for the extrinsic compensation they receive for what they are engaged in doing. Strictly speaking, in Marxist terms, they all belong to the proletariat -- the toilers who would not work if they did not need the wages or salaries they receive. Toil has no intrinsic value for those who do it, unless it be the avoidance of stealing as a way of obtaining what they need in order to survive. But there is another meaning of the word "work" that is not toil. Let us call toil subsistence-work. The other meaning of "work" is that which anyone would do if one did not need income for doing it, because it is work worth doing for its own sake and for its intrinsic value. For example, composing music, painting a portrait, teaching any activity that perfects the individual who does it by improving or perfecting himself or herself, may be as tiring as toil, but we are willing to do such work because of the benefits it confers upon us or upon society. Let us call such work leisure-work. It is leisure-work even when it is compensated as well as when it is done without any thought of extrinsic compensation. I would not use the words "human capital" for any member of the working class. In my view, the opposition of labor and capital must preserve the distinction between labor and all means of production and all consumable goods and services. Capital can be owned, but labor cannot be, except by the laborer himself or herself. Chattel slavery is a violation of this basic truth. Unfortunately, the word "leisure" is generally misused as if it were a synonym for time that is free from subsistence-work, from leisure-work, and from other things that are needed to stay alive and healthy. It is also used as if it referred to recreation or play. Leisuring is an activity as much as toiling is. If we remember that there are two forms of work -- toiling or subsistence-work and leisure-work -- we will never again use the word "leisure" for recreations that comprise all the forms of playing, or for just doing nothing. 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 Ellery Channing (1780-1842), American Transcendentalist philosopher William Ellery Channing was the first outstanding thinker of the post-revolutionary period in America. As a minister, he fought some of the religious traditions brought from Europe. In 1825, he became the founder of the American Unitarian Association. As a liberal and humanitarian, Channing was unconditionally opposed to every sort of oppression and injustice, particularly to slavery, on the ground that all men at all times are by nature and by right free. As a philosopher, he was the main precursor of American Transcendentalism. Some of Channings ideas on social relations and education are expressed in the following statements:
Source: Excepted from On Elevation of Laboring Classes and Self-Culture by William Ellery Channing. Read more about William Ellery Channing in The Radical Academy.
FOR THE RECORD 1. Government Won't Follow Its Own ID Theft Advice, by James W. Harris "Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check." This warning was sent to every mailing address in the United States a few months ago by the Federal Trade Commission, in an effort to halt the growing problem of identity theft. The Social Security Administration regularly gives similar advice. And for very good reason. Social Security numbers are risky. As Associated Press points out: "Combined with other personal information -- such as a victim's full name, birth date and home address -- a Social Security number can be used to open fraudulent credit accounts using a victim's identity. With just a Social Security number, a clever thief can fraudulently obtain a victim's credit report for as little as $50, an important step toward ultimately impersonating a victim." However, America's biggest violators of this good advice is... surprise: the federal government itself. According to Associated Press:
None of these zillion-dollar federal agencies are in any hurry to protect your privacy and correct the situation. The IRS has no plans to change its advice. Medicare, already a black hole for taxpayers' dollars, says it would be too expensive to change its cards. The Pentagon says it is in the process of removing the numbers, but it doesn't have the resources to finish doing so until 2014. Medicare spokesman Charlene Frizzera says he's aware of the problem with the risky Medicare cards. But he has a solution. "Our advice is, don't carry it [your Medicare card] with you unless you know you're going to need it," Frizzera told AP. However, clearly printed on the back of every Medicare card are these words: "Carry your card with you when you are away from home." Source: Associated Press at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqfU3Rm03mwsn8ptdus6gfv1sCbwD91LUEHG9 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. Fair Use Prevails Over Michael Savage's Copyright Claims -- From Our Friends At The Electronic Frontier Foundation: Posted by Kurt Opsahl On Friday, a U.S. District Court granted the motion for judgment on the pleadings we and our co-counsel Tom Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP filed in a copyright infringement suit brought by talk show host Michael Savage against the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Savage had sued CAIR back in December 2007, alleging that CAIR infringed the copyright in his show when it posted on its web site brief excerpts from Savage's radio program in order to criticize Savage's remarks. Savage also added a federal racketeering claim stemming from that alleged copyright infringement. Judge Susan Illston recognized that CAIR's use of four minutes from one of Savage's two hour radio programs to criticize Savage is protected under the fair use doctrine. The Copyright Act specifically makes clear that third parties may utilize copyrighted works for purposes of commentary or criticism, as CAIR did in this case. For purposes of the motion, the Court assumed all the allegations in the complaint were true, and still found that CAIR's use of the excerpts was protected. As the Court noted:
Savage was also unable to show any copyright damages from the criticism. As the Court noted,
Copyright law protects the market for the the copyrighted work, but was never designed to protect the author against having to face critics, or the consequences of criticism. Even if Savage's advertisers choose to pull their ads because of a compelling critique, his free speech rights have not been violated. Savage, who has his own daily radio program with millions of listeners, remains free to compete in the marketplace of ideas, even though he is now prevented from using the legal process to silence critics. After carefully analyzing Savage's copyright claim, the Court concluded "that the defects of plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint will not be cured by amendment, [and therefore] plaintiff's copyright claim is dismissed without leave to amend." The Court also addressed Savage's racketeering claim. Finding numerous flaws in the complaint, including a failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court dismissed the claim with leave to amend. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Savage's attorney Daniel Horowitz acknowledged that the opinion was "very carefully thought-out," but promised to file a revised complaint on the racketeering charges. Savage's own website, however, was soliciting donations to "Help me file an appeal." Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation -- Read the above article with "hot" links. Nature's Chronic Boozers: Out boozing for several hours every night -- that would be drinking like a tree shrew. Except the tree shrews can scurry a straight line afterward. The pentailed tree shrews (Ptilocercus lowii) of Malaysia average more than two hours each night sipping palm nectar that has naturally fermented, report Frank Wiens of the University of Bayreuth in Germany and his colleagues in the July 29 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This is the first recorded case of chronic alcohol consumption by a wild mammal," Wiens says. ... But tree shrews may not have the same metabolism as humans when it comes to detoxifying alcohol. Source: Science News Ancient Greek 'Computer' Displayed Olympics Calendar: An ancient Greek "computer" used to calculate the movements of the sun, moon and planets has been linked to Archimedes after scientists deciphered previously hidden inscriptions on the device. X-ray images of the bronze mechanism, which was recovered from a shipwreck more than a century ago, also revealed a sporting calendar that displays the cycle of the prestigious "crown" games, including the Olympics, which were held every four years. Corroded remains of the device were found in 1901 by spongedivers, who happened upon the shipwreck of a Roman merchant vessel while sheltering from a storm near the tiny Greek island of Antikythera. The ship, which was laden with treasures from the Greek world including bronze statues, pottery and glassware, is believed to have met its fate in the notoriously dangerous stretch of water en route to Italy. Source: Guardian (UK) 4. Quote For The Month: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia "There are many reasons why the militia was thought to be 'necessary to the security of a free state.' .... [W]hen the able-bodied men of a nation are trained in arms and organized, they are better able to resist tyranny.... In the tumultuous decades of the 1760's and 1770's, the Crown began to disarm the inhabitants of the most rebellious areas. That provoked polemical reactions by Americans invoking their rights as Englishmen to keep arms. A New York article of April 1769 said that '[i]t is a natural right which the people have reserved to themselves, confirmed by the Bill of Rights, to keep arms for their own defense.'" -- Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia, from the landmark Second Amendment case, District of Columbia v. Heller, June 2008. Source: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf
COUNSELING CORNER: Some Serious Things To Ponder . . . 1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 2. He who laughs last, thinks slowest. 3. A day without sunshine is like, well, night. 4. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. 5. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't. 6. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. 7. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong. 8. It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them. 9. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it. 10. The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first. 11. The shin bone is a device for finding furniture. 12. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: There are no short cuts to any place worth going. A Little Advice: On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key. A Little Quip: Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them. A Little Proverb: The secret of getting ahead is getting started. A Little Question: If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too? A Little Reflection: A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a solution to the problem. A Little Admission: It's not the pace of life that concerns me, it's the sudden stop at the end. A Little Observation: Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye opener. A Little Warning: "Yes, the lectures are optional. Graduation is also optional." -- Professor Brian Quinn. A Little Definition: Toothache - The pain that drives you to extraction. A Little Quote: "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it." -- W.C. Fields (1879-1946), U.S. actor and screenwriter.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: What is Wrong with Socrates?, by Emily Wilson: The Athenian gadfly, Socrates, who was executed in 399 BC on charges of impiety and corrupting the young, has been seen as a hero ever since. There is a "Socratic problem" in that we know very little for certain about the historical Socrates, but for most people Socrates is the character Plato presented in his dialogues. I will refer to him in the present tense, since the idealised Platonic Socrates is as much a fictional as a historical character. Why we're all moral hypocrites - Study shows we judge others more severely than ourselves: Most of us, whether we admit it or not, are moral hypocrites. We judge others more severely than we judge ourselves. Mounting evidence suggests moral decisions result from the jousting between our knee-jerk responses (think "survival instinct") and our slower, but more collected evaluations. Which is more responsible for our self-leniency? To find out, a recent study presented people with two tasks. I Think, Therefore I Am Misunderstood - Sure, it looks like I'm getting money for nothing, but as a philosopher, I do more than you think, by Erik Wielenberg: I mean, what do you do ?" it's the question every professional philosopher dreads. Most of us first face it as undergraduate philosophy majors, when it's put this way: "I mean, what are you going to do with that?" I wonder if the question will transform itself once more when I lie on my deathbed, posed by a curious nurse or doctor: "I mean, what have you done ?" Primary school children 'should be taught philosophy', by Graeme Paton: Children as young as eight should learn philosophy at school to develop critical thinking skills, according to academics. Teachers should use common classroom disputes - such as arguments over who split paint on the floor - to help pupils learn about issues such as fairness, responsibility and punishment, they say. At secondary level, pupils should be encouraged to discuss controversial issues such as abortion, designer babies and the Afghan war to develop moral reasoning. Marxism and Anarchism, by Jack Grancharoff: There is a tendency to hyphenate marxism to anarchism. There are even cases, claiming that the founder of anarchism is Marx. The fact that both movements developed from a common root is no indication that they are compatible. Anarchists are anti-authoritarian while Marxists are authoritarian. Marxism, Philosophy, and the East/West Question, by Gary Tedman: The 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and its aftermath, the so-called "War on Terror," and the Iraq war, have given rise to instances of celebrated "western" figures using bigoted images of the "east." In the context of a reaction to the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by supposed followers of an "eastern" religion this might be understandable, if not condoned, but this racism is then often carried over to label Marxism. Science And Philosophy, by Kamala Sarup: Philosophers have a method of analysis and a conception that when one speaks of concepts about the real world they talk about things that exist ; that is, occupy space inside the brain. In fact they talk only about concepts and their relationships. Definitions and deductive logic are their tools for understanding these relationships. The result is that the results of philosophy are formal (conceptual, analytic) truths, the same as mathematics. Religion and Libertarianism, by Walter Block: The relationship of libertarianism and religion is a long and stormy one. It cannot be denied that Ayn Rand has had a long, strong and deep relationship with libertarianism. Although she dismissed us as "hippies of the right" (pronounced "ippes of de racht") many of our number are still enthralled by her, inspired by her, and in debt to her for first introducing us to the moral case for free enterprise. I certainly include myself in this category. It Doesn't Take an Einstein - The problem with using scientists' words to support religious beliefs, by Michael Weiss: Science traffics in the great unknowns, admitting that it has far more to learn than it has to teach. That hasn't stopped some from attempting to enlist it in the defense of religion. The pope puts out an encyclical trying to split the difference between evolution and the Book of Genesis. Intelligent design makes a mockery of both the method of induction and metaphysics. The Relationship of Philosophy and Law: Thomas Jefferson, who was himself a lawyer and political philosopher, believed good lawyers had to have a broad knowledge base. He believed lawyers must read classics by the likes of Marcus Tullius Cicero and William Shakespeare in addition to William Blackstone's legal treatises. While Georgetown law professor Robin West won't go that far, she does believe the study of law should be much more attentive to its philosophical roots these days. Einstein's Potemkin villages, by Fred Hutchison: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a philosophical pantheist, and his theory of general relativity is based upon pantheistic assumptions that rule out a transcendent creator God. Einstein's cosmology has a baleful influence on Western moral culture because it conveys the idea that everything is relative and nothing is absolute. Some Christians of liberal theology have become pantheists and moral relativists as a result of Einstein's influence. Political Moral Philosophy -- R.I.P., by Ken Connor: Political moral philosophy" sounds like an oxymoron in the context of our modern, unprincipled politics. Nevertheless, a sound moral philosophy is the vital center of any political movement intent on fashioning a just society. Unfortunately, both political parties today seem to have lost their grip on whatever moral philosophy they once held to be true.
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