Maybe there is a priceless ore deep down below the surface of the earth that spreads out over all the globe and unites every continent and all people.
DB - The Vagabond
*********************
When I first came up with this idea I was thinking in geologic terms. I envisioned some primordial ash, from an ancient volcanic eruption, that had been buried under billions of tons of earth and compressed into a fine sacred stone. If we dug in any place, Siberia, Ireland, Botswana, Alaska and Argentina we would eventually come to find it in all those places.
Maybe it's there. But since then I've raised my consciousness a bit above the ground level up to where the blossoms are. I believe there is a priceless ore, but it's not to be found by digging.
I don't think there is any question that the most interesting creature walking upon the earth is the human being. We are seemingly endless in our different abilities, behaviors, characteristics, personalities, errors, dreams, illusions, accomplishments, idiosyncrasies, failures, forms, mentalities, reactions, perceptions, beliefs and destinies. The philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that the purpose of the human race is to become what it is capable of becoming.
I liken living one's life as a walk in a forest. Some times the way is smooth and pleasant and sometimes it's steep and harsh. Along the way there are some who will help you up the steep and rocky places and there are some who will kick dirt in your face. That's the human race for you.
I've had more than my share of dirt in my life and maybe I have even kicked a little in the past. But I've also been able to help a few people over the rough spots and I much prefer that. The dirt kickers are the enemies of humanity, of course, but there's an even worse enemy. It's known as "not caring" and it marches under the banner of inertia in the uniform of selfishness.
There is a vast web of friendship throughout the world and it is what is keeping civilization together. But it is a vulnerable cobweb and can easily be broken by inertia, by not caring. It is the sacred ore of the earth that unites us. We must never let it get buried.
So here is your mission, "should you choose to accept it." Make a list of people, 10 or so, people you know and like, perhaps they are people you haven't spoken to in a while, or people you mean to keep in touch with but don't, people who are somewhere along your part of the friendship web, and on their journal page, or in an email or on a postcard, simply say: "I'm thinking about you and I'm writing just to say hello." Or similar words of you own choosing. I will do the same.
DB - The Vagabond
Showing posts with label Kant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kant. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thunderous Thinking
Labor and rest, city and country life, social discourse and mere play, entertainment in solitude, now with prose, now with poetry, sometimes with philosophy, sometimes with mathematics, all those changes of activity strengthen the mind.
Immanuel Kant
*********************
I used to know a young philosopher named John. I say young because he was fresh out of graduate school with a PhD. We tend to think of a philosopher as a gray haired, bearded old professorial type with a system of thought summed up from a lifetime of pondering. John was an exception to that picture, as I'm sure there are others. He was a follower of the English philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, an empiricist and mathematician.
The remarkable thing about John was his ability to completely focus his mind on whatever issue interested him at the time. He could address any topic: astronomy, the economy, poetry, cooking or football, with the same intense concentration. He was curious about everything. He was also very passionate about things he was for or against, but he always had good, sound, well thought out reasons for his opinions. He also had a good sense of humor and play.
I think John's secret was that his mind didn't wander. Nothing in his head interfered with what he was thinking about at the time. But he wasn't the slightest bit critical or judgmental toward people whose minds did wander, such as myself.
John had a girl friend at the time who was my sister-in-law. The four of us would hang around and do things together. He was a pleasure to be with, although often a little intimidating. One always knew that clockwork mind of his was ticking on some issue that had attracted his attention even if he was silent.
We were driving somewhere one day and I posed the following problem:
A guy goes into a gambling hall, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a second one, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a third one, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a fourth, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
When he leaves the fourth gambling hall he has no more money. How much money did he have when he started?
John immediately started from the end and calculated, adding and subtracting as he went. He stopped only once to ask me if there was a fourth gambling hall. When I said there was he went ahead and gave the correct answer. It took him way less than a minute.
John, I wish you great happiness wherever you are.
DB
Immanuel Kant
*********************
I used to know a young philosopher named John. I say young because he was fresh out of graduate school with a PhD. We tend to think of a philosopher as a gray haired, bearded old professorial type with a system of thought summed up from a lifetime of pondering. John was an exception to that picture, as I'm sure there are others. He was a follower of the English philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, an empiricist and mathematician.
The remarkable thing about John was his ability to completely focus his mind on whatever issue interested him at the time. He could address any topic: astronomy, the economy, poetry, cooking or football, with the same intense concentration. He was curious about everything. He was also very passionate about things he was for or against, but he always had good, sound, well thought out reasons for his opinions. He also had a good sense of humor and play.
I think John's secret was that his mind didn't wander. Nothing in his head interfered with what he was thinking about at the time. But he wasn't the slightest bit critical or judgmental toward people whose minds did wander, such as myself.
John had a girl friend at the time who was my sister-in-law. The four of us would hang around and do things together. He was a pleasure to be with, although often a little intimidating. One always knew that clockwork mind of his was ticking on some issue that had attracted his attention even if he was silent.
We were driving somewhere one day and I posed the following problem:
A guy goes into a gambling hall, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a second one, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a third one, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
He goes into a fourth, pays $4 to get in, doubles his money and pays $4 to get out.
When he leaves the fourth gambling hall he has no more money. How much money did he have when he started?
John immediately started from the end and calculated, adding and subtracting as he went. He stopped only once to ask me if there was a fourth gambling hall. When I said there was he went ahead and gave the correct answer. It took him way less than a minute.
John, I wish you great happiness wherever you are.
DB
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Famed Formula 6/28/09
Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written in the tablets of history.
James Forude
******************
Welcome to my world.
-------------------------
So what is the moral law? It has been stated by many writers, speakers and philosophers over the years in many different ways. Very simply put it comes down to this: Humility in the presence of deity. Respect for others. Honesty with oneself.
If it's so simple why is it so damn difficult to understand and practice? When I first started to read philosophy, a subject which covers every aspect and experience of human life, it was the study of Ethics that attracted me. I wanted to reduce ethical thinking to a very simple statement, something I could mentally digest and use as a rule of life, such as "My freedom to punch you in the nose ends at the point where your nose begins." But the more I read the more I realized how complicated the subject is. Different circumstances require different actions. But every action or reaction should be directly related to a basic rule of behavior.
Humility in the presence of deity. One does not have to be a theist to understand that rule. The mistake we often make is to imagine that somehow we are greater then the sum of the parts. If we really understood and could utilize the vast intelligence that operates the universe there would be no need for science. Almost any scientist and thinker will admit to being amazed at the discoveries still to be made in every area of investigation into the workings of the natural world. With an infinite, unmeasured universe in front of us, how can we not be humble, even given our abilities to discover. If you are pleased with the idea of relating those discoveries to the process of understanding more about God, then good for you.
Respect for others. This poses an interesting question. Does everyone deserve our respect? I have a former friend in California for whom I no longer have any respect. I initially respected him very much, in fact I looked up to him for many years. My loss of respect for him is solely related to his treatment of me, but there are many things about him that project a sterling character. The lesson I learned is that I put my respect where it didn't belong. I trusted incorrectly, I needed to learn to respect him for who he is and not tie it to a betrayed trust.
The respect for others should also include animals and plants, even down to the lowly weed pushing its way up through the cracks in the sidewalk. Loving the weed or the skunk is not necessary, but giving it its right to be what it is is essential.
Honesty with oneself. Ah, here's the tricky one. I am reminded of two famous quotes. "This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man," wrote the amazingly intelligent Shakespeare. While Abraham Lincoln said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." How often do we fool ourselves? Some of the time? Or all of the time? Why is it so important to stop fooling ourselves and how do we go about it?
I think understanding ourselves, which is no small enterprise, is a combination of all three moral codes: humility in the presence of deity, respect for others and honesty with oneself. Immanuel Kant taught that one of the most important reasons for philosophy is an investigation of what the human being is capable of becoming. Thomas Hobbes wrote at length about our ethical responsibilities and relationships to other people and the society in which we live. And Friedrich Nietzsche dismissed doxological thinking for an investigation and realization of the indwelling intuitive and instinctual abilities of humans.
Yesterday I wrote about the supposedly 85% of the brain we don't use, and yesterday's Vagabond Jotting asks if the soul is something living inside the flesh. If you look at yourself squarely in the face when you approach a mirror and ask "Who am I?" be still, and let the intuitive portion of your mind, the 85%, answer. When the honest answer comes and is the real revelation of a creature that is part of the infinite universe, with an invisible nature, a soul, outside the flesh, indissolubly linked to light, space and all other creatures, and capable of becoming at one with great goodness, then you are alive. in every way.
If you reach that goal, or even approach it, "thou canst not them be false to any man" including yourself.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
_____________________
Have a nice sunny Summer Sunday
--------------------------------
Weekend Puzzle
_ H _ / _ T E /N _ _ _ _ E _ N S / _ _ T H / _ _ S E _ H _ N E /
( _ H E N /_ _ N _ _ _ _ T E/ _ _ S / _ _ _ _ ) ?
Ask me for a letter, fill it in and voila, you have a song title.
We have two winners.
C'est l'amour. Bon chance.
James Forude
******************
Welcome to my world.
-------------------------
So what is the moral law? It has been stated by many writers, speakers and philosophers over the years in many different ways. Very simply put it comes down to this: Humility in the presence of deity. Respect for others. Honesty with oneself.
If it's so simple why is it so damn difficult to understand and practice? When I first started to read philosophy, a subject which covers every aspect and experience of human life, it was the study of Ethics that attracted me. I wanted to reduce ethical thinking to a very simple statement, something I could mentally digest and use as a rule of life, such as "My freedom to punch you in the nose ends at the point where your nose begins." But the more I read the more I realized how complicated the subject is. Different circumstances require different actions. But every action or reaction should be directly related to a basic rule of behavior.
Humility in the presence of deity. One does not have to be a theist to understand that rule. The mistake we often make is to imagine that somehow we are greater then the sum of the parts. If we really understood and could utilize the vast intelligence that operates the universe there would be no need for science. Almost any scientist and thinker will admit to being amazed at the discoveries still to be made in every area of investigation into the workings of the natural world. With an infinite, unmeasured universe in front of us, how can we not be humble, even given our abilities to discover. If you are pleased with the idea of relating those discoveries to the process of understanding more about God, then good for you.
Respect for others. This poses an interesting question. Does everyone deserve our respect? I have a former friend in California for whom I no longer have any respect. I initially respected him very much, in fact I looked up to him for many years. My loss of respect for him is solely related to his treatment of me, but there are many things about him that project a sterling character. The lesson I learned is that I put my respect where it didn't belong. I trusted incorrectly, I needed to learn to respect him for who he is and not tie it to a betrayed trust.
The respect for others should also include animals and plants, even down to the lowly weed pushing its way up through the cracks in the sidewalk. Loving the weed or the skunk is not necessary, but giving it its right to be what it is is essential.
Honesty with oneself. Ah, here's the tricky one. I am reminded of two famous quotes. "This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man," wrote the amazingly intelligent Shakespeare. While Abraham Lincoln said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." How often do we fool ourselves? Some of the time? Or all of the time? Why is it so important to stop fooling ourselves and how do we go about it?
I think understanding ourselves, which is no small enterprise, is a combination of all three moral codes: humility in the presence of deity, respect for others and honesty with oneself. Immanuel Kant taught that one of the most important reasons for philosophy is an investigation of what the human being is capable of becoming. Thomas Hobbes wrote at length about our ethical responsibilities and relationships to other people and the society in which we live. And Friedrich Nietzsche dismissed doxological thinking for an investigation and realization of the indwelling intuitive and instinctual abilities of humans.
Yesterday I wrote about the supposedly 85% of the brain we don't use, and yesterday's Vagabond Jotting asks if the soul is something living inside the flesh. If you look at yourself squarely in the face when you approach a mirror and ask "Who am I?" be still, and let the intuitive portion of your mind, the 85%, answer. When the honest answer comes and is the real revelation of a creature that is part of the infinite universe, with an invisible nature, a soul, outside the flesh, indissolubly linked to light, space and all other creatures, and capable of becoming at one with great goodness, then you are alive. in every way.
If you reach that goal, or even approach it, "thou canst not them be false to any man" including yourself.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
_____________________
Have a nice sunny Summer Sunday
--------------------------------
Weekend Puzzle
_ H _ / _ T E /N _ _ _ _ E _ N S / _ _ T H / _ _ S E _ H _ N E /
( _ H E N /_ _ N _ _ _ _ T E/ _ _ S / _ _ _ _ ) ?
Ask me for a letter, fill it in and voila, you have a song title.
We have two winners.
C'est l'amour. Bon chance.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Kinetic Kindness 6/07/09
We are incessantly moved by the stream of time, and the change of sensations resultant from it.
Immanuel Kant
*****************
Hi. If you were affected by that awful Tagged scam yesterday, I am so sorry it happened to you. I had nothing to do with it. It was sending out messages all over the world, without my knowledge. Know that if I invite you to join some social network as my friend, or whatever, it is probably not from me. If, by some remote chance it is, I will let you know that ahead of time. This is about what snagged us:
Tagged.com Email Scam - "Your Friend Tagged You" - Phishing for Your Identity
------------------------------------------------
Be sure to checkout the Weekend Puzzle below. It is legitimate.
__________________________________
I was just thinking this morning about how much I have changed over the years. When I reflect on certain events and recall what my behavior was at those times I can feel regrets. But I find that knowing I will not do those things anymore is a partial treatment for those regrets. I have done a lot of things in my life I'm not proud of. Who hasn't? Today, I take no particular pride in knowing that I won't do those things again if the opportunity occurs. It's more a matter of feeling cleansed from much of the sarcasm, judgmentalism and negativity of the past. In short, I'm a nicer guy than I used to be.
It is also a satisfaction, and somewhat of a surprise, to find that a person can float on "the stream of time" into senior citizenship, even with illness. pain and trouble, without becoming curmudgeonly nasty with a basic distaste for life, as has happened to some guys, unfortunately.
I ignore the evil angel that talks of dissolution and decrepitude. I feel as much alive as ever but with a whole different set of sensations. The challenge of making a living has been replaced by the one of walking down the street. That's where the humor is. As I wrote to someone recently, I write because I think and I think because my mind is just about the only part of me that still works right.
I have come to not taking for granted many things. I know there is a future and that things change. I look forward to it.
"He's a tough old bastard." You betcha.
DB
_______________
Let Springdom Ring
*****************
WEEKEND PUZZLE
Okay. Here you go.
Without cheating (i. e. Googling), how many of the following can you identify with their full titles? Warning, they get progressively more difficult. The correct answers and winners, if any (heh, heh, malignant chuckle), will appear after 9 p. m. EST on Sunday. So get busy. No cheating.
1. PIN
2. NASA
3. CORE
4. FAA
5. ASCAP
6. AFL-CIO
7. AGVA
8. LASER
9. EDGAR
10. CARD
Good luck. You'll need it.
1 winner so far.
Immanuel Kant
*****************
Hi. If you were affected by that awful Tagged scam yesterday, I am so sorry it happened to you. I had nothing to do with it. It was sending out messages all over the world, without my knowledge. Know that if I invite you to join some social network as my friend, or whatever, it is probably not from me. If, by some remote chance it is, I will let you know that ahead of time. This is about what snagged us:
Tagged.com Email Scam - "Your Friend Tagged You" - Phishing for Your Identity
------------------------------------------------
Be sure to checkout the Weekend Puzzle below. It is legitimate.
__________________________________
I was just thinking this morning about how much I have changed over the years. When I reflect on certain events and recall what my behavior was at those times I can feel regrets. But I find that knowing I will not do those things anymore is a partial treatment for those regrets. I have done a lot of things in my life I'm not proud of. Who hasn't? Today, I take no particular pride in knowing that I won't do those things again if the opportunity occurs. It's more a matter of feeling cleansed from much of the sarcasm, judgmentalism and negativity of the past. In short, I'm a nicer guy than I used to be.
It is also a satisfaction, and somewhat of a surprise, to find that a person can float on "the stream of time" into senior citizenship, even with illness. pain and trouble, without becoming curmudgeonly nasty with a basic distaste for life, as has happened to some guys, unfortunately.
I ignore the evil angel that talks of dissolution and decrepitude. I feel as much alive as ever but with a whole different set of sensations. The challenge of making a living has been replaced by the one of walking down the street. That's where the humor is. As I wrote to someone recently, I write because I think and I think because my mind is just about the only part of me that still works right.
I have come to not taking for granted many things. I know there is a future and that things change. I look forward to it.
"He's a tough old bastard." You betcha.
DB
_______________
Let Springdom Ring
*****************
WEEKEND PUZZLE
Okay. Here you go.
Without cheating (i. e. Googling), how many of the following can you identify with their full titles? Warning, they get progressively more difficult. The correct answers and winners, if any (heh, heh, malignant chuckle), will appear after 9 p. m. EST on Sunday. So get busy. No cheating.
1. PIN
2. NASA
3. CORE
4. FAA
5. ASCAP
6. AFL-CIO
7. AGVA
8. LASER
9. EDGAR
10. CARD
Good luck. You'll need it.
1 winner so far.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Kindling Knack 4/15/09
Genius is the talent for discovering what cannot be taught or learned.
Immanuel Kant
*****************
Hi. Government got your money?
-------------------------------------
Einstein once said he wasn't a genius but that he was just very curious. I don't know but I guess curiosity is behind all endeavors that transcend what people seem to know. It has been said that education begins the moment you leave school. That's when you start to find out some of your teachers knew what they were talking about, some of them knew some of the time and others never did know. Leaving school and going out into the real world requires shedding a lot of skins.
In my own career I have seen young people come into professional theatre fresh from some drama department or school of the arts with the stupidest ideas as to what acting is all about and what actually goes on in a professional theatre. It's painful to see them struggle to let go of what their favorite professor taught them to do. But letting go of useless training is essential to finding one's way in any important endeavor.
There are theories, there are practices and then there are discoveries. Theories are like rule books, written or compiled by somebody along the way. They generally say that if you put this with that then the other thing is going to happen. Some of these rules are good, others are not. One has to decide for oneself. And that's where the practice comes in.
I know actors who act by the numbers, as the saying goes, who think they know how any given scene should be played based on similar scenes of the past. If they have a love scene they will perform a generic love scene with no love in it, a rule book love scene. No risks taken, nothing learned.
Then how do discoveries come about? By asking questions. By curiosity. By saying "I wonder what would happen if I tried attaching a flat piece of wood to the bottom of the ship with a handle on it. Maybe I can steer it that way and I wouldn't have keep moving the sails back and forth by hand."
In short, geniuses are curious people who put the rule books aside, imagine, think things through, try them out and keep trying until they work.
Maybe you qualify as a genius but don't know it yet.
DB
____________________
Have another one on me.
**********************
Immanuel Kant
*****************
Hi. Government got your money?
-------------------------------------
Einstein once said he wasn't a genius but that he was just very curious. I don't know but I guess curiosity is behind all endeavors that transcend what people seem to know. It has been said that education begins the moment you leave school. That's when you start to find out some of your teachers knew what they were talking about, some of them knew some of the time and others never did know. Leaving school and going out into the real world requires shedding a lot of skins.
In my own career I have seen young people come into professional theatre fresh from some drama department or school of the arts with the stupidest ideas as to what acting is all about and what actually goes on in a professional theatre. It's painful to see them struggle to let go of what their favorite professor taught them to do. But letting go of useless training is essential to finding one's way in any important endeavor.
There are theories, there are practices and then there are discoveries. Theories are like rule books, written or compiled by somebody along the way. They generally say that if you put this with that then the other thing is going to happen. Some of these rules are good, others are not. One has to decide for oneself. And that's where the practice comes in.
I know actors who act by the numbers, as the saying goes, who think they know how any given scene should be played based on similar scenes of the past. If they have a love scene they will perform a generic love scene with no love in it, a rule book love scene. No risks taken, nothing learned.
Then how do discoveries come about? By asking questions. By curiosity. By saying "I wonder what would happen if I tried attaching a flat piece of wood to the bottom of the ship with a handle on it. Maybe I can steer it that way and I wouldn't have keep moving the sails back and forth by hand."
In short, geniuses are curious people who put the rule books aside, imagine, think things through, try them out and keep trying until they work.
Maybe you qualify as a genius but don't know it yet.
DB
____________________
Have another one on me.
**********************
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)