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Thoughtlets . xxxviii.
Lately I’ve been troubled by laughing-at-stupid-people infotainment, especially in partisan news media, and on both sides of the political spectrum. I’d like to watch a broadcast that doesn’t devolve into some version of nanny-nanny-poo-poo-you-have-stinky-pants. That the frowning anchor wears a suit and tie, or a presentable dress, makes the content no less childish and vitriolic. But Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. xxxvii.
Even the ancients wondered why patterns in human behaviour and events occur. We shouldn’t wonder at their wondering since they, like us, were concerned with prediction and control for matters of survival and social flourishing. “Perhaps there is a sort of cycle in all things, with changes of morality coming around again like seasonal changes.” Continue reading
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Plato’s Legacy: Intellectual Curmudgeonry
Try this. When you step out of bed in the morning, open the curtains, take a big breath, and exclaim: What a wonderful day! I can’t believe how rational people are! It’s because somebody, like Plato, opened the curtains one morning, looked out at the world and said Oh… My… Gawd! What’s wrong with people?! Can’t Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. xxxiv.
The Assumption(s) of the Soulless Shoes David Hume noted, That the sun will not rise to-morrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise. David Hume (1711-1776). David Steinberg, Ed. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Second Edition. Hackett Publishing Company:Indianapolis. 1993. Section IV, Pt.I, p.15 Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. xxxiii.
Don’t be deterred from searching a well-trodden path for novel things. Hard packed ground can conceal many treasures. Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. xxxii.
A scapegoat is (usually) a person or group of people unjustly blamed for some set of circumstances arising from the actions of others. Scapegoats bear the brunt of crowd hostility and, once identified by an angry mob, find themselves in no-win, dangerous — even lethal — situations. Scapegoating is as old as humankind. In The Annals, Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. XXXI.
Resistance is not raising up an army and trading fire, by that time too many have needlessly suffered — as will many more. Resistance is inviting someone you’ve been taught (and are expected) to hate to your table and treating her as a friend. The people you need to resist, to this end, are your Continue reading
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