The truth be told though the heavens fall.
Because if the heavens can't handle the truth they were never going to stay up anyway.
"The whole truth can never be immoral"
Tolstoy.
EXEMPLAR HUMANAE VITAE - SPECIMEN OF A HUMAN LIFE. I am not really a sofa. But I try to be a filosofa. This is the parent blog of my other blogs which all began here, and which in totality constitute the views of an urban peasant living in London. Including some thoughts on politics, psychology, religion, employment and education. And a little humour. I am a rationalist, a humanist and an atheist and I write from a green/socialist/libertarian perspective.
18 July 2007
17 July 2007
Result 2007
Wanted to do a pitch invasion last night when SOAS beat Magdalene Oxford.
Best team won I thought.
I always want the non-Oxbridge team to win.
I have a fanatical devotion to the underdog.
But absolutely ecstatic to see Oscar Wilde's old college beaten.
University Challenge is like football to me.
I can answer quite a few of the questions too.
Oxbridge just ain't right.
7% of people go to Private schools.
40% of Oxbridge students went to private school.
The final word on Oxford is maybe the fact that they let Boris Johnson in.
Best team won I thought.
I always want the non-Oxbridge team to win.
I have a fanatical devotion to the underdog.
But absolutely ecstatic to see Oscar Wilde's old college beaten.
University Challenge is like football to me.
I can answer quite a few of the questions too.
Oxbridge just ain't right.
7% of people go to Private schools.
40% of Oxbridge students went to private school.
The final word on Oxford is maybe the fact that they let Boris Johnson in.
16 July 2007
The Immorality of Religion
Religious belief can be deeply immoral because it can be deeply dishonest.
15 July 2007
Kenan Malik quotes on Multiculturalism
"Clearly no human can live outside of culture. But to say this is not to say that they have to live inside a particular one."
Kenan Malik.
"Can multiculturalism work? As an increasingly authoritarian form of social regulation, yes.
But as part of a process through which to create a freer, more equal, more just society, in which we can critically engage with diversity as lived experience? No."
Kenan Malik.
Kenan Malik.
"Can multiculturalism work? As an increasingly authoritarian form of social regulation, yes.
But as part of a process through which to create a freer, more equal, more just society, in which we can critically engage with diversity as lived experience? No."
Kenan Malik.
How should one define religion?
To continue with the ramblings on religion....
To precis the entry on religion in Anthony Giddens' text book, "Sociology",
Religion is
NOT (just)
1) Monotheism
2) Moral prescriptions
3) Explaining how the world came to be as it is
4) Belief in the supernatural
because there are religions that do not include any of these things.
Religion IS
- Symbols
- Reverence and Awe
- Rituals
- Community of Believers
Don't know how much I agree with any of this but it makes more sense than other sources.
By this definition, supporting a football team perhaps qualifies as a religion.
But being a fan of a particular team is not a "way of life" or a matter of "ultimate concern" - two other definitions of religion. Or is it?
I would add that maybe religion can include
- Dogma
- Hierarchy
- Leader figures or founder figures - sometimes charismatic and idolised/worshiped.....
Maybe also
- Exclusivity
- Persecution of dissenters from dogma
- .....
I am not convinced that humans are "religious animals" by nature - as some contend - however one defines religion.
To precis the entry on religion in Anthony Giddens' text book, "Sociology",
Religion is
NOT (just)
1) Monotheism
2) Moral prescriptions
3) Explaining how the world came to be as it is
4) Belief in the supernatural
because there are religions that do not include any of these things.
Religion IS
- Symbols
- Reverence and Awe
- Rituals
- Community of Believers
Don't know how much I agree with any of this but it makes more sense than other sources.
By this definition, supporting a football team perhaps qualifies as a religion.
But being a fan of a particular team is not a "way of life" or a matter of "ultimate concern" - two other definitions of religion. Or is it?
I would add that maybe religion can include
- Dogma
- Hierarchy
- Leader figures or founder figures - sometimes charismatic and idolised/worshiped.....
Maybe also
- Exclusivity
- Persecution of dissenters from dogma
- .....
I am not convinced that humans are "religious animals" by nature - as some contend - however one defines religion.
Green v. Grey
Green or Grey?
Some people see the distinction as not being between socialism and capitalism but betweem "grey" and "green".
Both socialism and capitalism are about conventional ecomics and economic growth.
They are both "grey".
Green thinking aims for other things.
....
Some people see the distinction as not being between socialism and capitalism but betweem "grey" and "green".
Both socialism and capitalism are about conventional ecomics and economic growth.
They are both "grey".
Green thinking aims for other things.
....
12 July 2007
12th July 2007 - G.I.M.
I mentioned to my new third housemate who likes a drink or two that I regarded myself as a G.I.M. - a Green Intellectual Monk. A "GIM".
(I don't live in the Big Brother House - it's far more fun than that).
He replied, "No. You're a Green Intellectual Monk Pervert - a GIMP!" and there was much laughter.
(I don't live in the Big Brother House - it's far more fun than that).
He replied, "No. You're a Green Intellectual Monk Pervert - a GIMP!" and there was much laughter.
11 July 2007
10 July 2007
Chomsky on Education
Chomsky on Education.
"The heart of any serious educational programme is fostering the ability to "inquire and create", as discussed by one of the founders of classical liberalism and of the modern university system, Wilhelm von Humboldt."
p.227, "Failed States", Noam Chomsky.
"The heart of any serious educational programme is fostering the ability to "inquire and create", as discussed by one of the founders of classical liberalism and of the modern university system, Wilhelm von Humboldt."
p.227, "Failed States", Noam Chomsky.
Giddens "Third Way"
Anthony Giddens.
The Third Way. I think it is just the US Democrat Party of England.
There is no third way between traditional social democracy and unbridled neoliberalism.
There is a Green Way that goes beyond these two approaches.
"Securing social justice depends on a strong economy, not the other way around."
Anthony Giddens in The Independent, Thursday 28th June 2007.
Is that really true?
"..,unemployment benefits have been an unconditional right. But this situation discourages personal responsibility and has the effect of locking workers out of jobs. Those who lose their jobs should have a responsibility actively to look for work,.."
Anthony Giddens in The Independent, Thursday 28th June 2007.
a) What if there are no jobs available?
b) What about the human rights that say that everyone is owed their basic needs as a right?
Is there really any substance to Giddens' "Third Way"?
The Third Way. I think it is just the US Democrat Party of England.
There is no third way between traditional social democracy and unbridled neoliberalism.
There is a Green Way that goes beyond these two approaches.
"Securing social justice depends on a strong economy, not the other way around."
Anthony Giddens in The Independent, Thursday 28th June 2007.
Is that really true?
"..,unemployment benefits have been an unconditional right. But this situation discourages personal responsibility and has the effect of locking workers out of jobs. Those who lose their jobs should have a responsibility actively to look for work,.."
Anthony Giddens in The Independent, Thursday 28th June 2007.
a) What if there are no jobs available?
b) What about the human rights that say that everyone is owed their basic needs as a right?
Is there really any substance to Giddens' "Third Way"?
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