Then the problem is the corruption of some judges or attorneys, right? I mean, the existence of the law (from an objective perspective) is not the main issue here; we can even have correct or good laws but corrupt judges. So, the problem is the person and not the nature of the law.

However, judges alone have the authority to interpret and apply the law. Why wouldn't a judge apply good law? :chin:

If law enforcement is not working against those guilty of breaking them, then we should look at what is making this flawed situation. Instead of focusing on the law, I believe we should try to figure out why the judiciary system is getting more rotten than ever. The problem is not the written law but those who don't want to apply it.

Cumbias villeras -- @Arcane Sandwich

Welcome to the forum.

Carl Sagan was a great thinker. I have another book titled 'Cosmos'. I remember it had interesting points, but it was tough to follow as I am not very proficient in science.

Un campeón desparejo (translated into English as "An Uneven Champion") by Adolfo Bioy Casares.

We've been moved to the Lounge. — Banno

It lasted a lot on the main page. Don't be depresso; I will still be reading the updates on Australian politics. :smile:

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

and I particularly like his emphasis on poetry. — Baden

:up: :up:

I read on Google that readers appreciate how he deals with the topic of poetry, precisely.

The title definitely catches my attention. I imagine you are indeed enjoying the parts that are actually very good. Most works tend to be uneven; it is difficult to find a symmetrical book (or author).

:up: :up:

Truth and Predication. Donald Davidson 's last book. — Banno

Interesting.

What is really interesting (more than probably the book you are currently reading) is that this could be the first time I see you posting in this thread; cool! It is good to know what Banno is reading.

@Noble Dust

I saw it at number one on a "greatest books of all time" list recently, which did puzzle me. — Baden

I believe that "greatest books of all time" lists are dependent upon the language of the editor or publisher. I have never seen The Great Gatsby ranked number one here because our literary critics are likely to choose Cervantes or Borges. Sinchōsa (a very important Japanese editorial) usually ranks Tanizaki, Kawabata or Kenzaburo Oe as their number ones, and I hardly remember a Western author.

Hello Jan and welcome to the forum.

As pointed out, details depend upon the topic. I think arts, philosophy of art, or aesthetics are good examples of studying with more detail the details. When we read poetry or listen to music, I believe we pay attention to the details, and this makes our experience more complete. Furthermore, if we want to make a critical reflection on a piece of art, we should focus on the details, too. But I guess you should tell us what kind of topic you were thinking of. Since that's the answer given by Copilot, I think you asked the AI about art, but I am not really sure.

I think the best I could do is put my jacket on, go to my local supermarket, buy a large jar of marmalade and enjoy a big toast for merienda.

The Village of Stepanchikovo by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Time is a unit of measurement. Pretty much it. — DifferentiatingEgg

What does measure the time then?

Ah, wow! Great. I never did get through the French writers. I know they are important, but for different reasons, I preferred to read other authors. For example, although Sartre is a reference of existentialism, I always focused my attention on Russian novelists.

It would be pleasing to know what book or novel you are specifically referring to; I can't figure out any author or title in your post. :smile:

Habemus papam.

Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum Robertum Franciscum
Sanctae Romane Ecclesiae Cardinalem Prevost
qui sibi nomen imposuit Leo XIV.

He is American.

Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost).

Interesting input, thanks.

As I shared previously, it could be hard to approach God in any kind of system. Your example could fit in order to try to prove his existence from a metaphysical perspective. God could be that planet that spins all on its own, and "we" orbit around him due to motion or due to how he makes us spin or move in any other mechanical motion.

But I still believe that my point above can't approach God's existence; if we accept God is a thing with a system himself, then it means he is a set of elements, and if an element is left behind, then God is at risk to no longer existing or working. As I understand it, it seems that set (as the planetary system) works because the elements are always together.

According to many believers, God is above all that. It is more abstract than a set of quantum elements. For this motive, I believe that God's existence could be understood in an epistemological view.

Then, I think we should try to elaborate an argument using epistemology. Whether with truth, belief, or justification. I don't have the necessary and sufficient knowledge to elaborate on this. Probably in the near future.

You seem to be equivocating between "dependence" as being a function of something else and being grounded in something else. — SophistiCat

Sorry to interrupt. I believe I also confuse the use of "dependence" as being a function or as being grounded in something else. This is metaphysics, and I am aware that it holds a lot of complexity to reach a clear conclusion. But I would like to know if understanding the distinction between "dependence" in terms of function or grounded could help us approach God's existence from a metaphysical view. Is this where we should start?

Yes, I am suggesting that, but only if we try to prove God's existence from a metaphysical point of view though. I agree with you that a fundamental layer of reality (God?) could evolve from an initial state without an external cause. But I would like to stop here because, as far as I am concerned, it is not plausible to approach God through a fundamental or quantum system because God is not a set of elements. This is why I stated that we might be able to approach his existence through belief or any kind of epistemology. Sadly, I don't have a strong argument to convince you.

I would like to know if it is plausible to prove God's existence through belief, truth, or justification and then elaborate an argument. This is why I asked if God's existence can be approached by epistemology. :sweat:

And that pure quantum system can be applied to God, right? Or the candidates you were thinking of.

What if we focus on epistemology instead of metaphysics in order to understand this question? We can use propositional knowledge or practical knowledge in the form of skills with the point of proving God's existence. I mean, what if we try to prove it through belief, truth, or justification instead of focusing only on the origin of God?

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated Albanese and the Labor Party on social media stating that Australia and Spain would continue working together for social justice and the defense of common values.

Australia y España seguiremos trabajando juntos por la justicia social y en defensa de nuestros valores comunes.

We are the only Spanish-speaking country that congratulated "Albo" and the Labour Party, but I don't know if that's really relevant.

I have read the novel, but no, I didn't watch the film.

It is complicated. At the beginning of his writer career, he seemed to be a shy young person, but surprisingly, he started to transform in a very different way. "Confessions of a Mask" and "The Sound of Waves" are examples of a soft or 'chill' writer; and his 1960s novels took a different notion: very influenced by existentialism, the traditional culture and values of Japan and a clear fetish for destruction and death, as he shows it in The Temple of the Golden Pavilion or The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.

Mishima was a controversial person, but I believe it is worth reading some of his novels and trying to understand the author.

He was unsure about the role of physical power, uncertain about his sexuality, and conflicted about his culture and the future — Tom Storm

I agree. Mishima faced those psychological issues during his life. However, I believe it would be interesting to know where the issues began: either when he was rejected by the army or after WWII. Many Japanese suffered crises of identity after the loss in the war. But the main example of this was Mishima. A very talented writer who ended up eaten by everything he believed. I will not say that's fine, but we will hardly meet any writer like him. There is an interesting interview with Japanese cinema director Shohei Imamura and he said about Mishima: he is clearly an interesting person but quite contradictory with his beliefs. People like him die soon.

Why didn't Mishima volunteer as a Kamikazi pilot? — 180 Proof

He wanted to; but the army didn't allow him for two main reasons: 1) He didn't know how to play a plane; 2) he was considered 'weak' or 'ill' due to his physical appearance, so all the possible chances to fight in WWII were dismissed by the army.

:up:

Thanks for allowing me to take part in this thread. It was interesting to learn about Australian politics. I wish good luck to Albanese and all the best to you folks. I guess you would keep posting updates here, so I will be aware of everything that happens in the new government from now on.

85 seats with only 41.4% counted. It is clear that Australians wanted Albanese again.

Will that give the ALP the balls to make some interesting decisions? — Banno

What do you expect from them now on?

:up:

The vote counting is one of the main things that triggers my anxiety.

I see. This could be one of the most boring federal elections ever, then. By the way, the press of Spain also says that Labour will win these elections and Alabanese will remain in charge because 67 % of women (born since 1997) are leftist and the feminist vote is very strong there. I don't know where the hell they got that statistic, but the point seems reasonable. They also say that 50 % of men below the age of 29 are also 'labourist' or social-democrat.

Here is the text in Spanish. I know you use ChatGPT; I guess it can help you to translate it into English.

El 67 por ciento de aquellas mujeres nacidas entre 1997 y 2012, muchas de ellas votarán por primera vez, tienden a apoyar a la izquierda, algo que también hacen el 52 por ciento de las chicas de otras generaciones. Según esta encuesta, el 50 por ciento de los hombres menores de 29 años se inclinan por el voto progresista, frente a sólo el 40 por ciento de los hombres de otras generaciones.

It is not the first time I read that people claim that Japanese society in the context of WWII was 'mediaeval'.

This is a difficult point to explain to a Western person. It was even difficult to understand for me, even though I am very passionate about Mishima.

First, we should not use concepts such as 'mediaeval' because this is a Western notion of the world. If we want to understand Mishima, we have to see Japan from a different view.

Why was Mishima bellicose? Most of his biographers agree that Mishima got a trauma when he was rejected by the Japanese army. At that time, when he was less than 20 years old, he just wanted to serve the country and (probably) had the fetish of dying in the field, like a good samurai. But any of this happened, and his dad (an influential person) forced him to study instead of supporting the army. Mishima never forgot the fact that he was rejected since then, and he starts expressing it through different characters in his novels because, according to him, it is better to die young (youth is equal to purity) and in the army (loyalty) than old in a house (this means dirt, corruption and boredom to him).

Why did Mishima start with physical training and form his own army? I guess he started to feel 'incomplete' with only writing novels, and he wanted to become a 'man of action'.

Honestly, after reading most of his books, I believe he always wanted to die the way he did. He even stated in an interview that he did not expect to live past the age of 50, and he committed suicide at the age of 45. His pursuit was the heroic death that he did not have in WWII, but I believe it is worth noting how he changed over time. From shy novelist to samurai warrior.

How is it going? :eyes:

I am following the news updates and live results here: Federal Election 2025 live.

When does voting end? You have until 6pm, local time, to vote before polling places close.
That means voting will have ended in eastern states while polls remain open in Western Australia.

Once polling places close, counting begins.

It is 16:00 in AU; thus, the counting is to begin in just two hours!

No, please! Don't remain in silence. Every question, comment or opinion on 'Sun and Steel' or Mishima is welcome!

I didn't continue with the summary because of the damn blackout of last Monday. :confused:

Not at all. — Wayfarer

No, I forgot until you mentioned it. I voted on Monday. — Tom Storm

I expected no less from my brave Aussie heroes. :strong:

@Banno @Tom Storm @Wayfarer @kazan

24 hours to go folks. Are you nervous? :smirk:

I am reading 'Election Day Reminders', and this one blew my mind:

It’s compulsory: Voting in the 2025 federal election is compulsory for the 18.1 million people on the electoral roll. Anyone who does not cast a vote will not only miss out on having their say in the election but will also receive a non-voter notice and may have to pay a fine.

Holy Moly, I thought that only happened in South America.

The time difference between Spain and AU is +8. So, when I wake up tomorrow morning, I guess most of the election day will probably be in its twilight.

Sí.

I am ready to talk about 'Divine Simplicity' with you again.

:wink:

As I previously shared in the 'currently reading' thread, I am reading Mircea Cărtărescu. He is from Romania, and he was born and raised in 1960s Bucharest. The two parts of his novel (Blinding) are a mix of dreams, memories, surrealism and nostalgia in the neighbourhood of his childhood. It also appears a red windmill that seemed to be very big, and the size of this construction impressed Mircea a lot and shows up in his dreams (and nightmares).

I tried to search on Google for the locations, and the results were fascinating.

"Stefan cel Mare" is the neighbourhood of Mircea. A brutalist Soviet-like building, but I like it. I feel positive vibrations, and the neighbourhood seemed to be vivid and full of joy:


It is very hard to find the red windmill on Google. Mircea says that it is located in 'Dambovita'.
Yet I guess it looked like this but red coloured: