Comments

  • Are we alone? The Fermi Paradox...
    Are we so primitive that we are the equivalent of tribal natives waiting being invaded by intergalactic conquistador?SteveMinjares

    I guess you would like to read the theory of “dark forest” in the context you are asking for: https://www.google.es/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2019/01/20/technologys-dark-forest/amp/
  • Consideration and reciprocity as an objects to avoid violence in our modern Era.


    My intention was not emphasize Asian philosophy over a Western one. Those were just examples of how we can develop ethics inside society and then probably we would get lower violence/hate rates.

    Keep in mind that if we study closer the western philosophy we can be so technical that people who not cares about philosophy will end up misunderstood. I guess the key here is try to be the simplest to enter in the young’s minds (example, students between 15 and 18 years old)

    It doesn’t matter at all the academic religion because this issue is for professionals of philosophy. I mean teaching the basic principles using both Asian and Western philosophy and I believe it can fit...
    I remember in my school my philosophy teacher never told me anything about Tao Te Ching neither Confucius.
  • "philosophy" against "violence"
    Another one:

    Isn't it shù?" , "What you do not want yourself," , "Don't do to others."
    Confucianism in a single moral principle? This is about , "consideration" or "reciprocity"
    This is the Golden Rule with negatives, and so sometimes is called the "Silver Rule." However, it may be better with the negatives. "Do onto others," could mean that masochists are justified in being sadists. This version, merely negative, is more in the right spirit of morality, which is to prohibit harmful and unjust actions
  • "philosophy" against "violence"
    What is your philosophy which sees you through ?Amity

    Probably it would sound quite basic but Taoism and Confucius helped me out in this issue.
    For example, this analetcs of Confucius, developed on me a criteria in ethics.

    1. The master said: Isn't that of consideration? What you don't want for yourself, don't do it to others. Key aspects on Confucius.

    Taoism:

    Verse 104: "When the way prevails, fleet-footed horses are relegated to ploughing the fields; when the way does not prevail in the empire, war-horses breed on the border." Taoism

    I know this analetcs are free to interpret but somehow I feel like Asian philosophy is there to provide peace and happiness.
    Also, we should not forget about Siddhartha Gautama and buddishm:" Ah, love, let us be true
    To one another! for the world, which seems
    To lie before us like a land of dreams,
    So various, so beautiful, so new,
    Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
    Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
    And we are here as on a darkling plain
    Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
    Where ignorant armies clash by night" The basics teachings of Buddhism.
  • Israel killing civilians in Gaza and the West Bank
    I think this thread is another good example of how important is to avoid religion in our purpose to develop philosophy and ethics.

    We all already know that this war is just religious and ethnic issues. It does not matter at all which are the facts or arguments of both Israel and Palestinian. The only truth here is all dead citizens. Probably you would be angry at politicians thinking why they do not do anything at all. Well they are just masks and actors so we have to start in the point where we should not expect anything from them. But why they want to divide us afterwards? I think it is an act of negligence from a public representation.

    Everything is wrong in this context because there are a lot of lives depending in some buffets or offices. Why the people with this amount of power do not spread empathy and ethics? Since the moment they would not do anything to us, it is time to reach our own path to developing a better educational system. Only in this way we will avoid difficult situations as the war between Israel and Palestinians.
  • "philosophy" against "violence"


    Thanks Amity for this reply.

    The sad truth of society, people don't listen to philosophers and arguments, but listen to demagogues and slogans. And if we let this happen once, the most awful people will take advantage of our naivety, and gullibility.Art Stoic Spirit

    Good one :up: this shows how our modern society works...

    Which philosophy helps us do this ? Perhaps insights from stoicism or pragmatism...Amity

    I understand this point but I think we don't need be so necessarily academic. I guess the point is provide to people a good quality in ethics to just develop the basic points of civics. If a few of them want to be more technical, then here is where we bring up the academics papers or researchers.
    It is fine if they end up knowing that violence is not the solution in the path of human relations.

    Another educational resource:
    Fear and Paradoxes of War
    Amity

    Thanks for sharing it :up:

    It starts by looking at the self. The mind. I think.Amity

    Yes it does I am agree with you. Sometimes I have the feeling that I am a part of big mass which orientes me how I should live by. I even make the mistake of forgetting what is the path of happiness according to my own circumstances.
    Whenever I look deeply to myself I get a double dilemma: everybody is wrong or I am wrong because I see the life and the individuals so drastically different from how "supposedly" the world does.
    I feel sick when I see violence (As Alex in the famous book and film "A clockwork orange") but somehow there are an important who loves it or even feel sexually attracted to it.
    I feel the world is sick and the unique vaccine is ethics and a solid educational system.
  • "philosophy" against "violence"
    what we can do to face violence? what are the solutions to make peacefull world?Zekkari Mohamed

    I know this thread is old but it is so necessary to put it on the table. It is crazy how the violence increased drastically in the recent years. A group of teenagers killed another citizen of 24 years old just for a simple discussion. Also a group of Dutch citizens murdered another one from their country just because was “fun” getting involved in a riot or fighting against strangers.

    I am feeling we are losing as a civilized world because most of the young groups see the violence as a funny issue. There are a lot of hate in the ambient, from the politicians to the social media. We have to stop it immediately. I think we have to reconsider how our educational system is working because I feel is fading away. I would sound totalitarian but I guess ethics should be more important at schools than religion.
    One of the main goals should be teach to kids how outrageous is the violence and how important is respect other people’s lives and integrity. If we do not do so we will continue having a lot of disgraces and probably a WWIII. The language and discourse of the public representatives is bad. Only spread words to make conflicts. It remembers me of the new PM of Perú, Castillo, whose first discourse was attacking Spanish for no reasons or just past issues in conquista. I don’t understand why these politicians want to divide us but we have to learn how to avoid their toxic discourse and share empathy through our relationships.
  • Currently Reading
    A confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
    Essay about the Greeks by Friedrich Nietzsche.
  • Poll: The Reputation System (Likes)
    Despite the fact I have zero likes so a weak reputation, I think it is a good system because it shows the quality of a user. I remember when under the username appeared the total amount of posts and I guess this system just puts out how active you are but not the worth.
  • The Educational Philosophy Thread
    I am interested in to understand metaphysics more specifically. So, my question in simple, which is the properly definition of metaphysics? How many academies worked on it along the centuries ?
  • To Theists


    Interesting point of view and life experience. It would sound weird but I was raised in an atheist home... My parents never taught me any kind of religion and I went only to secular schools. Nevertheless, they never imposed me atheism at all because they said I was free to believe if I wanted to.
    Anyhow, despite my grow experience, I never been interested in religion for myself... But yes probably my parents were important in this path of being free thinker.
  • To Theists
    Via experiencesBylaw

    I respect your beliefs and opinions but how you can experience something that you never seen or heard or even touched before as "God"?
    I guess this is why sometimes you can have these periods of doubt.
  • How Movement Happens


    Hello Elucid! I think your question can fit in the answer of Aristotle's theory of motion (Aristotle )

    Motion," says Aristotle, "is the actualization of what potentially
    is"

    W. D. Ross writes:
    For Aristotle "motion is 'the actualization of that which is potentially, as such.' I.e. if there is something which is actually x and potentially
    y, motion is the making actual of its y-ness."
  • Is Big Pharma Ethical in Effectively Controlling Medication Affordability by a Nation's Populace?


    I do understand your point/argument from an ethical point of view but sadly, pharmacies and overall pharmacology are lobbies which create a lot of money to politicians or at least to the leviathan (Hobbes’s leviathan )

    Here we have an interesting ethical dilemma about how the role of pharmacies could change:
    A) the government control the prices of medicines. Somehow this method or criteria will be thought as “communist” rule of law. So most of the entrepreneurs and lobbies will not accept it.
    B) pure savage capitalism. Can’t you buy a medicine or COVID vaccine? Sorry is your fault… we are not guilty of your poverty (they would think…)
    C) sorry but it is not third way. We can’t get a middle pattern where both pharmacies and citizens win. Can we here agree that pharmacies are important lobbies who act silently?

    Whenever we argue about ethical dilemmas always appear a pharmacy issue where related to controlling medication.
  • What does the number under the poster's name mean?
    I wish I can keep «zero» as my number in the name. Zero means infinite or metaphysics for some philosophers. Absence perception and the philosophy of zero
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?
    Basically, the best book on ethics is An Empty BookTheMadFool

    Keep it in my next book list too :up:
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?
    What Every Man Thinks About Apart from Sex.TheMadFool

    This title makes me feel so interested in the book right now. I don't know why but I guess I thought literally this for years. Fortunately, I am one of those weird "freaks" who loves think or speak about everything except/apart sex.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice
    Do you have links in English to those cases against inditex and zara? Could be a blueprint for more.Benkei

    I want to share with you three important links.

    http://www.izquierdadiario.es/De-explotar-costureras-gallegas-a-ninos-en-Bangladesh-el-secreto-de-Inditex-y-Amancio-Ortega

    Sorry the one above is in Spanish but trust me is so worthy to have it because it explains so good how Inditex is guilty of slavery. Try to translate the page with Google translator.

    https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/zara-hit-by-slave-labour-allegations-argentina/
    This one is in English but it comes from Argentina.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/english.elpais.com/elpais/2019/05/21/inenglish/1558430833_506530.html%3foutputType=amp

    This one also in English where political party "Podemos" is against Inditex.
  • Boycotting China - sharing resources and advice


    So I've just written to an electronics review site to start including information about sourcing of materials and start taking human rights abuses into account when awarding rewards.Benkei

    Interesting and good one! China is powerful (and probably unstoppable in some countries of Africa and America...) due to this development of "cheap" electronic devices where all the rich entrepreneurs go just to build with zero costs. I see you are interested if we can block or at least penalized China, I guess the European Union has to do something better and be brave against Xi Jinping threats.
    Here in Spain, a political party called "Podemos" put a warrant against Zara and Inditex for having their industries in China, Bangladesh, India, etc... Trying to make them put it on Spain or an European country. I don't know how is going but at least Zara paid a huge amount of money by the penalty of having those companies in these countries.
    Also, interesting fact, "Real Institute El Cano" which is responsible for the Spanish image and language along the world, is trying to make "again" good relationships between Spain and Hispanoamerica because they see how silently China is getting more deeply in the economies of countries like Mexico, Paraguay, Ecuador, Honduras, etc...
    While the new prime of Minister of Ecuador wants to work with Spain and Europe, Daniel Ortega as Prime Minister of Nicaragua, wants to be with China. I guess Nicaragua will have a bad future in the coming years...
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?
    Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics.Amalac

    I read it three years ago and it is one of the best philosophy books I ever read :up:
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?
    Don't whatever you do read Spinoza's Ethics. It has no ethics in it.bert1

    I don't like any of Spinoza's works. He is not a philosopher or thinker to trust about :rofl:
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?
    essays, I think his In Praise of IdlenessManuel

    Thank you for this recommendation because I was looking exactly of something like an essay. I going to check it out and see what holds. :up:
  • Currently Reading
    Wow, a Korean Philology teacher in Madrid, and wrote poetry in Spanish? Sounds interesting.Corvus

    He also translated Don Quixote to Korean. What an intellectual man!
  • Currently Reading
    Ortega y Gassett, along with Albert Camus & James Baldwin, was one my earliest intellectual influences. :death:180 Proof

    Agreed. Ortega y Gasset is a very special thinker. I am Spanish as him and somehow I feel the same impotences in terms of culture and the decadence of our homeland...
  • Currently Reading
    The name sounds like Korean. A Korean poet?Corvus

    Exactly, it is Korean but surprisingly, this book was written in Spanish because back in the day Yong-Tae Min was a philologist teacher in Madrid.
  • Currently Reading
    Currently reading: Los contrabandistas vascos by Pío Baroja.

    Plan to read:

    Theories of ethics by Philippa Foot.
    The rain lasts eleven years by Yong-Tae Min (Poems).
    España invertebrada by Ortega y Gasset.
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?


    Thank you for these recommendations.:up:

    Natural Goodness, Philippa Foot

    Interesting how Philippa Foot was so specialist in Ethics. I see her name everywhere when this topic is related.
  • Could you recommend me books about Ethics?


    Thank you so much for your recommendation. I going to check out more deeply about it and try to buy it.
  • Are insults legitimate debate tactics?
    Sometimes it's hard to tell because certain posters tend to intertwine the two, thus trying to get away with a criticism while presenting a legitimate argument. Why not just stick to the argument? Wouldn't criticism be rhetorical bullshit to cause consternation? Is unnecessarily poisoning the well a legitimate argument tactic?schopenhauer1

    It is a legitimate action and argument but the main goal here, inside in this forum, is how to attract people to debate. Sometimes I don’t even have answers in the posts. So, it doesn’t matter if you insult if you keep the thread alive to be honest
  • Non-violent Communication
    and I'll leave one of themunenlightened

    Thanks for sharing. Looks so interesting. I am going to check it out :cheer:
  • Currently Reading
    You ever wish you could read all your books and all the ones that everyone else on here posts also? :chin:Pantagruel

    That would be so awesome. Also I made a goal to myself try to read at least one book from a Nobel prize winner. I find it interesting :sweat:
  • Currently Reading
    Haven't heard very good things about Killing Commendatore, so I'm very hesitant to read it...Manuel

    Me neither! Because Murakami has an extent collection of books. In my case, I will give it a chance to Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage the title looks so interesting so I decided purchasing it.
  • Currently Reading
    Haruki MurakamiManuel

    :100: :up:

    I also like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and 1Q84
  • Is it possible to be indifferent (Stoic) to the idea of modernity?


    We even should do it. If humanity has changed through the years is due to being indifferent because of modernity. Now, it looks like no one wants to change and it leads in a loop of modernism which is so strange.

    It's possible to be indifferent to anything. There are no rules to what we should believe.Tom Storm

    Good one :fire: :100:
  • Magnosphere Theory
    I made the advanced machine, and soon you will experience it comfortably. However, for your wait, be imaginativer, set to cause big change, in any way you want, or change the future you in the dimensional fallout.ghostlycutter

    Interesting fact. So, accordingly to this the machine itself is developed by someone as you said I, but later on it can be useful for humans themselves. This could mean that we are free to individualism and then we are the only ones to pursue our future, but not forgetting the machine that could be like q root of our lives.
  • Magnosphere Theory
    Existence in the universe is simulated in and as of the experienc-ers sense the energy source.ghostlycutter

    Interesting theories. Who or which is the subterfuge which is running our minds? Or... are we who are simulating it but we do not have awareness on it?

    Colour itself is in the way our minds process information - the Magnosphere Theory is a leap to suggest that form is too.ghostlycutter

    It remembers me the imaginary colours theory of John Locke:
    The eye has certain receptors on the retina that detect color, the "cones." These come with three different sensitivities. Hence the three "primary" colors. True purple, for which there seems to be no place in the physical spectrum, is something we see when the cones sensitive to blue and red are both stimulated, giving us something like an imaginary color.John Locke.

    Do you think is a physiological or physical study/aspects?
  • Believing versus wanting to believe
    How does one florist convince another that she too has had the Direct Experience of the world as a purple rose? Locke discussed the 'Inner Light'j0e

    Agreed! This theory is so important and interesting. As you explained could come from empiricism as Locke developed. It is not only about how someone can convince others of purple rose but how the other part will accept it. This is why I guess is so important here the power of belief and beliefs themselves. There will be people that doesn’t matter how good arguments you put in the table, they will not accept it...
  • How do you define validation?
    By using the method of pseudocode how do you define validation?SteveMinjares

    Good question. I think we achieve validation when some experts or researchers in the same topic or study (for example, the “spectrum of light”, by Isaac Newton) are a great consensus. Most of the thinkers are agree or even perfection the theory itself. This is why somehow we give validity to theories because, it convinced us.
    Another good example can be the Holocaust. There are negationism about the topic for some people. Nevertheless, the consensus is huge of validation of how this dark period is proven about their existence.
  • Can the philosophical mysteries be solved at all?
    Are they unfathomable mysteries, beyond human understanding?Jack Cummins

    I think yes and this is why philosophy is so interesting. I wish these topics will never been discovered or proven because it is amazing the huge number of authors have written about all of these topics. To be honest I even think that it make us feel fulfilled and happy.
    Happy because it is good questioning and debating that is worthy for us.
    When you look at the sky in night you feel surprised of how vast is the universe with all the starts and planets. Some would say is Big Bang, Physics, God, or even Aliens. We are free to debate of whatever despite probably we will never be able to answer some questions.
    One element I like the most is the Stoneage in UK. When I see it I think: What were the thoughts of the thinkers back in the day and what did they answer?