Philosophy
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Philosophy is literally defined as "the love of wisdom," yet a more useful definition would be "a system of thoughts and beliefs through which life and the universe is viewed."
One deceptively simple modern philosophy is the Wiccan "An it harm none, do as ye will."
This is similar to my only moral/ethical tenet, which is that no one has the right to harm anyone else, or their property. Any action which intentionally violates this would be inherently unethical.
I mention this as separate from The Rede for one reason: most Wiccans believe that "harm none" includes the self, and I do not feel that actions which harm only one's self are immoral.
The Greatest of Philosophers:
- John Stuart Mill:
(May 20, 1806 - May 8, 1873)
The most influential British social and political thinker of the mid-Victorian period. A defender of individual liberty against state interference, and an early advocate of women’s equality.
Though trained since childhood by his father, the philosopher James Mill, in the Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham, (the founder of the doctrine) John Stuart Mill eventually would differ in his theories.
According to Bentham, the only good is pleasure, the only evil pain, and he does not distiguish between forms of pleasure. Bentham once stated that a child's game was good as poetry, if it provided equal pleasure.
Utilitarianism was Mill's effort to state and defend the view that "the greatest happiness of the greatest
number" should be the aim of personal and legislative conduct, while refuting Bentham's notion of pleasure.
"To suppose that life has (as they express it) no higher end than pleasure- no better and nobler object of desire and pursuit- they designate as utterly mean and groveling, as a doctrine worthy only of swine, to whom the followers of Epicurius were, at a very early period, contemptuously likened; and modern holders of the doctrine are occasinally made the subject of equally polite comparisons by its German, French, and English assailants.
When thus attacked, the Epicureans have always answered that it is not they, but their accusers, who represent human nature in a degrading light; since their accusation supposes human beings to be capable of no pleasures except those of which swine are capable. If this supposition were true, the charge could not be gainsaid, but would then be no longer an imputation; for if the sources of pleasure were precisely the same to human beings and to swine, the rule of life which is good enough for the one would be good enough for the other. The comparison of the Epicurean life to that of beasts is felt as degrading, precisely because a beast's pleasures do not satisfy a human being's conceptions of happiness. Human beings have faculties more elevated than the animal appetites and, when once made conscious of them, do not regard anything as happiness which does not include their gratification....
...It is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognize the fact that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others. It would be absurd that, while in estimating all other things quality is considered as well as quantity, the estimation of pleasure should be supposed to depend
on quantity alone."
On Liberty was his statement of the principle that self-protection alone can justify either the state’s
tampering with the liberty of the individual or any personal interference with another’s freedom. Mill particularly urged this point of view with respect to freedom of thought and discussion. The Subjection of Women, a topic on which Mill and
Harriet Taylor had collaborated as early as 1832, is a classic essay of female emancipation.
- John Locke:
(1632-1704)
Founder of British empiricism. Locke's two most important works, Essay
Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises on Civil Government, established him as the leading philosopher of freedom. In the Essay he opposed the rationalist belief
in innate ideas, holding that the mind is born a blank ("tabula rasa") and all knowledge is gained through human experience.
Empiricists such as Hume
and George Berkeley based their systems largely on Locke's theory of knowledge.
Locke was also of considerable importance in political thought. As the first systematic theorist of the philosophy of
liberalism, Locke exercised enormous influence in both England and America. In his Two Treatises of Government (1690),
Locke set forth the view that the state exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. When governments fail in that task,
citizens have the right--and sometimes the duty--to withdraw their support and even to rebel.
Locke opposed Thomas Hobbes'
view that the original state of nature was "nasty, brutish, and short," and that individuals through a social contract
surrendered--for the sake of self-preservation--their rights to a supreme sovereign who was the source of all morality and law.
Locke maintained that the state of nature was a happy and tolerant one, that the social contract preserved the
natural rights of the individual to life, liberty, and property, and that the enjoyment of these rights led, in civil society, to the common good.
Locke's notion of government was a limited one: the checks and balances
among branches of government (later reflected in the U.S. Constitution) and true representation in the legislature would maintain
limited government and individual liberties. Much of the liberal social, economic, and ethical theory of the 18th cent. was rooted
in Locke's social-contract theories. One of the major influences on modern philosophical and political thought, he epitomized
the Enlightenment's faith in the middle class, in the new science, and in human goodness.
- Swami Vivekananda:
(1863-1902)
India's first spiritual and cultural ambassador to the West,
Vivekananda came to represent the religions of India at the World Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago in connection with the World's Fair of 1893. His message of the unity of humankind and harmony of religions was embraced by the public and press of the time.
The Swami wished to create a bridge between the East and the West by bringing to America the gift of India's ancient spirituality, in exchange for the scientific and industrial outlook of the West.
Upon his return to India, Vivekananda founded The Ramakrishna Order of India in the name of his teacher, Sri Ramakrishna, who is regarded as the Prophet of Harmony of Religions.
The Order is the pre-eminent religious organization of modern India. More than
1000 monks of the Order serve throughout the world. While in the West the work is mainly
in the form of conducting worship, teaching, writing and lecturing, in India the Order is
widely known for its vast charitable activities -- running hospitals and schools, rural uplift,
and extensive relief work in times of emergency. The Swamis of the Order work tirelessly
in the spirit of "Service of God in Man," regarding the service of all people as a veritable
form of worship.
- Jean-Paul Sartre:
(1905-1980)
The most famous of the French existentialists,
Sartre's philosophy is generally referred to as "atheistic existentialism."
Emphasizing the importance of the individual and his choices,
Sartre insists that the
only foundation for values is human freedom, and that there can be no external values or norms to adhere to.
He stated that humans must never disclaim the responsibility for their actions.
Sartre emphatically rejects the idea advanced by Freud
that certain mental events have unconscious causes. Emotions, he says, are not outside the control of our wills,
if one is sad it is because one chooses to be sad; we are responsible for our emotions; we are, ultimately,
responsible for our own behaviour. According to Sartre, man is free and being conscious of this fact, can bring
on pain, or anguish; and typically we try to avoid the consciousness of our own freedom.
- Simone de Beauvoir:
(1908-1986)
Known primarily for her non-fiction, de Beauvior was a philosophical crusader. She explored the roles of women in society in The
Second Sex, a work placing her in the vanguard of the feminist movement. Later, she dealt with the challenges of the aged
members of society, in The Coming of Age and other works. de
Beauvior constructed long works with astounding clarity, which retain a role in political thought.
- Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel):
(1904-1991)
(No, I'm not kidding!)
Usually dismissed as the writer of sing-song children's books,
Dr. Seuss' books are actually filled with his political and philosophical thought.
In fact, his books were kept out the U.S. public schools for years, because they were considered leftist.
He wrote of:
Racial discrimination-(The Star-Bellied Sneetches)
Cultural causes of war-(The Butter Battle Book)
The danger of despots-(Yertle the Turtle)
Specism, and Mob mentality-(Horton Hears a Who)
Environmental damage-(The Lorax)
Materialism-(How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
And my personal favorite:
(He wrote this for his friend Art Buchwald, who it was attributed to at the time. July 30, 1974)
Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now!
The time has come.
The time is now.
Just go.
Go.
Go!
I don't care how.
You can go by foot.
you can go by cow.
Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now!
You can go on skates.
You can go on skis.
You can go in hat
But
Please go...
Please!...
Nine days later, Nixon announced his resignation.
Parodies of the good doctor abound, yet none surpasses this one:
How the Gingrich Stole Christmas.
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