History, Evolution, and the Darwin Debate
Natural Selection And The Oedipus Paradox
Our discussion of Machiavelli and politics should be moment to recite the issue of social darwinist theories based on natural selection. A similar influence on politics is completely transparent.
From Reformation to Revolution
If we study history carefully, especially in light of the eonic effect, we can see the confusion that has been created by Machiavelli (not that the world’s criminial politicians needed his help) whose work is taken as a modern advance in the science of politics. Eh? It is a problem sensed by Kant who reacted with an extreme prohibition against lying, challenged by Benjamin Constant.
But the spirit of Kant is the right approach, while Machiavelli is caught up in the degeneracy of politics in its terminal phase. Kant was right to imply that the real fulcrum of action in history must conform to an approach to an ideal. The idea, which spreads like a disease through the whole political class, that ethical nihilism is at the core of political action fails to consider the points at which history truly, and so rarely, advances.
In any case, there is nothing modern in Machiavlli. He is looking backward to a history of politics and crime, not to the future. And he certainly is pre-modern to the degree that he failed to foresee the momentary advances in ethical politics that gave birth to the modern world.
The onset of the modern transition shows us a mysterious starting chord in the synchronous appearance of Luther, and Münzer, next to Machiavelli and our first modern Utopian Thomas More. Let us remind ourselves that if Machiavelli initiates a new science of politics, the hidden note of politically invisible actors, no doubt immoral riff-raff, mongrel descendants of the godly Pharaohs, it is also true that precisely at our divide an ultra-idealistic protest, anti-Machiavel, appears in the Kantian contretemps with Benjamin Constant. Before continuing we should rescue our subject for some ‘idealistic thinking’ with an interpolated ‘sermon’ in the midst of ‘value free science’. Realist politics and the devious schemes of Machiavelli have no status in our system.
An ominous question Has civilization been hijacked by Machiavellian politicians? Note, in our account, how little politics matters in the long run. A few brief incidents of successful bootstrapping beyond dead history in a chronicle of the ‘history of crime’, e.g. the American Revolution, a non-random event structure relative to world history. Our transition in its braiding of macro and micro-evolution shows the strain of morphing toward an ideal, moral ideals at that. There is no implication that the outcome matches that ideal. Fussy old Kant, perched on a crag near the Great Divide, won’t even grant the right to lie by power elites, to the consternation of Benjamin Constant.
Why I’d Rather Not Speak About Torture
I can’t decipher Harris’ motivations here, but I think he seems to be changing his mind even as he remains stubborn and refuses to learn from his mistaken, in my view, discussions of torture.
On top of this, someone confused about torture is preaching to us about moral landscapes. Can we get a break here?
I think Harris has done an immense disservice here with this argument. Who is he trying to convince? Politicians? They are already totally converted to lies, torture, every kind of obscene lie. To the public? The public is like a jelly fish: poke it an not much happens. But many honest citizens will be immensely harmed by the surface polish of Harris’ demonic reasoning. No, he is arguing with himself, with his own doubts. He is really arguing with himself, and with Kant, his inner Kant, and/or the core Kantian argument about categorical imperatives (which may be a flawed theory, but to the point here). Harris’ negation of free will in the name of scientism is shown up here to be ‘not the way we really think’: Kant is quite right, our conscience factor immediately triggers reserve on the torture issue, for the very good reasons Kantian reasoning highlights. Why does Harris have to convince us? Because our inner Kantian voice is implicit, and those who are convinced are mostly psychopaths, doubling our suspicions.
Now I am not necessarily a full supporter of Kant’s theory, but it shows the gist of the problem with its insistence on certain prohibitions, despite its incompleteness, its failure to treat tricky ‘exceptions’, if such there are. But the basic point is clear: we have a moral sense here about torture, such as it is, which politicians and assholes like Harris wish to dismantle. I understand the issue Harris wishes to raise, but he has missed the point.
The abstraction of a dirty nuke and a terrorist has never happened, while politicians exploit a hypothetical to commit crimes of their own. The sincerity of those who use this argument, now including Harris, is suspect, for they have abused it most outrageously to advance a criminal agenda. The depravity here is beyond belief, this from American politicians, with idiots like Harris playing up to it, no doubt oblivious to what is going on.
In general, Harris has wretchedly bungled the whole job in terms of the 9/11 culture, and sounds like he is doing free government propaganda for the covert action of the Bush years, now the Obama years.
In the middle of an outright fascist attempt to use torture defenses to promote covert action, imperial domination, assaults on civil liberties, and the erosion of democracy, in the midst of a criminal conspiracy to create false-flag attacks to be blamed on Islamic ‘terrorists’, the mostly innocent victims of this torture, arrives Harris with the venom that will paralyze the critics of torture. Harris is either a tricky brand of neo-can flunky, or else a complete fool.
The abstract argument about dirty nukes and terrorists sounds logical, but has it ever occurred? And it is to a high degree hypothetical, while the use of that abstract situation has paralyzed those who know better long enough for criminal politicians, never once encountering a terrorist with a dirty nuke, to dismantle the civil liberties of a great democracy. That the use of the torture argument given by Harris is used as a front for criminal politicians to carry out an attack on established rights, and to indulge in hidden action of every kind of depravity should expose Harris as a bit naive.
This use of an abstract scenario to justify routine torture is the trap into which Harris falls. It is the sad end to his moral landscape pretensions. The tricky exceptions to principle that Harris cites are flawed examples. It is almost impossible to assess in advance the nature and outcome of such situations.
Harrris cites waterboarding here. But look at KSM, reputedly waterboarded dozens of times. In fact, this man was a patsy in the 9/11 conspiracy, and his torturers either knew he was innocent, or else were mislead by the covert directors of the whole overall action. So torture was cited for the kind of reason Harris gives, but the perps didn”t even think he was guilty. It was fake torture! The American government was guilty. Maybe Harris should advocate the torture of George Bush.
So it is careless in the extreme to posit hypothetical exceptions to the ban on torture. Quite apart from anything else, torture rarely produces the correct information. KSM confessed to the 9/11 action, but it was hidden coverty action in the American government here that was guilty. KSM was a patsy, his torture egregious.
(There is, btw, a not very good Hollywood movie on this scenario, I forget the title: will look it up on Netflix’ database. Its ambiguous confusions show that even under torture a terrorist with a dirty nuke could not be stopped with things far worse than waterboarding. The number of catch-22 situations in that situation make the justification in advance of torture pointless and counterproductive.)
I don’t understand why Harris ever put himself in this position. On top of that he now preaches to us about morality, or the lack of it to a close look at his utiliarian reasoning.
Cycle, System Return:The Axial Age
We have just cited Ehrman’s exposes of the Biblical corpus, and the research is of great importance. But the great irony is that the Israelites and/or some group behind them that we don’t see now, had a great iinsight into history and, we can now see, something they couldn’t grasp, macroevolution in history.
The Old Testament, sadly, began picking up accessory elements almost from the beginning, obscuring the basic message, which is clarified by the study of the Axial Age.
The ‘eonic model’ carefully distinguishes the action of a sytem, and the interpretation give to it by its executors. The two are not the same!
Meet Bart Ehrman: A One-Man God Fraud Squad
A world-renowned Bible scholar says the Bible is full of fibs, forgeries and downright lies.
This was known about the Bible since the time of Spinoza, but I recomment Ehrman’s books here in any case. But I fear he has fallen into the hands of the New Atheists, who are in the process of creating the kind of mythological package, with lies at no extra charge, that we see in the emergence of Xtianity.
What about what we must now suspect is a lie perpetrated on confused scholars who repeat the untruth in good faith: the myth of Darwinism, and its sincere dupes confused by those who know clearly that it is not true.
How Easter and Christianity undermine atheism
This article is remarkably confused and does a disservice to its argument. A basic confusion exists between the defense of Xtian beliefs and the challenge to scientism under the rubric of attacking materialism.
What a mess!! No wonder those who reject religion are increasing. I think that the challenge to scientism is one thing, but this is not best pursued by committed Xtians whose beliefs are excessive in their claims.
Nevertheless….
Nevertheless the author, however ignorantly, raises the terrible question that must confront the New Atheists: will their cult followers become totally dead to the complex levels of reality/consciousness (that are barely open even to Xtians, btw) in the rush to deny all realities not endorsed by reductionist science?
The author has a point: an atheist population committed to the negation of all spiritual beliefs is setting itself up for a kind of demonic chaos.
This issue reminds us that there have been intelligent atheists in history, e.g. the Buddhists, who don’t confuse the ‘god’ question witth a view of the universe taken only by the most extreme students of scientism.
Note: this article discussed at Coyne’s blog today.
http://richarddawkins.net/discussions/620922-seti-allen-array-mothballed-for-want-of-1-5-million
By SCHRODINGER’S CAT
Added: Friday, 29 April 2011 at 10:52 PM
This is the sort of story that makes me wonder why the human race bothers carrying on. The world can’t afford £1.5 million towards what could be the most amazing discovery in the history of science ??
http://www.seti.org/
The Allen Telescope Array ( ATA ) is largely already build, but lacks funding for operation……about £1.5 million per year. No…not billions or hundreds of millions….a mere £1.5 million. It is to be ‘mothballed’….because that money is not available.
Hmm. That’s like the cost of a few cruise missiles…..1/10,000 of the amount spent on cosmetics…..1/600 of the amount spent just advertising beer…..and so on.
The irony is that this comes at the very time the Keppler telescope is showing that the galaxy is teeming with planets. I can’t think of a more astounding discovery than other intelligent life out there…..and for this search to be halted for want of so little money truly shows how far off the mark mankind’s priorities are.
Martin Rees: Atheists should drop anti-religion campaigns
Astronomer royal urges Darwinists to adopt ‘peaceful coexistence’ with moderate groups to beat fundamentalism
I can see no reason why scientists shouldn’t criticize religion, so the real issue here is the inability of those trained in science to criticize religion properly, atheist or not. The New Atheists are an embarrassment to science because of their inability to study and discuss the history of religion. In fact, the atheist stance is a suspiciously convenient mantra to chant, as a tactic to attack religion without bothering with the details.
Through Unique Eyes, Box Jellyfish Look out to the World Above the WaterScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2011) — Box jellyfish may seem like rather simple creatures, but in fact their visual system is anything but. They’ve got no fewer than 24 eyes of four different kinds. Now, researchers reporting online on April 28 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have evidence revealing that four of those eyes always peer up out of the water, regardless of the way the rest of the animal is oriented. What’s more, it appears that those eyes allow the jellies to navigate their way around the mangrove swamps in which they live.
New Solar Cell Technology Greatly Boosts EfficiencyScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2011) — With the creation of a 3-D nanocone-based solar cell platform, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jun Xu has boosted the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by nearly 80 percent.
Monkeys, Too, Can Recollect What They’ve Seen, Study SuggestsScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2011) — It’s one thing to recognize your childhood home when you see it in a photograph and quite another to accurately describe or draw a picture of it based on your recollection of how it looked. A new report published online on April 28 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, offers some of the first clear evidence that monkeys, like humans, have the capacity for both forms of memory.
Zoe Weil: Including Animals in Our Circle of Concern
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/29-6
Wendell Potter: Insurers Getting Rich By Not Paying for Care
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/29-0
Robert Weissman: Corporate America’s War on Political Transparency
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/29-1
WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior?
http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/04/29
Are US Floods, Fires Linked to Climate Change?
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29
US Proposes Advertisers Ditch Junk Food for Kids
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29-3
Uganda Uprising Gathers Pace Despite Bloody Government Crackdown
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29-8
White House Threatens to Blacklist Paper for Covering Protest
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29-9
Despite Risks, Aging Nuke Plants Sought as ‘Cash Cows’
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29-5
‘Uncut’ Activists Claim Purge of Facebook Pages
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/29-7
Johann Hari: Trump’s Lunacy Reveals Core Truth About the Republicans
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/29
RG mail
Prof John Kozy
Global Research (February 23 2011)
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Robert Burns – 1785
No matter how hard we try, no one can control the future, and we cannot
assume the future will be like the present.
Woodrow Wilson signed the law that established the Federal Reserve. He
later rightly lamented having done so. He writes,
“I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great
industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of
credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our
activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the
worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated
Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion,
no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a
Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men”.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23352
RG mail
The Libyan War, American Power and the Decline of the Petrodollar System
by Prof. Peter Dale Scott
Global Research, April 29, 2011
The Asia-Pacific Journal
The present NATO campaign against Gaddafi in
Libya has given rise to great confusion, both among those waging this
ineffective campaign, and among those observing it. Many whose opinions I
normally respect see this as a necessary war against a villain – though
some choose to see Gaddafi as the villain, and others point to Obama.
My own take on this war, on
the other hand, is that it is both ill-conceived and dangerous — a
threat to the interests of Libyans, Americans, the Middle East and
conceivably the entire world. Beneath the professed concern about the
safety of Libyan civilians lies a deeper concern that is barely
acknowledged: the West’s defense of the present global petrodollar
economy, now in decline.
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24542
RG mail
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WlRxopyhUp0
or
Israeli Drone War Crime in Gaza – April 8th, 2011 – Ken O’Keefe
http://theuglytruth.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/israeli-drone-war-crime-in-gaza-april-8th-2011-ken-okeefe/
RG mail
The Nation (March 30 2011)
On March 13, forty-eight hours after Japan’s Tohoku region was rocked by a
catastrophic earthquake, a ferocious tsunami and partial meltdowns at
several nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked
his citizens to unite in the face of “the toughest crisis in Japan’s
sixty-five years of postwar history”. Emperor Akihito underscored the
gravity of the situation by announcing his “deep concern” for the nation
in his first public speech since ascending the throne in 1990. His address
brought back sharp memories of his father, Emperor Hirohito, who ended
World War Two in a famous radio address in August 1945 that asked Japan to
“endure the unendurable”.
http://www.thenation.com/article/159596/naoto-kan-and-end-japan-inc
Get a Whiff of This: Low-Cost Sensor Can Diagnose Bacterial Infections
ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2011) — Bacterial infections really stink. And that could be the key to a fast diagnosis. Researchers have demonstrated a quick, simple method to identify infectious bacteria by smell using a low-cost array of printed pigments as a chemical sensor. Led by University of Illinois chemistry professor Ken Suslick, the team published its results in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Cycle, System Return:
The Axial Age
Discussions of the ‘end of religion’ have a complete model in the data of the Axial Age where we see the passing away of prior religons and the coming into being of the new. We don’t quite see the earlier religions in this light, but the Old Testament shows its hand in the attacks on polytheism and ‘idolatry’.
In India we see the birth of Buddhism in a spectacular ‘new age’ effect.
The End (of Religion) Is Near, Scientists Say
Scientists often have a funny way of talking about religion.
I think that the ‘end of religion’ has been noticed since the seventeenth century, so this ‘research’ is a bit odd.
It is obvious to every secularist, and also every New Ager, that the religious traditions are waning.
My problem here is that scientists wish to take control of the phenomenon and hijack the era of religious change and renewal.
This is creating a crisis as the immense field of spiritual exploration opened in the nineteenth century will be trashed and destroyed by the braindead cadres of scientism who will exert totalitarian control of the issues.
In a pluralistic society let’s hope they fail, but the passing of religion is a truly a mixed bad, and gangs of economic ideologists, riffraff ‘new atheist’ Nietzscheans in disguise, and a host of other candidates from ‘shrinks’ to degenerate gurus try to fill the vacuum.
We can see, whatever the case, that, as with the Axial Age, traditional religions will start to lose their grip. We need to prevent the degenerate slide into confusion that will result in the interval to a ‘new age’ of spiritual action.
As usual, the discussion is too abstract and speaks of ‘religion’ and not the ‘religions’ so-called of the Axial Age.
From Fisher’s Lament To Kant’s Challenge
Hegel’s view of history requires backtracking to the Kantian starting point. His solution to Kant’s riddle is too philosophical, the answer, visible in the eonic effect, is far more specific, and remarkable.