Discussion question: how do you feel about lives spent in the pursuit of philosophy? Worthwhile? Solipsistic? A right way to do it and a wrong way to do it?
I would have to say that I find philosophy to be a constant companion–the great philosophers are full of insights and applicability to everything we do. I’ve learned so much from reading philosophy, and so much has helped me get through tough phases in my own life that I have to recommend a deep study of philosophy to everybody. Here’s a few insights that I’ve gained over the years from reading great thinkers:
From Nietzsche, I have learned two great things. 1) How to philosophize with a hammer. In other words, that in order to build and develop new ideas, we have to sometimes demolish our idols–the old ideas in our lives that we have built up a reverence towards. 2) That “some of us are born posthumously.” That witticism from Ecce Homo is something that’s laughed me out of a few phases when I felt like I wasn’t connecting with anyone. As Nietzsche points out, too often we dream that we are ahead of our time instead of trying to connect with the now. Of course, I appreciate this even more given the great irony that, in Nietzsche’s case, this witticism was true.
From Camus, I have learned that yes, we’re all going to die, but that makes it all the more important to live.
From Aristotle, I have learned that morality, ethics and excellence are all a matter of habit. That we can change, but change comes slowly, and we have to work with our own natures to become better people. There are no epiphanies. Our lives don’t change overnight. So if we want to be better, we have to instill within ourselves the habits that make us better.
From Diogenes, I learned not to take things to extremes. Of course, that’s a lesson I learned from his life, not his philosophy.
From Ayn Rand, I learned that it’s absolutely vital to have a philosophy–that what we believe, if we truly grapple with those beliefs, determines how we act and what kind of life we will live.
From Emerson, I learned to not be afraid to change my mind.
From Machiavelli, I learned the vital importance of being a free citizen of a free Republic. I also learned that if you’re going to write satire, it pays to not be too subtle, or else you risk people thinking that you’re serious.
From Plato, I learned the rhetorical power of the leading question. Indeed, from Plato I learned that if you ask the right questions, you can change people’s minds without them realizing that they did. Now, I don’t think too highly of Plato as a philosopher qua philosopher, but he was a master at using questions to make it look like he was an incisive thinker. The ability to recognize that and not get thrown off by leading questions is, I think, a valuable skill.
From Thomas Jefferson, I learned to “[f]ix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”
And this is just a smattering, a dab, of all that I have learned from my study of philosophy. There is more, oh, so much more. The unexamined life is not worth living, people! Go read up on the great thinkers, or else you risk letting other people do your thinking for you.
Over at OTB, Dave Schuler is concerned that President Obama is leading us into an “Era of American Retrenchment”–one in which the United States steps away from its post-WWII role as de facto world leader.
Since the end of World War II, the foreign policy view shared by all American presidents has been that American engagement with the world and American leadership have been profoundly stabilizing and have promoted peace and prosperity for us and the rest of the world and on net I still believe that to be the case. While I would like to see Japan, South Korea, and our European allies in particular undertake greater responsibility for at the very least their own security, I also believe that a distinct “American retrenchment” would have great risks, not the least of which is that it would reduce our ability to influence events. As Shakespeare put it “Nothing will come of nothing”.
First of all, I don’t see that ceding a unipolar worldview would somehow reduce stability. Ideally, and all indications are that Obama is on board with this, a reduced American leadership role would come with an increased role for multilateral institutions. This is all for the good. More countries should be stepping up. Multilateral institutions should be taking a stronger role in international affairs.
Additionally, let’s not mince words about this: America has to retrench, because it can’t afford not to. The United States is approaching record debt levels, thanks to eight years of profligate spending and trillions of dollars in bailouts for the banks and other institutions that helped cause the current economic crisis. But the fact of the matter is that when you take a look at the budget, the five biggest areas are: Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Defense Spending, Interest on the Debt, and Veteran’s Benefits. If we’re going to get anywhere with reducing the budget, we have to cut defense spending.
The United States currently spends more money on defense per year than every other nation in the world. Combined. If we cut our defense budget in half, we still spend more than our NATO allies, China, and Russia. Combined. We can easily afford to reduce defense spending and still protect our national security. All that it takes is reducing American intervention abroad and ceding that responsibility to other countries and institutions. It’s a step we have to make. Otherwise, the budget problems threaten to undermine the stability of our government.
It’s likely even Jesus would have OK’d water boarding if it would have saved his Mom. He would’ve done the same to save his Dad, or any one of His disciples.
Since claims like this require an authoritative response, Heretical Ideas is bringing back one of our favorite interviewees: Jesus Christ.
Heretical Ideas: Thanks for coming back to see us, Mr. Christ. So let’s just ask the question right off the bat: should Americans use torture–sorry, enhanced interrogation techniques?
Jesus Christ: Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
HI: Wait–do you mean to say that we shouldn’t do harm to someone even if they mean to harm us?
JC: But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
HI: So you’re saying we should show mercy, even to those people who would kill us if they could?
HI: But I don’t understand–what’s the purpose in showing love and mercy to people who wouldn’t show Americans any?
JC: If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
HI: Well, that seems pretty clear to me. Thank you so much for your time again, Jesus. There’s a Supreme Court nomination coming up, so I’m pretty sure we’ll have you back soon.
Update (6/1/2009): Welcome, League of Ordinary Gentlemen and Outside the Beltway readers! If you enjoyed this foray into theology, you might enjoy some of our previous interviews with Jesus:
Then last year, NASA’s Phoenix lander, which also failed to detect organics on Mars, stumbled on something in the Martian soil that may have, in effect, been hiding the organics: a class of chemicals called perchlorates.
At low temperatures, perchlorates are relatively harmless. But when heated to hundreds of degrees Celsius they release a lot of oxygen, which tends to cause any nearby combustible material to burn. For that very reason, perchlorates are used in rocket propulsion.
The Phoenix and Viking landers looked for organic molecules by heating soil samples to similarly high temperatures to evaporate them and analyse them in gas form. When Douglas Ming of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and colleagues tried heating organics and perchlorates like this on Earth, the resulting combustion left no trace of organics behind.
Hopefully now that we know this, NASA can figure out a work-around to ensure that proper research can be done on Mars.
Over on Facebook, the Burn Notice page is asking people what their favorite Michael Weston quotes are. I can’t resist, so here are my top five, in reverse order:
5. “You know what it’s like being a spy? Like sitting in your dentist’s reception area 24 hours a day. You read magazines, sip coffee, and every so often someone tries to kill you.”
4. “30 years of karate. Combat experience on five continents. A rating with every weapon that shoots a bullet or holds an edge. Still haven’t found any defense to Mom crying into my shirt.”
3. “Anyone who has handled large amounts of cash can tell you it’s one of the toughest things in the world to move. It’s heavy and dense; dead weight. If it’s on fire, of course, that complicates things further.”
2. “A fight is one of the quickest ways to tell if someone isn’t who they say they are. If you say you are Russian but fight like an American, consider your cover blown, which means you better know Sambo, the mixed martial art of Russia. Of course, you also have to win the fight; a great cover ID doesn’t help much if you’re dead.”
And of course, the all time best:
1. “I’ll take a hardware store over a gun any day. Guns make you stupid. Better to fight your wars with duct tape. Duct tape makes you smart.”
“A series of cataclysmic events leads to the annihilation of a war-mongering elite. All that remains is a rogue group of working-class types who are motivated by racial resentment, obsessed with drilling, and led by a balding, blue-collar spokesman. Not only does this describe the 2008 GOP — the party of Joe the Plumber, “Drill, baby, drill,” and supposed anti-intellectualism — it also describes the Romulan villains of the latest Star Trek film.”
– Matthew Schmitz
Patting yourselves on the back because you think Republicans “wouldn’t dare” to challenge a Hispanic woman as a judge because it was look bad doesn’t exactly help the argument against Sotomayor being a “token pick.” Now, I happen to think that Sotomayor appears, at first glance, to be qualified for the High Court (though she wouldn’t be my first pick), but you guys aren’t really helping the argument.
As of this writing, the current headline at the Drudge Report is “Obama Picks Latina.” Not “Obama Picks 2nd Circuit Appellate Judge.” Not “Obama picks Princeton Valedictorian.” Not “Obama Nominates Supreme Court Justice.”
Quick question — had Obama picked a white, male nominee, do you think that Drudge’s headline would have been “Obama Picks White Guy”?
