Reflections here are ones derived from a careful read of the following article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perception-episprob/

This is one of my favorite questions in philosophy. A friend once told me that because they are not a qualified observer i.e. doctor, scientist or specialist in some thing his observations are all but hallucinations.

I tend to disagree. Sometimes it takes the comments of an outsider to rid the structured approach and long held beliefs to come to a realization or innovation. Hence, the freethinkers movement. It is very arrogant to not take everyone’s opinion because in every opinion lies a hint of someone’s truth. I am not for a free-for-all but study and explanation reaction counter reaction in a civilized manner.

Concurrently, our perceptions may not be true. Take the story of Galileo, who was house arrested for years due to the fact that he said the Earth revolved around the sun. Today we take that as truth.

With modern science we can observe that the sun in not just a small disc in the sky but a huge fire ball comprised of gas. Yes, it takes a special observer to realize this but sometimes it takes someone to think outside the box to get the special observers to solidify a claim through science. Unfortunately, it is the best that we have got.

Without getting technical, we do not want to run into a tyranny of opinion or fact….yes many mistruths will survive but you need to constantly bombard the truth so that it can survive. If not to borrow from mill we run into a problem of dead dogmas. I am using this quote in a different arena but I think it also survives the truth of science.

The mind is very powerful and theories can become truths with advances in technology and scientific testing devices. Take for example Hobbes Boson or “God Particle” very interesting that humans could think of this before testing apparatus was even thought out to explain our world.

So the easy answer is can we trust our perception, sometimes yes and sometimes no, but logic would say no in most instances.

So, what is the solution?

Maybe it is never take anything for granted because life is a mystery. Mystery is beautiful and the puzzle of life will always be interesting.

Thank you heavens.

Reflection here is based on this article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasons-internal-external/

What comes to mind when making a personal decision? It can be as simple as what to eat or not to eat. Many people do not realize the gravity of the personal decision making process. If you are one for structure you will make all your decisions based on a plan or some set of regulatory decisions. If your like me on the other hand, you will enjoy structure or at least enjoy it as long as you have the discipline to follow your beliefs or knowledge on to what is good for you.

Let us take something not so difficult as a daily food regiment. Some people might call it a diet, I like to call it healthy active living. With all the choices we have of tasty savory calorie induced foods it is hard here to be or abide by any structure when it comes to healthy eating, but yes, it is possible.

It was not until I when overseas that the choice was limited. Try to find your favorite pizza or hamburger in some parts of the world, its next to impossible. So, it was easy to say then i’ll stick to the steamed vegetables because there was not other option. Unfortunately, a Burger King opened up on the corner in Yinchuan not to far from kung ping lui street. Boy, did I binge on those wonderful whoppers; so much so, that I got sick.

Back to the reality. It is great that we have choice but what makes one make the choice of what to eat? Is it ease in preparation? Is it convenience? Is it price? or what is best for my health?

Healthy choices are difficult, trust me? But, on a moral approach one must be educated in what is good food. I have no idea! So I trust my wife when it comes to the kitchen, I can cook just let me know what to cook since I enjoy it. I have to say having another person to talk about daily eating decisions makes my life a lot easier. Now, we look to be good role models for our little ones so they can make the right decisions, its all about education and discipline. If I was single, 9 times out of 10 I would pick the hamburger but now we can make our own succulent hamburgers and even veggie burgurers which are a treat.

I place it down to being lazy and not making right choices just like everything else. Is it hard to predict these decisions of course and that is why we have no consensus on why we eat or make food choices that we do. Yes, one can be economic and another lack of discipline. But fruits and veggies should make your eating habits a delight and if they are too expensive for some maybe a government subsidy is due.

This was a fun exercise in philosophy……if you liked it please join in the discussion.

I do not want to sound like the food police but a balance is needed. Eating out everyday is can will kill you, trust me.

ENJOY…

Let us now examine an ever present problem in modern developed nations. This problem is one of addiction. Addiction can be to visual violence, pornography, pills prescribed by a doctor, legal and or illegal intoxicants to name a few. Why do we have these problems when it seems that we all live above some sort of standard of poverty?

It might be inherent in our capitalist system in which competition is championed to an unhealthy degree. This pressure to succeed or pressure to remain famous and or wealthy breaks down the soul. It may be a degree to see what you may find valuable in life. If money is all you are after, then for some females they might have to put starting a family on hold so long that when they choose to have a family it may be too late.

For a male, being famous will be difficult because your whole life will be under a microscope. What you did in the past might come back to haunt you and it is quite disheartening. People live grow mature and have to live the lives they have to understand what is important in life.

For me it was the start of a family and what I choose to measure my wealth in. It took along time to realize that alcohol is the worst drug out there. Not only does it change your ideals and what you think is acceptable it lowers your ability to make rational and clear decisions. Also, an alcohol dependent individual can see severe damage to the pocket book with irrational unnecessary decisions. Even somewhat normal people find it hard not to binge on buying too much goods on amazon; nevermind, an alcoholic whos late night amazon binge can only be good for the delivery industries.

While some who drink can get into a lot of trouble. Drunk driving, sextual encounters which can go sour, and most devastating introduction to the world of hard substance abuse. Yes, it is possible. Ask anyone you know and you will hear stories of known individuals from good families whos young are dying from hard drugs.

If you take your high school year book and can name 10 or more who have died early from addiction, then the community must know they have a problem.

Since I am relying on Personalism and the Moral Approach to addiction one must realize that addiction is a very serious issue in modern day developed nations. The why questions do not matter when a loved one perishes due to substance abuse. So, the Moral Approach relies on community education and philosophy of personalism to educate each individual. It is then up to the individual to understand and make the plethora of choices necessary to understand that hurting oneself also hurts others.

This education should start young and be constant life long bombardment if we are to make sure to rid our society of this cancer. Just as smoking is looked down upon in the west, and anti smoking campaigns have a some what success rate the same should be for all harmful life altering substances. I have to admit, I do smoke cigarette’s but eventually will quit. My allure to smoking is from the existentialist movement and hoped their could still be smoked filled rooms to talk philosophy. But, unfortunately that is no more.

The Moral Approach looks at substance dependency as a weakness in character. It is your choice, but some get duped into the lifestyle. To fill the void of emptiness in a society in which excess is affordable for most we are in big trouble. Many cannot cope with the excess and always find emptiness. Being happy in solitude is also a personal choice one quite frankly must be brave to be alone. No one around to help, sometimes no one around to talk to on any occasion. So, if we are to treat people with dignity we must first understand happiness is different for different people we all do not have to fit in a cookie cutter lifestyle but when things go crazy and get out of hand we need compassion to reintegrate these individuals somehow. Are all people and communities ready for this definitely not, yet that is what is needed.

For example, my time overseas I met an Evangelical Lutheran minister. His wife told me a personal story about him and he shared it with everyone. This story might have sent a lot out the door but his weakness was his strength overcoming addiction to know what is really important. As a result, it was an inspiring moment in my life, one that I will always remember if he could do it why could not I on my path to recovery.

With this all said an done, nobodies perfect do not let the little things overcome and make ones life a living hell.

I’ll let you figure out what the little things are.

On a positive note, I have to express true gratitude to my family who has helped me unconditionally in my path to recovery.

Reflections held here are a result of the manuscript found here: http://www.berdyaev.com/berdiaev/berd_lib/1935_400.html

Maybe in 1935, the coherent interpretation of Marx was as such. Personalism and Marx did not go hand in hand because of the implementation of Marx or the idea of how it was implemented.

However, I take a different stand. Personalism is and will always be alive and well. How so? Since personalism comes down to the individual and will always be individualistic it is hard to control what a person thinks delusional or not. A Marxist will agree that if you are not from money you cannot speak. Speak in the terms of making commentary on social phenomenon. The old adage, “Money Talks, Bull shit walks.” is very true in this sense.

In the end, you cannot force a people to believe anything and even more difficult for the individual. Freedom comes at a cost and one of the cost of freedom is that many will get lost in what is important. Addiction and distraction to the good life has many not able to take care of themselves.

When lost in addiction or any other social ill, many get sidetracked in loving themselves because of the social pressure to conform or not. The Marxist says they can solve this problem and to say that Marxism is not in line with personalism might be a misinterpretation. Yes, the manuscript above was written pre-Geneva Convention and now can be considered a universal in thought.

It is much easier now days to see the benefits of personalism in places like Communist China who have made a hybrid of their system to include these values so that Marxism can survive and even flourish. Just think of a paradise that allows for capitalism quickly without the red tape where many or most can participate. Try opening a hotdog stand in Hamilton and you will know what I mean. Tunisia saw an illegal vendor on the beach shut down and they had a revolution that spread through out the whole of the Middle East.

What I am getting at here is that if we can get rid of social ills we will be a healthier society in which we can practice persoanlism first and then foster a system in which the “human rights and more importantly dignity” can flourish. Human dignity is very difficult. An adverse reaction to another can happen for a variety of reasons and one can be a superficiality in how one looks or even scent unfortunately.

So, a restrictive system or totally free with strong educational foundation in all aspects of life is needed. Science and Social Sciences must be fostered so that individuals know the importance and not just shrugged off as unnecessary application of wisdom. A love of humanity unfortunately is not innate in a Capitalist System in which every transaction degrades another to a certain degree.

For humanity to survive and not fall victim to other mass atrocity and regime changes which cost mass lives and disruptions of life we must make a change. The change here that is needed is educational reform in dignity and community grassroot emphasis and not just going through the motions. It is a hard thing to accomplish but it is possible and one can never let their guard down because when we do, atrocity can and will take place.

Thoughts here are a reflection of this article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/personalism/

As I hypothesized, their is no difference or rather similar ideas, yet no difference in the grad scheme of things.

Yes, we are the center of our universe. Personalism, can help explain many struggles we all have in interpreting our world. My favorite saying as a teacher world wide was, “act local, think global.” In other words, take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Yes, this is very simplistic and can be misinterpreted. In no way is this selfish, but a need for one to realize their worth to society so that they can see everyone’s worth.

When I speak of society I speak of a global all encompassing society where some get it, and some don’t. Some can sleep at night, others cannot. When discussion personalism we all know what is right and what is wrong. We are bombarded with violence all day and still get the reaction and ratings of violence is bad deep down in most people.

We spend a lot of time explaining how we all should live, or all strive to be good and live a good life. Although, we all know the rage some people feel when they feel like they are getting the short end of the stick or are disadvantaged. How can some individuals treat others equally when socioeconomically are getting divided and separated. As a teacher we know these realities and see them daily.

What does it take? Life is not a revolving door some mistakes or choices can really hurt any chances at a good life. So, equal treatment and the dismantling of the capitalist system is need. Will it happen? Probably not. In trade, you have one winner and one loser. Whenever one feels like they lost in a transaction they can get angry and not want to treat another with dignity. It quite simple if you ask me?

For example, if you have ever traded in a car you will understand what I am saying? Without getting into details, when I signed an extremely under valued bid, the salesman felt bad and asked if I got the GAP insurance. Well, in my mind I was like and let them know this cannot go on for too much longer. So, in my point making life which comes at a big cost, I feel good when the underdogs take it to the streets in the West.

I respect police and do not want to see anyone hurt but the gouging that happens in the West everyday and treating of peoples in undignified manner really makes it hard to feel for anyone.

As a result, personalism is good but can also become horrific such as in the Neeichean SUPERMAN. So, everyone needs their own personal ying and yang and balance. Yes, it is vague but it survives the times to each personal situation, thus, easier to understand than the academic jargon. Maybe a less jargoned approach is needed to reach the masses who can use this wisdom.

In the grand scheme of things I believe that their is no difference at all. When looking through a microscope yes of course their will be differences but when it comes to global applications to thought no difference and I am not trying to be politically correct here.

When we study we must free ourselves of all biases and get away from the us/them dichotomy. It is very difficult. And in the end it is very Chinese and Western to know your enemy or opposite. Do we need this difference yet same ideas, off course it provides balance and an alternative so that we can always question. With out questions to answer why strive for life at all.

Yes, Chinese thought according to the article provided in the last entry is one of way of living ones life. Folks, we have been here along time as a human race. Everything has been said and thought almost. We need to educate the masses for a love of learning. Canada is truly a leader in lifelong learning and diversity of thought to a certain degree. Sometimes we are forced to pick a camp which is disheartening.

I lived in China for almost two years on separate occasions. The love of humanity is ever present and one that should be emulated throughout communities across the globe.

For example, when in china I witnessed work crews dancing and having fun drills before work, in the west we call that team building. If your lucky enough to work with a crew that is participatory and sees the value of this then your ok. But when you work in a toxic environment with toxic people who know nothing but to be difficult, it can kill community values. Maybe that is the price we pay for individualism.

When asked to do stretches at one place of employment no one except Chinese workers wanted to participate. Ahhhh why do we have to do this. this is stupid, what happens if I get hurt stretching I even heard o one occasion. However, if we are to run a tight ship which everyone wants to participate in efficiency rather than mediocrity we should participate. It seems that the big picture is smaller than the individuals comfort level.

Trust me, this is difficult. Well it can be assumed our self interests have out wieghted the common goal of good for all to this sucks its hard work and I do not participate in anything I do not see value in for me personally.

I have to tip my hat to the Chinese who definitely know what the word “WE” means especially in a unionized atmosphere. All I can say is open your eyes Folks.

Anyway, I hope my story inspired some.

More to follow……..