tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.comments2023-10-24T09:02:49.903-05:00The Dimming TorchMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13856294228614073546noreply@blogger.comBlogger405125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-1129732863142808382014-11-18T20:11:13.819-06:002014-11-18T20:11:13.819-06:00I beg to differ. Of all of the great Western philo...I beg to differ. Of all of the great Western philosophers, if there is one who is often associated with spirituality, it is Spinoza!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-72521765411232565672014-01-01T09:15:28.903-06:002014-01-01T09:15:28.903-06:00As neither the literal Jesus nor Saint Nicholas is...As neither the literal Jesus nor Saint Nicholas is apt to appear before us to represent himself, for both characters it is exactly as you say: "How our children picture Santa Claus depends very greatly on how we portray him to them."<br /> <br />Santa, also as you note, embodies generosity -- satisfaction in giving pleasure to others. Nowadays we view gift-giving primarily as the act of exchanging money for a factory-made item, but when Santa's mythology began, a child was much more likely to receive something a family member had stayed up nights creating after the child was asleep, or a bartered-for rare seasonal treat. The spirit of generosity endures and is remembered; it's not Santa's fault if we can't tune out excessive merchandising to remember that core virtue.Nancy Meyernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-24566842798642601232013-12-23T23:03:20.861-06:002013-12-23T23:03:20.861-06:00Matt, great stuff! I too have come to recognize t...Matt, great stuff! I too have come to recognize the benficience of Santa as I've been able to look back at my younger years of innocent delight in the Christmas experience. Christmas, indeed is what we make it to be. I am not convinced that Santa is slick enough for contemporary consummer marketing. As a symbol he is reminescent of a time that has passed. That makes him just fine as a servicable Christmas icon in my opinion.JERRY KINGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263768797287324791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-53585234465812036442013-12-15T20:52:33.049-06:002013-12-15T20:52:33.049-06:00Loved the blog and shared it with friends of mine ...Loved the blog and shared it with friends of mine of Facebook. Thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01401932376512737170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-52086850660623805842013-12-15T20:51:24.955-06:002013-12-15T20:51:24.955-06:00Loved the blog entry and shared it to a spirituali...Loved the blog entry and shared it to a spirituality group on Facebook I belong to. Thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01401932376512737170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-23521615068218288772013-03-31T16:27:31.048-05:002013-03-31T16:27:31.048-05:00Matt, good assessment of the Gospel passion storie...Matt, good assessment of the Gospel passion stories. If one insists upon a literally resurrected Jesus, does not the logic require one to give up the existentially living, and pragmatically relevant Jesus that you are arguing for? Seems to me that one must make a choice as to which paradigm one will invest his/her intentionality. Which has cash value, the literal Jesus or the existentially distributed Jesus? --JerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-589512711834314772013-03-26T08:16:16.121-05:002013-03-26T08:16:16.121-05:00i agree with you. but i think you should not blame...i agree with you. but i think you should not blame her. is the industry´s blame. With her good old music she would never make it in the usa.Izanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-64391945078309008942013-03-08T16:40:53.514-06:002013-03-08T16:40:53.514-06:00Please distinguish between "dialogue" an...Please distinguish between "dialogue" and "hate speech" for me. Is your cartoon a "dialogue" or "hate speech." Let us dialogue about your cartoon. "Healing the sick" is not "socialism." The government healing the sick is "socialism." "Sheltering the homeless" is not "communism." The government ownership of all homes is "communism." I don't understand how "feeding the hungry" is related to "Nazism" except as fascist state control of the private economy. Lawrence Dawsonhttp://www.srnrl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-71205050856804786512013-02-13T06:12:23.815-06:002013-02-13T06:12:23.815-06:00Sorry good Sir, I just got around to reading this....Sorry good Sir, I just got around to reading this. I apologize for the delay.<br /><br />Very well written my friend. You raise some very good points. Prior to getting to your closing argument I had the same thought (the real issue is the way the players are treated and discarded by the owners).<br /><br />I don't think it, we as viewers/fans, have to be troubled (morally) by watching the NFL. It's unfortunate, but true, that these men chose this game as a lifestyle. Much like other jobs, or military service, you are made well aware of the inherent risk from a very young age (which is an issue all in itself).<br /><br />The real issue, as you raised so eloquently, is the absolute disregard and total objectification of the players, by their employers. Owners/teams demand that players fall into line and goose-step to their rules; play when hurt; and put everything on the line every Sunday, or else you're labeled a selfish person....which then is perpetuated and enforced by these so-called unbiased sport news outlets (one with FOUR big letters comes to mind). Which in turn, the majority of mindless fans then turn on the players as well.<br /><br />Another sad fact is that many of these players buy-in to this "Master/Servant" mentality put out their by the owners, and much like people with Stockholm Syndrome, it carries with them the rest of their career and into retirement. A great example is the former players that work for all these sports outlets, and how it seems a vast majority of them are quick to defend the owners and the Shield. That always baffles me. An example that pops to mind (besides the whole NFL veterans fund) is when Cam Newton was about to be drafted. The owner of the Carolina Panthers "made" him promise that he would never get any sort of tattoo on his body because he felt it "was a poor image for his brand"...where in actuality, that same owner had made comments before categorizing certain players (all black btw) as tattooed thugs.<br /><br />Who the hell is he to tell Cam what to do with his body? As long as Cam doesn't get a tattoo that reads "F*CK Carolina" on his body, I think it's his damn business if he wants to. But, then you had all these former players on the Big Letter network saying how Cam needed to get with the program and fall into line. Then, this same owner, is the one who during one early meeting prior to the strike constantly talked down to Payton Manning and Drew Breese, and referred to them as "Boy!" Luckily, both those men are smart enough, and mature enough, to not engage in that kind of back and forth.<br /><br />Anyway, sorry for writing a blog in response to your blog. It is very distressing. Thank you for writing this piece. There needs to be many more discussions, and A LOT of improvement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-75495483440531957842013-01-19T07:51:45.454-06:002013-01-19T07:51:45.454-06:00Although far from rich myself "the rich conti...Although far from rich myself "the rich continue to prosper at the expense of the poor" seems to me a rather shallow truism. The well off that I count among my friends are also some of the very best people that I know. <br /><br />I doubt if Dioogenes had any interest in the modern concept of class. Having been very poor in two periods of my life, I can assure you that there is little time or effort spared for nobility, and dishonesty is at least as common among the poor as the finacially better off.Floyd Alsbachhttp://alsbach-art.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-44938748134316430932012-08-12T18:15:20.093-05:002012-08-12T18:15:20.093-05:00Excellent argument, Matt! I have agreed with your...Excellent argument, Matt! I have agreed with your position about people voting their values and morals for a long time. It strikes me as maddeningly illogical that someone would ever think to distance ethics from politics as, in my view, the latter is a natural, public extension of the former. As for Ryan, I just love watching him, a supposed Catholic, getting verbally bludgeoned by his own clergy. And, it's a hoot watching him try to back-pedal nowadays out of adoration and devotion to Ayn Rand.Chris Hallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-58153831917258055572012-08-12T13:05:45.752-05:002012-08-12T13:05:45.752-05:00I agree entirely! I think he might have voted Gree...I agree entirely! I think he might have voted Green Party.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856294228614073546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-59230332148578006822012-08-12T13:03:01.530-05:002012-08-12T13:03:01.530-05:00Jesus would DEFINITELY not have voted Republican!Jesus would DEFINITELY not have voted Republican!Angela Lovellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12047265939721977395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-14446798206676664902012-08-12T13:01:38.517-05:002012-08-12T13:01:38.517-05:00I absolutely agree! I was talking to a woman the o...I absolutely agree! I was talking to a woman the other day - someone I consider intelligent and enlightened - and she mentioned feminism as "that whole, 'burn the bra' thing." I couldn't believe it. I told her it's about equality and if you pay attention to the facts, you'll see we still don't have it. And if the GOP has their way, we'll be even more setback.Angela Lovellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12047265939721977395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-69109086551323661422012-06-22T06:53:22.582-05:002012-06-22T06:53:22.582-05:00"Keynan anti-colonialist," rofl , nope ..."Keynan anti-colonialist," rofl , nope never seen that. <br />and just what race are vampires? or its only cool when they do it to white people. sounds like your the racist to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-64233554083756857432012-05-28T10:04:52.822-05:002012-05-28T10:04:52.822-05:00Do you actually understand who is most likely to &...Do you actually understand who is most likely to "kill young black men?" Simple: other young black men.<br /><br />And are you aware of all the stuff that has come out since you wrote that post? Zimmerman was clearly being beaten by Martin when he shot Martin in self-defense.<br /><br />This is like the Duke rape case: the politically correct assumptions get blown out of the water by facts.John McAdamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04843727752066511266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-44363016841536786602012-05-10T01:17:35.057-05:002012-05-10T01:17:35.057-05:00While I think humans are innately wired to be fund...While I think humans are innately wired to be fundamentally unable to "compute" the end of sentience, consciousness, etc, I look at human self-awareness (again, many names for it), jewel of earthly evolution that it is, as reflecting the nature of the universe itself. Can it really end, and more importantly, did it come from nowhere? It's easier to accept the idea of "no God" and "no heaven" than it is for me to get on board with the concept that our lifeforce, cognitive or otherwise, is simply not part of a larger (MUCH LARGER) whole. I think this is basically an Emersonian view, but I have trouble, despite all my college-educated critical thought, denying this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-30201299679251729522012-05-09T11:58:22.147-05:002012-05-09T11:58:22.147-05:00Hi Michael.
I have to agree that Spinoza support...Hi Michael. <br /><br />I have to agree that Spinoza supports justice and charity because they flow from true ontological statements. And I think that's the only way one could support them. I would also agree that Spinoza thinks that traditional religions (Sartre and the gang too) error in making false ontological claims. It seems, however, that he believes that Biblical Religions, at least at their best, teach the same moral truths as the true philosophy discovers; and this despite their false ontologies. I presume that he thinks that some false ideas can lead to the right morals, while others cannot. <br /><br />Personally I think he is wrong about this. Let's take traditional Christianity for example. The Traditional Christian claims that God is our Father and we are all His children. As children of the same God we are obligated to be just and charitable for each other. Now, I don't believe that God is really a person-like being who relates to us in this anthropomorphic way. I do believe however, that the anthropomorphic imagery, at its best, can and does convey the truth that we are all one, and we are all equal before the divine. Spinoza could say this too, albeit less anthropomorphically. So the Spinozist use more abstract language that I find likely to be closer to the objective truth, while the traditional Christian takes an anthropomorphic metaphor too literally. But both understand the important truth of our unity and the divine ground of it. That's the ontological truth that grounds the same moral truths.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856294228614073546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-88894286461801491712012-05-09T11:44:44.945-05:002012-05-09T11:44:44.945-05:00The window for it is quite misleading, I had expec...The window for it is quite misleading, I had expected it to be in a different language, then again, it'd make no sense to have subtitles for the language that it is in. <br /><br />Many thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-40709477343406953722012-04-29T20:47:05.404-05:002012-04-29T20:47:05.404-05:00Great post, Matt. The only question at the moment...Great post, Matt. The only question at the moment is this: What would Spinoza (and/or yourself) say is the relation between the "moral truth" of a religion and ontological statements? It seems to me that a Spinozistic spirituality promotes justice and charity because it makes true ontological statements. We are actually interconnected, and realizing that, we will act better towards each other. Camus and Sartre (at least the early Sartre; I'm not familiar with his later stuff) miss key ontological points, while orthodox Christianity adds in false ontological claims. Therefore, they make moral mistakes.M. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15355720086156463309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-12827242613316224862012-02-28T23:27:18.141-06:002012-02-28T23:27:18.141-06:00It is mind boggling. One woman said since i have n...It is mind boggling. One woman said since i have not had children I basically don't have a say in whether a trans vaginal ultra-sound is invasive. I was also told that rape victims is a "card" the "leftist" throw out to justify "killing babies". This aspect according to my conservative friends is insignificant since rape victims count for ONLY one percent of abortions performed each year. I find it hard to accept in my heart that women really believe this. My heart is heavy for the women who carry the submissive banner. Feminism is NOT a dirty word! It is a liberating word!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-1391683641772910192012-02-09T15:41:24.952-06:002012-02-09T15:41:24.952-06:00Thanks for the comment. I see you are a very thoug...Thanks for the comment. I see you are a very thoughtful and soberminded sckpetic. I disagree, of course, but I like your civil and thoughtful tone. You model well how to disagree but be civil.Dr. Matthew Wionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06250689234468638382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-11190215455925493542012-02-09T14:40:51.491-06:002012-02-09T14:40:51.491-06:00I have a few criticisms of your critique, which, i...I have a few criticisms of your critique, which, in general, I think is a well formulated critique of the WSJ article. 1. Asserting that CO2 is not a pollutant and identifying the nature of it as largely naturally occurring is not a fallacy of any sort. It's just relevant information that is useful for the general public to know. Many years ago I used to confuse carbon dioxide with carbon monoxide and I thought carbon monoxide was the bad stuff and then I found out carbon dioxide was the supposed culprit in the controversy about climate change. On the other hand the mention that gardeners increase CO2 levels in their greenhouses certainly is a smokescreen. 2. I think it's questionable to predicate fact to anthropogenic global warming as you do in your closing line for a few reasons: The climate system is of a complexity that as of yet exceeds our full understanding so I think there is a role for some Socratic ignorance and humility in our stance towards it. The models in use are somewhat questionable and are just models not empirical observations. 3. The one strong suit of the WSJ article was its criticism of the carbon trading market and the net effect of other policies that would follow from a science, which is somewhat uncertain. You don't acknowledge the policy side of the article at all, which is vital information you omitted.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07560370679154694264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-68862793560677633342012-01-05T10:03:10.938-06:002012-01-05T10:03:10.938-06:00I taught in a for profit college. I do not recomme...I taught in a for profit college. I do not recommend them to anyone. Don't ever go to one as a student and don't teach in one. The one where I taught was very disorganized and the training of the instructors was the very worst training that I have ever seen in a job. They expected Level 1 ESL students to do things that were way too hard for a beginner. Most of the instructors left after only 2 months because the school was so lousy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5048405844159177205.post-39168897673268138442011-12-07T17:21:10.601-06:002011-12-07T17:21:10.601-06:00It is really very important to get the treatment o...It is really very important to get the treatment of varicose and spider vein for the removal. This veins are very bad and are spread slowly slowly and covered the large are and looks very bad. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.spiderveinguide.com/" rel="nofollow">spider veins</a>PeerMurphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815501993409428729noreply@blogger.com