Word of the day: Solipsism

Solipsism ( /ˈsɒlɨpsɪzəm/) is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. The term comes from Latin solus (alone) and ipse (self). Solipsism as an epistemological position holds thatknowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external world and other minds cannot be known, and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist. As such it is the only epistemological position that, by its own postulate, is both irrefutable and yet indefensible in the same manner. Although the number of individuals sincerely espousing solipsism has been small, it is not uncommon for one philosopher to accuse another's arguments of entailing solipsism as an unwanted consequence, in a kind of reductio ad absurdum. In the history of philosophy, solipsism has served as a skeptical hypothesis. 

One is a religious fanatic...

One is a religious fanatic railing against secularism, the role of women in the workplace, and the evils of higher education, as he seeks to impose his draconian moral values upon the state. The other is the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Grand Ayatollah or Grand Old Party?

Truth where you find it...

Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor):

        That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to,

or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you should

have gotten.

Unabashedly borrowed from Slackware Fortune

Moral justification of capital?

 

The idea that the profits of capital are really the rewards of a just society for the foresight and thrift of those who sacrificed the immediate pleasures of spending in order that society might have productive capital, had a certain validity in the early days of capitalism, when productive enterprise was frequently initiated through capital saved out of modest incomes. The idea, as a moral justification of present inequalities of privilege, has become more and more dishonest, since the increased centralization of power and privilege makes it possible for those who make the largest investments in industry to do so without any diminution of even the most luxurious living standards. Since we are living in a world in which there is too much capital for production and too little for consumption, the argument that economic inequality is necessary for the accumulation of capital resources has lost even its economic validity. Yet it is still used by privileged classes to establish a specious connection between virtue or social function and privilege.

 

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

Moral Man and Immoral Society, 1932

  

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Economy

Economy 
by Sandra Beasley

After you've surrendered to pillows 
and I, that second whiskey, 
on the way to bed I trace my fingers 
over a thermostat we dare not turn up.
You have stolen what we call the green thing—
too thick to be a blanket, too soft to be a rug—
turned away, mid-dream. Yet your legs
still reach for my legs, folding them quick 
to your accumulated heat.
                              These days
only a word can earn overtime. 
Economy: once a net, now a handful of holes. 
Economy: what a man moves with 
when, even in sleep, he is trying to save
all there is left to save.

109 things not to do to cats

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/109-cats-in-sweaters

109 things not to do to cats

If Fox News covered the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s

If Fox News covered the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s

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Don't crush that dwarf, hand me the pliers...

FAREWELL, DEAR FRIEND: PETER BERGMAN (1939-2012)

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Abstract conversations

Abstract conversations

  

Instead of telling our vulnerable stories, we seek safety in abstractions, speaking to each other about our opinions, ideas and beliefs rather than about our lives. Academic culture blesses this practice by insisting that the more abstract our speech, the more likely we are to touch the universal truths that unite us. But what happens is exactly the reverse: as our discourse becomes more abstract, the less connected we feel. There is less sense of community among  intellectuals than in the most "primitive" society of storytellers.

 

Parker J. Palmer

A hidden wholeness

  

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Jan 24, 2012

Theology needs transformation    65% of the work in the world is done by women; 12% of the paid salaries in the world go to women; 2% of properties in the world are on the hands of women; 1 in each 6 women in the world is a victim of incest; 1 in each 4 women will experience some form of sexual violence in life;75% of people that die of hunger are women and children; In all the world, women do not earn the same salary as men; In all the world, the education level of women is lower than that of men; In countries where women have more diplomas than men, the tendency is for less educated men to hold higher positions, changing, therefore, the criterion of promotion;98% of structural decisions are made by men;  In all the world, women are more dependent on the land than men; In many places of the world, the majority of abortions is of girls. Given that, the lesson the Feminist Theology teaches us is that before worrying about explaining reality, theologies must pay attention to an unjust reality that needs transformation. This situation must be taken as a theological challenge that requires an urgent answer seeking changes.   Felipe Fanuel Xavier Rodrigues Towards a daily theology: listening to the unheard voices   from "Teologias com Sabor de Mangostão". Isabel Aparecida Felix  Translation from Portuguese by Gustavo Frederico         Start or join the conversation for this posting on the Emergent Village Facebook Page Visit the new The Emergent Village Voice blog at EmergentVillage.com     At Emergent Village we love quotes. Deep, practical, ancient, new, edgy or smooth, from Einstein or from your own head - great quotes keep us searching for the fundamental truths that unite us all, and help us learn from each other. Send us your favorites, and we'll select some of the best for the following categories: inspiration, theology, leadership, culture, poetry/song. Submit a contribution to MinEmergent@gmail.com                          Join Our Email List

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Street Art

ReflectionsOf.Me

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Occupy Voting Booths

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Stereotypes...

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Lessons in leadership

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring other to move beyond it
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind

3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in front

4. Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport 

5. Keep your friends close - and your rivals even closer 

6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile

7. Nothing is black or white

8. Quitting is leading too 

Nelson Mandela 

Read the entire TIME article here.

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From bentlily: one poem a day

Unkempt

I am drawn to the tidiness of proverbs
little zingers
that make you nod
and think you have gotten to the pulp
of a thing

like how you can know a person
by the books they keep

but it’s not true

you know only the stomach
of their brain
a naïve hunger that tends
to want more
of the same

it’s like thinking you know
a bird
by the wire
he sits on

life is unkempt
people die
too soon

all there is to do
is pay attention to the litter
of minutes that fling from the day
and catch some
on your tongue
like snowflakes

each one
a tiny perfect story
a life written in ice
before it melts
and returns home
to the sea.

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Coincidence?

As always, go here and commission your own work of art => Gapingvoid Gallery

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5 Tax Myths

MYTH #1: 47% of Americans do not pay taxes.

Fact: All Americans pay taxes.

MYTH #2: The American people and corporations pay high taxes.

Fact: The US has the third lowest taxes of any developed country in the world.

MYTH #3: Cutting taxes creates jobs and raises revenue.

Fact: Tax cuts reduce revenue and are not associated with economic growth.

MYTH #4: The US tax system is very progressive because wealthy individuals already pay a disproportionate amount of taxes.

Fact: At a time of growing income inequality, the US tax system is basically flat.

When you take into account all of the taxes that individuals pay, the truth is that our tax system is relatively flat. The top one percent of income earners receives 20.3 percent of total income while paying 21.5 percent of total taxes and the lowest 20 percent of income earners receive 3.5 percent of total income while still paying out two percent of total taxes.

In other words, wealthy individuals pay a high percentage of taxes because they earn a highly disproportionate amount of income. This is a consequence of growing income inequality in the United States, which is at a level not seen since before the Great Depression.

MYTH #5: The “Fair Tax” or a flat tax would be more fair.

Fact: The “Fair Tax” or a flat tax would make our tax system even more regressive.

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Data and the BSOD

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OPEN Act - alternative to SOPA and PROTECT IP

Twitter, Facebook, and Google endorse alternate online piracy bill

Gautham Nagesh for The Hill - Eight of the largest Web companies have endorsed an online piracy bill offered by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as an alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate counterpart PROTECT IP.

The OPEN Act would direct online patent infringement claims against foreign websites to the International Trade Commission, which would be authorized to order online ad networks and payment processors to sever ties with the rogue foreign sites.

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How to lose weight by only...

How to lose weight by only lifting a finger. Continuing our Week After New Year's diettip hotline, we have found the most appealing weight-loss tactic of all time. One that involves very little moving. Writing for 15 minutes about important values, like religion, music, or relationships, caused women to lose more weight over the next few months than those who did no writing at all, found research published in Pyschological Science. Participants kept these values diaries lost an average of 3.41 pounds, compared to the 2.76 pounds gained by the control group. This is the exercise dream, folks. [Eureka]

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