philosophy

Philosophy can help us.

~ fastcaranalysis ~ Leave a comment

People I met at the university made fun of those who wanted to study philosophy. It seemed that philosophy had no possible place in the modern industrial and later, the post-industrial world. No corporate behemoth wanted to hire a philosopher to run the company or to do any company jobs. People said that philosophy was dead and no one even cared.

And then soon after, religion was likewise dead. And then an appreciation of beauty in art and architechture was also dead. And now in politics it appears that representational government is perhaps less likely with artifice in voting instead of trustworthy voting with fidelity. And still the SAVE Act hasn’t passed even though 80% of voters think it is a good idea.

Perhaps it’s time to return to philosophy.

Greek philosophy had five branches: Epistemology (the study that answers the question, “What do we know and how do we know it?”), Metaphysics (“What is being and what does it mean to be alive and experienced in this world?), Logic (“What method of reason is the correct one to prove the rightness of understanding?), Ethics (“What is a good life and how does one live a good life?”), and finally, Aesthetics (What is beautiful and how do we recognize beauty?”).

I made a little time to study philosophy. I studied Logic and I have read books about philosophy. I value applying philosophical questions toward living an examined life. Life is so short and I think philosophy can help a person to walk a path toward a happy life.

Some people think that whatever makes a person happy or satisfied in the short term is the best road to happiness. Short-term time tables seem to have taken over all of our lives these days. But many people who live for a longer time into old age can experience a complete change in their thinking about what makes life good and what makes them happy. I think that philosophy can help a person to wander onto a good path and I also think that not every path, even ones that create short-term happiness is a good path in the long term. I think it’s good to prevent regrets later or at the end of life.

Philosophy can help you to discriminate between what will help you and help society and what will harm you and society. Here we are. Finally spring has arrived. The birds are back. Warmer temperatures call us to enjoy being outside more. But remember that philosophy can go with you anywhere. Think of all the questions it can help you answer. You don’t have to be victimized by the anything goes approach to living. You can use your agency to choose well and philosophy can be a helpful guide. Having a pocket full of questions may give you a better chance at happiness.

Buy a copy of Political Catsup with Economy Fries, available at Amazon.com. It can help you to understand how we got to our political here and now and also how economics and politics dance together to organize how you experience opportunity in your life.

To read an article about philosophy branches try this one: https://www.thecollector.com/what-are-the-branches-of-philosophy/. I did.

Prosecute but stop the rhetorical disection.

~ fastcaranalysis ~ Leave a comment

This week there’s lots of buzz online about people who fabricated intelligence to prove that Mr. Trump was a Russian asset in order to damage his political opportunities. This hoax can be lumped into the category of unprosecuted happenings from the last decade or longer. Many Americans are waiting to see if prosecutions will happen this time in this one category. We’re pretty tired of rehashed old news without judicious outcomes.

I have become convinced over many years now that our politics are not above board. Whatever a politician says and whatever the news coverage is about politics, it’s all false. There’s no humor and no interest left in politics because there’s no honesty. Humor makes fun of honest appraisals and interest can’t be generated without honest assessments. Without honesty, the stakes and the facts are fake and there’s no reason to listen to any of it anymore.

I would like to refocus on something entirely different. I would like all my and likewise all of our collective energy to go into making good things happen for me and likewise for all of us in the United States. Because it’s been a while since that was part of our experience.

For years, government statistics continually lie about the number of unemployed people by ignoring the longterm unemployed. Government statistics in 2015 had rosy assessments about future jobs that never came about but little acknowledgement about that failure. When less than 27% of degree holders can find a job related to their training, investing in a university education has become a waste of money and time.

If the Secret Government Agencies, like the CIA, the FBI, Homeland Security etc. have all grown out of bounds, if they are doing things that are illegal and therefore criminal, then is anything that they are trying to do worth doing at all? Probably not. Can anyone measure power by the amount of damage that can be inflicted on the other side of whatever group so consistently that there’s no room for real prosperity building?

Buy a copy of Political Catsup with Economy Fries at Amazon.com.

Isn’t government power supposed to be on the side of prosperity instead of destruction? Because it hasn’t been for a long time now. It looks like our government is full of bad guys doing stupid bad things.

I’m glad that some of the election shenanigans will be addressed. However, I will only pay attention very briefly when the people perpetrating various forms of deception and treason are in jail. Then I will merrily ignore those jailbirds completely while I try to rebuild my life by making good things happen that these political people have been doing their best to prevent me from doing.

When the government wastes our resources doing bad things instead of good things, good things don’t get done because they are crowded out by all that nonsense. Please no more political news stories on broadcast media. Just set up a website that describes charges leveled, fines levied and jail terms meted out for guilty verdicts.

Instead of talking about politics, let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about jobs. There’s been a labor blockade here in the U.S. for decades. It’s time for that to end. Internet job ads are supposedly 85% fake. Maybe that should be illegal. Hire everyone and train them. Hire old people who have a rich life experience but who can’t collect pensions until they are 67 years old. Hire young people who need experience and training. Hire people to do what needs doing. Pay them.

Stop using social media to make people crazy and disagreeable. Social media has been providing different information to different groups in order to foment discord and increase site traffic. That should be illegal. Stop that. I’m all for the first amendment but it’s not ok to constantly try to set the world on fire.

Let’s move on towards a new prosperity. Don’t make people take sides anymore. Help people work together for a better America.