Monday, October 16, 2017

Stories behind the headlines

What's wrong with saying let a person's conscience be your guide?

The problems of subjective feelings vs reality was discussed as far back as Socrates, say actor Kevin O'Brien.

Socrates made fun of Protagoras’s homo-mensura, which asserts, “Man is the measure of all things.” For clarity’s sake, the homo-mensura can be interpreted as this: “The human-animal’s perceptions and opinions determine the value of all things.” According to Socrates, Protagoras may as well have asserted, “Pig is the measure of all things,” or, “Baboon is the measure,” since those creatures also possess “the power of perception.” Protagoras, foiled by his own maxim, is “no better authority than a tadpole, let alone any other man.” If Protagoras’s homo-mensura is truly so weak, why does anyone bother to uphold it? One possible answer: it makes crowds happy.
As the ancient progenitor of truthiness and alternative facts, the homo-mensura helps sophists win over audiences. “Everyone’s opinions are meaningful and valuable! You can decide on any scientific, political or artistic subject for yourself!” (Cue applause.) The worst effect of the homo-mensura is that it renders futile any attempt to examine or refute “each other’s ostentations and judgments,” for each individual demands respect and narcissistic recognition. “This is surely an extremely tiresome piece of nonsense,” Socrates decided.

, "Your individual situation determines the morality of your actions! You can decide what is right and what is wrong! For God Himself is asking you to put yourself in that position! It's what He wants!" (Cue applause.)


related item: Was the Moral Majority right?

well, those rules were not just made up by the puritans because they didn't like you having fun. Traditions, religious laws and common law are how societies distillate the pragmatic lessons of thousands of years of human experience.

In the meanwhile the Pope wants the church to regress to the morals of the hedonistic 1970's, in the name of "mercy".

Truth is an embarrassment, says David Warren


As we see in society at large, and now hear even from Rome, sincerity becomes the substitute for faith. What is true can only be “true for me,” and the genuineness of a feeling substitutes for the content of the faith itself.
This is what a pope is now preaching: not against the content of the Catholic faith, which all his predecessors accepted as true; rather against their view that this content has importance — that, in effect, the truth is true, and commands our adherence because it is true, whether we find comfort and pleasure in it, or not.
Instead, any view sincerely held is taken as acceptable, and though we might technically allow it is in error, we must “accompany” the holder to death’s door.

What's wrong with this picture?

Harvey Weinstein call your office.

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Yesterday, someone on CNN was discussing removing Trump from office. And someone dared to email them and say: a lot of folks would see this as an illegal coup.

why yes.

But why do some people decide to push this idea on an international cable news network? Well, CNN International does tend to be anti American, but even so...

So what has Trumpie boy done recently?

Let me count the ways says Molly Hemingway at the Federalist.

glennReynolds remarks:

Meanwhile, consistent with Scott Adams’ theory, the press has quit calling Trump Hitler and is now calling him incompetent. Soon, Adams predicts, they will pivot to, “well, maybe he’s competent, but we don’t like what he’s doing.”

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since I am on a rant about truth and spin and reality: Could I mention that the press has done a lousy job at reporting on the Las Vegas shootings? Three time lines so far.

And I am still waiting to hear where his Filipina girlfriend comes from. Mindanao or Luzon? Catholic, Protestant or Muslim?

I mean the Pinoy community must have some clue, (everyone has a relative who knows someone who knows someone else in the Philippines) but no one seems to have researched much, not even the press here...

The conspiracy theories are starting to sprout in the vacuum.


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