Monday, May 29, 2006
"My last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the
smoke and choking dust of September 11th 2001, followed by the "National
Day of Prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous Martin
Luther King impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible
faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the
problem in the first place."
-- Richard Dawkins, The Devil's Chaplain 2004
smoke and choking dust of September 11th 2001, followed by the "National
Day of Prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous Martin
Luther King impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible
faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the
problem in the first place."
-- Richard Dawkins, The Devil's Chaplain 2004
David Hume on a republic:
"From law arises security:
from security curiosity: and
from curiosity knowledge."
Essays Moral.. i.180
refered to by Adam Smith in
"Of the Origin of Philosophy"
"From law arises security:
from security curiosity: and
from curiosity knowledge."
Essays Moral.. i.180
refered to by Adam Smith in
"Of the Origin of Philosophy"
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Pierre Bayle
(1647-1706)
- All theories - philosophical, theological, and even scientific - can be challenged by arguments that show they are contradictory and/or unbelievable.
- Since no beliefs can be proved to be true or false, all should be tolerated.
- Morality is completely separate from religious belief; a society of atheists could be more moral than a society of Christians.
- Careful unprejudiced erudition and exact reasoning are needed to eliminate the errors of the past and present.
- Within a Christian frame of reference there is no way of explaining the existence of evil.
HUME's Eulogy
When he was dying he admitted to James Boswell that he had no expectation of moving on to an afterlife. He died on the 25th of August 1776 and was buried in Calton Hill cemetery. Controversy continued to follow him even after his death, when Adam Smith’s eulogy, praising a man many believed to be an infidel, reopened the debate on his morals
"Upon the whole, I have always considered him, both in his lifetime and since his death, as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit."
Adam Smith in a letter prefacing the Life of David Hume.
Adam Smith:
AS Wonder, surprise, and admiration indeed! Well, I am now beyond the reach of those who attacked my Eulogy of Mr Hume. A single, and as I thought a very harmless Sheet of paper, which I happened to Write concerning the death of our late friend Mr Hume, brought upon me ten times more abuse than the very violent attack I had made upon the whole commercial system of Great Britain. I had but reported that Mr Hume died as noble a death as Socrates, yet that he took comfort not from the ministers of the Kirk but from Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead. Can you then wonder that I was so circumspect in matters of religion and of the foundations of government? In my circumspection I differ’d greatly from Mr Hume; in my principles I differ’d little.
From: Iain McLean's book "Adam Smith: Radical and Egalitarian
When he was dying he admitted to James Boswell that he had no expectation of moving on to an afterlife. He died on the 25th of August 1776 and was buried in Calton Hill cemetery. Controversy continued to follow him even after his death, when Adam Smith’s eulogy, praising a man many believed to be an infidel, reopened the debate on his morals
"Upon the whole, I have always considered him, both in his lifetime and since his death, as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit."
Adam Smith in a letter prefacing the Life of David Hume.
Adam Smith:
AS Wonder, surprise, and admiration indeed! Well, I am now beyond the reach of those who attacked my Eulogy of Mr Hume. A single, and as I thought a very harmless Sheet of paper, which I happened to Write concerning the death of our late friend Mr Hume, brought upon me ten times more abuse than the very violent attack I had made upon the whole commercial system of Great Britain. I had but reported that Mr Hume died as noble a death as Socrates, yet that he took comfort not from the ministers of the Kirk but from Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead. Can you then wonder that I was so circumspect in matters of religion and of the foundations of government? In my circumspection I differ’d greatly from Mr Hume; in my principles I differ’d little.
From: Iain McLean's book "Adam Smith: Radical and Egalitarian
"It is a strange and touching thing, this eternal hunger of the
gregarious animal for the herd of friends who are not there. And it may
be, it may very possibly be, that, in the matter of this Friend behind
phenomena, our own yearning and our own almost ineradicable instinctive
conviction are in origin the groping of a lonely-souled gregarious
animal to find its herd or its herd-leader in the great spaces between
the stars."
Glibert Murray 1866-1957
Classicist/Humanist
gregarious animal for the herd of friends who are not there. And it may
be, it may very possibly be, that, in the matter of this Friend behind
phenomena, our own yearning and our own almost ineradicable instinctive
conviction are in origin the groping of a lonely-souled gregarious
animal to find its herd or its herd-leader in the great spaces between
the stars."
Glibert Murray 1866-1957
Classicist/Humanist
Thursday, May 25, 2006
SUCCESS
To laugh often and much
to win the respect of intelligent people
and affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and
endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best
in others; to leave the world a bit
better, whether by a healthy child
a garden patch or redeemed
social condition; to know even
one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happy Birthday
To laugh often and much
to win the respect of intelligent people
and affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and
endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best
in others; to leave the world a bit
better, whether by a healthy child
a garden patch or redeemed
social condition; to know even
one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happy Birthday
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
-- Galileo Galilei
-- Galileo Galilei
Monday, May 22, 2006
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has
limits."
-- Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955
limits."
-- Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Honoring Brooke & Brianna
Recital is today. As they share their talent & skill today,
I will think of this quote which was on their Awards Night
program for West Port Middle School:
TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW
YOU WILL BE MORE DIASPPOINTED
BY THE THINGS YOU DID'T DO THAN
BY THE ONES YOU DID. SO THROW
OFF THE BOWLINES, SAIL AWAY
FROM THE SAFE HARBOR. CATCH
THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS.
EXPLORE. DREAM.
-MARK TWAIN
Recital is today. As they share their talent & skill today,
I will think of this quote which was on their Awards Night
program for West Port Middle School:
TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW
YOU WILL BE MORE DIASPPOINTED
BY THE THINGS YOU DID'T DO THAN
BY THE ONES YOU DID. SO THROW
OFF THE BOWLINES, SAIL AWAY
FROM THE SAFE HARBOR. CATCH
THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS.
EXPLORE. DREAM.
-MARK TWAIN
Sunday, May 14, 2006
BELIEVING that God created the universe in six days is a form of
superstitious paganism, the Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno
claimed
yesterday.
One thing he said: "You don't want to turn the Bible into a science
book
because science books go out of date."
superstitious paganism, the Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno
claimed
yesterday.
One thing he said: "You don't want to turn the Bible into a science
book
because science books go out of date."
Saturday, May 13, 2006
"I am only one, but still I am one I cannot do everything but still I can do something I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
-- Helen Adams Keller
-- Helen Adams Keller
Sunday, May 07, 2006
“ If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
- Albert Einstein
- Albert Einstein
Saturday, May 06, 2006
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is
than to persist in delusion,
however satisfying and reassuring.
--Carl Sagan
than to persist in delusion,
however satisfying and reassuring.
--Carl Sagan
Philosophy In Strange Places:
Can you guess the belief system that promotes
the following philosophy?
We believe people are basically good.
We believe everyone has something to contribute.
We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.
We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual.
We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.
Scroll down to check your answer:
eBay Community Values
Can you guess the belief system that promotes
the following philosophy?
We believe people are basically good.
We believe everyone has something to contribute.
We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.
We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual.
We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.
Scroll down to check your answer:
eBay Community Values
Thursday, May 04, 2006
"My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply."
Tiger comments on his father, Earl, who passed away May 3rd at the age of 74. The family has asked in lieu of flowers to please send all donations to:
The Earl Woods Scholarship Fund
c/o Tiger Woods Learning Center
One Tiger Woods Way
Anaheim, CA. 92801
Tiger comments on his father, Earl, who passed away May 3rd at the age of 74. The family has asked in lieu of flowers to please send all donations to:
The Earl Woods Scholarship Fund
c/o Tiger Woods Learning Center
One Tiger Woods Way
Anaheim, CA. 92801
"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human
being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
-- William James
being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
-- William James
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Veni, Vedi, Vegi . . . I came,I saw, I had a salad.
--- Anon
--- Anon
