Philosophy – KensView

Une personne intelligente

Personne parmi nous désire
remettre en question votre intelligence,
même si la possibilité est toujours là ;
mais maintenant,
puisque vous vous vantes de votre prouesses,
la foule des sceptiques sera innombrable.
Vous êtes une personne intelligente !

Clever

There is no one among us,
who desires to question your intelligence,
even if the possibility is always there;
but now, since you boast of your prowess,
the crowd of skeptics will be innumerable.
You are a clever person!

What’s in a Name?*

In the realm of notions,
where word and meaning clash,
we ask:

Is it the thing that gives the name its shape,
or the name that shapes the thing?

Cratylus, with his lips pressed tight to truth,
says a word must be the echo
of what it is called—
a perfect match
an interwining dance
between tongue and world.
A name like fire,
hot and alive,
burning its essence into the air,
so pure,
it cannot be anything else.

But Heraclitus, shaking his head,
would say, “The river is never the same.”
For what is a name,
but a moment held still,
a frame around a shifting, endless tide?
Do we grasp the river’s essence
by calling it water?
Or is it the river that slips past
our every attempt at definition?

Also can a name be both
true and false, as Socrates adds?

We stand on the edge of language,
lost in the noise
of words that try to mean,
but never quite can.
Every name,
a hand trying to capture a shadow.
Every connotation,
a fleeting attempt at grasping
what manifests beneath the heavens.

Who’s to say
that which is named
is only a thing in itself,
but a thing in relation
to what it’s called,
to who calls it,
to when and where and why.

A name is born of our mind
but it is not ours to keep.
It can slip and slide,
leaving us in wonder—

What is a rose,
if not the air that carries it,
the voice that speaks it,
the thorn that guards it,
or the label that follows?

*The Cratylus of Plato

Living Life

We all have a very short time on earth.

Suggestions:

Listen, learn, and be humble.

Examine Confucius, Siddhartha Gautama, Socrates, the “sermon on the mount” and the good Samaritan parable, More, Kant, Kierkegaard, Darwin, Marx, Dewey, Lu Xun, Malraux, Camus, Hemingway, Rawls.

Living as a self-authentic human being, learning about the universe, and using that knowledge to help others seems to be just right.

We are…

We are all the same. There is no God.

We are not at the center of the Universe.

We are effectively alone.

We are not as smart as we think we are.

We are far too many already.

We are making our world smaller.

We are approaching a Big Die-Off,

if We don’t wake up.

Tumblin’ Down

Well, when my luck ain’t no damn good
You don’t listen, you don’t listen
No good deed goes unpunished
But I don’t mind being your gotcha boy
I’ve had that pleasure for years and years

No, no, I never was a winner, tell me, what else could I do?
Yogi Berra’s what you get till you learn to follow rules
And chance respects no person, and what I want often fails
You’re waitin’ somewhere to fall into my arms

Saw my picture in the paper
Read the news about this face
And now some people don’t
Wanna treat me the same

When you guys come tumblin’ down
When you guys come tumblin’, tumblin’
When you guys come crumblin’, crumblin’ down
(Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)

Well, some people say I’m too foolish and crazy
I am just a softy, my compassion’s plain silly
But I know that there is something more
Don’t need to look over my shoulder to see what I’m here for

Everybody’s got their problems, ain’t no new news there
I’m the same old person you’ve been seeing for years
Don’t confuse the problem with the issue, man, it’s perfectly clear
Just wish that chance doesn’t need me to appear

Don’t wanna put my arms around you
Feel your breath in my face
You may bend me, you may break me
But please stay safe in place

So no one comes tumblin’ down
So no one comes tumblin’, tumblin’
So no one comes crumblin’, crumblin’ down
(Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)

MAGA Logic*

Why should one vote for HIM?
Because HE deserves it.

Vote for Him, so you won’t be a loser.

Isn’t He worried about His reputation?
No, it’s okay. HIS dad cheated, and he had a reputation.

If you are right wing, then you’re a patriot.
I’m not.
Then you’re not a patriot.

Right-wing ideas are superior to “Democrat” ideas.

Drinking bleach cures COVID.
No, it doesn’t …
You can’t say that! You’re a Democrat!

We should use masks against COVID.
No! The Democrats are the ones who support that!

They say HE doesn’t tell the truth.
But you don’t either.

Don’t you think lying is wrong?
Yeah.
Well, he just lied!
Ok, but HE’s a good guy.

Banning guns is nonsense.
Criminals will find a way.

Dictators make you snap on command.
Dictators must be smart.

Have Democrats stopped cheating at the elections?

What proof do you have HE did not suffer from millions of fraud votes?

The Afghanistan withdrawal was Biden’s fault.

Democrats are commies.
I don’t believe it.
Prove they aren’t.

No Jew votes for Democrats.
But my friend Aaron votes for Democrats.
Well, he isn’t a TRUE Jew.

Before we argue about immigration, let’s define it as “vermin control.”

HE says that dictators are his friends.
HE also said Biden was a dictator, so was Biden his friend?

Slaves learned useful skills on the plantation, so more education was a waste of time.

Stripping rights is bad, but HE still has to finish it.

Imposing larger tariffs will stop China.
Genius?!?

Project 2025 is too long for me to read,
but worth every word.

I can’t believe they said HIS debate was awful.
Awful originally meant that it inspired awe!

Springfield officials said no one’s eating dogs!
I’m entitled to my opinion.

They say they’ll lower your taxes.
Don’t listen to them. They’re Marxists.

Can you assure us that HE’ll help finance child care?
I can’t, but HIS new tariffs will solve everything.

If you don’t vote for Him,
You won’t be safe,
Your kid will change sex,
YOU’LL GO TO HELL!

*The Right’s Logical Fallacies

Math and Zeno

Zeno, pioneer of the dialectic
and reductio ad absurdum,
used his reasoning via paradox to
dispute accepted concepts of
physically observed phenomena.

But were these paradoxes valid
or just basic misconceptions; for
much was not evident at his time and
people had rudimentary notions of
limit, infinity, time, and motion?

Philosophically and practically,
was what the Eleatic concocted
a fundamental flaw in perspective—
as maintained by Aristotle and
modern mathematicians?

The latter try to resolve this
by approaching it another way and
constructing mathematical means to
explain the observed phenomena to
a desired degree of exactness.

The ability to find the value limit that
a series of added half-distances is nearing,
some have claimed, questions whether
there is an actual paradox
in the first place.

But do these savants really
understand the true problem at
the heart of Zeno’s formulation:
the challenge of conceptualizing
how One and Many jive with motion?

Philosophy in Schools

A major area of knowledge neglected in primary and secondary education is philosophy. This is remarkable since it both ancient and foundational to other areas of knowledge such as language and thought development and the sciences and has influenced many aspects of the world’s cultural and religious expressions. The Pre-Socratic philosophers, for example, introduced a rational approach to understanding the world, the culmination of which is modern science. Computing came to us at the end of a long line of philosophical contributions, including Aristotle’s language of logic, the calculating machines of Pascal and Leibniz, and the insights of mathematician and thinker Alan Turing.

Perennial philosophical issues are typically encountered even by young children “What is justice?”, “What is beauty?”, “How can I be sure of what I know?”, “What is the right thing to do?”, “What is real?”, “What happens at death”, “What makes someone a best friend”, and so on.

The study of philosophy promotes critical thinking; explores the ethical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of experience; improves language development, expands social and communication skills; and helps develop tolerance of other points of view.

The study of philosophy can be introduced as a course within the curriculum and/or incorporated in language, literature, and history classes. An example is using works of literature that lend themselves to discussion of ethics, aesthetics, logical thinking, and so on. Emphasis in history classes should be expanded to deal with discussion of content, development, and controversies of philosophical ideas and arguments.

The first R: why we need to teach philosophy in the classroom

Delphi Philosophy

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children

Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO)

Paths Not Taken

Thinking in Stories: Reviewing Philosophy in Children’s Literature (gives examples of how to treat philosophical topics by using contemporary children’s literature)

Great Philosophers

Two great philosophers crossed paths
in a menacing Philippine jungle,
both serving in the Leyte campaign,
each not perceiving of the other.
Before an attack on a strategic ridge,
a company chaplain assured one that
God guides our bullets at the Japs,
while steering theirs from us.
The other saw troopers jump from above,
and armed with only a 90mm AA gun,
he cried for them while he aimed,
their body parts raining from heaven.
One dropped his religion
and devised “A Theory of Justice.”
The other never had it, but taught
me to respect and be fair to all.

Self-archaeology

Forage for the feats

Forget forfeit and failings

Focus on future

― 俳句 (haiku)

Un sentiment désagréable

J’ai souffert, je me suis efforcé
d’atténuer la douleur de la journée .
J’ai appris, j’ai prié pour trouver un moyen .
Car il y a eu trop de matins
où il semblait que mes rêves m’appelaient,
me demandant si ce pourrait être celui-là .
Mais mon âme lance un avertissement
à mon cœur lorsqu’il commence à craquer
pour tous les débuts laissés de côté .

Sinking Feeling

I’ve been paining, I’ve been straining
To allay the sting of the day.
I’ve been yearning, I’ve been learning
Praying to somehow find a way.
For there’s been too many a morning
When it seemed my dreams were calling,
Wondering whether this could be the one.
But my soul sings out a warning
To my heart when it starts falling
For all the beginnings left undone.

A Brew with a View

In the rosy cradle of dawn,
I sit, the warmth of coffee cupped in my hands—
a simple pleasure,
but so rich in this stillness.

The view is wondrously fluid,
the mist rising from the hills like breath exhaled
from some ancient earth,
the hills distant, yet intimate in their embrace.
They greet the sky with a verdant smooch,
the kind of green that holds no pretense,
no hurried promises of progress.

My backyard, a tranquil haven, stretches
to woods that exhale their own language,
untouched by the spoil of builders and roadmasters.
The trees speak in whispers I only half understand—
a dialect older than the hum of suburbia,
sturdier than the concrete I walk upon.

I am here, in this pause between worlds,
the comfort of civilization behind me
and the wild, untamed reach of nature before.
This moment—the coffee warming my bones,
the woods and hills standing sentinel,
uncultured by the design of my neighborhood—
it is enough.

No need to claim it, no need to mark it—
it simply is,
and for now,
it holds me in quiet reverence.

Underdog

In every race, there’s an underdog,
A contender whose efforts are a slog.
And while they may not have the fleetest feet,
Their heart and spirit are not to be beat.
They’re the ones that no one expects to win,
But still they get up and try once again,
Fighting with pride and a relentless drive,
Urging themselves to keep the odds alive.
Some people may snicker and they may sneer,
But the underdog never drops a tear.
They know they’re capable of achieving;
And if they try, they often end up winning.
The underdog may appear down and out,
But they’ll not let that show what they’re about.
So even if you think there is no way
And your confidence is starting to fray,
Remember, there’s still a chance of winning—
Just keep fighting, keep pushing, keep grinning.
You may not be the favored to prevail,
But don’t let your spirit and heart turn tail.
If you’re strong, determined, and full of grit,
Although underdog, you should never quit.

Guard Him Close

In a school gym where the ball bounces loud,
There’s a pick-up game, players standing proud.
The air is thick with sweat and the great roar
Of sneakers skidding on the hardwood floor.
“Watch him close,” a veteran tenders his view
As each team decides who will cover who.
“That guy over there, he seems out of place;
But don’t be fooled by his deceptive face.
He doesn’t look fast and is somewhat short,
But when he gets started, man, he holds court.
It’s not in his height and not in his might,
But the way he strikes in a heated fight.”
“He may not look like much,” said with a grin.
“He’s slow to the eye, but resolved to win.
But that teammate just shrugs, slacks off his man.
Though that one looks harmless, he’s has a plan.
A dribble, a move, opponent’s in plight,
A feint to the left, then dash to the right.
That unassuming guy moves smooth as silk,
Knows how to play and surely drinks his milk.
A shot comes from nowhere, the ball sails high,
And just like that, the lead starts to die.
In the game of life, sometimes it’s clear,
It’s not the first glance that may cause fear.
For skill may not always overtly show
In those who deliver the final blow.

Nuked

Born with the specter of mushroom clouds,
As the world raced toward Armageddon.
We were children of the Atomic dawn,
When siren wails filled all with alarm.

The playground echoed a hidden dread,
Innocence and evil grimly interbred.
We played hopscotch on the brink of fate,
Counting squares like numbered days.

The blowing winds tasted of the uncertain,
As if each breath held an ominous toxin.
Laughter was suppressed by distant tests,
Man-made sunrises in desert Southwest.

Bedtime tales struggled to allay fears—
Duck-and-cover drills and radiation suits.
As somber refrains foretold destruction,
Sunday prayers begged divine intervention.

I grew up in this Twilight Zone of paradox,
Picnics on lakes, building of bomb shelters,
An upbringing straddling hope and horror,
Synchronized to ticks of a Geiger counter.

Yet I managed to cope with this outlook,
Trading baseball cards and comic books,
Imagination soaring on cosmic plumes,
Dreaming of a world beyond the gloom.

But now though with Cold War unfrozen,
A restiveness still lingers—a silent fallout.
Thus, at times when I regard the horizon,
I half-expect a bright flash to burst out.

Leo-Dragon

A lion’s heart, a dragon’s fire,
Restless soul with noble desire.
Born in the year of the dragon bold,
A tale of majesty, yet to unfold.
With regal grace and a fiery gaze,
You command attention in countless ways.
Ambition burns, unflagging flame,
Reaching for dreams with steady aim.
Creative spirit, a vibrant hue,
Painting life with colors bright and new.
A leader born, with a magnetic sway,
Inspiring others, come whatever may.
But heed the dragon’s combustive breath,
Temper ambition, eschew Macbeth.
For along with achievement, a duty lies
To use your strengths wisely as you rise.
So let your spirit soar and shine,
A Leo-Dragon, so divine.
Grasp your nature and passion’s call;
Leave your mark, and don’t drop the ball.