A few days after posting the Root Causes article I received an e-mail from an old friend, and fellow admirer of Ayn Rand, who suggested that I re-read the 1964 Playboy Magazine Interview with Ayn Rand in the context of today’s political turmoil. He did not reference the Root Causes article but it couldn’t have been more timely or more appropriate.
As I re-read the interview, which I had originally read when it was published and had saved that issue of Playboy somewhere, it was clear to me that she has never been more relevant. Her comments and their applicability to today’s unfortunate political situation could have been written yesterday. As my friend commented “she would go through Obama like the c___ through a goose”.
Back to “Root Causes”. In her interview she emphasizes throughout that what is truly evil in this world is that some humans do not use their reasoning powers. Asked to comment on Objectivism, the philosophy that she developed, she replied “It begins with the axiom that existence exists, which means that an objective reality exists independent of any perceiver or of the perceiver's emotions, feelings, wishes, hopes or fears. Objectivism holds that reason is man's only means of perceiving reality and his only guide to action.”
Another quote “Sadism, dictatorship, any form of evil, is the consequence of a man's evasion of reality.”
While I called the lack of critical thinking skills the “Root Cause” she far better describes it as the “consequence of a man's evasion of reality.”
My friend went on to lament that with her gone where do we turn to for an organization that can “Communicate, Educate and Activate” our philosophy”?
There are a number of organizations that provide this and one that comes to mind immediately is the Cato Institute. Below you will find links to the Playboy Interview, more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism and the Cato Institute.
The Ayn Rand Playboy Interview - http://www.ellensplace.net/ar_pboy.html
More about Rand and Objectivism - http://www.ellensplace.net/ar_more.html
The Cato Institute - http://www.cato.org/
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Root Causes
Often these days, with regard to the horrors of the wars and terrorism taking place in the Islamic world and elsewhere, you hear reference to a root cause and many claim that it is political or economical in nature. There is a root cause but it is more fundamental than any political or economical philosophy.
The major cause of the irrational acts we see being committed by some people of the Islamic faith has little to do with the Koran and much to do with their culture. Many in Islamic countries are not taught to think independently and are discouraged from exercising their critical thinking skills.
They are taught to listen and blindly obey their religious leaders who interpret the Koran to their own ends. I have read the entire Koran¹ and found nothing to support such crimes as “Honor” killings of girls and women, suicide bombings, sexual mutilation of girls, stoning to death of adulteresses, intolerance of other religions and cultures to the point of murder and on and on. None of this is in the Koran. Such barbarity is a relic of the middle ages and is not found in modern non-Islamic societies, other than in the mentally ill. These crimes are an extreme perversion of the teachings of the Koran.
Sharia Law is not found in the Koran but has been developed over the centuries in the interpretations and rulings of generations of religious scholars whose teachings have created a society that is intellectually crippled. It wasn’t always this way. Early Islamic society was rich in intellectual achievement.
The immigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, known as the hijra, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar and, essentially, the Islamic era. Major intellectual achievements by Muslims since then include; the translations of early Greek works in the eighth and ninth centuries, the refinement of Arabic numbers to include the use of zero for the first time in the 10th century, in the 11th and 12th centuries major contributions to algebra, mathematics and medicine, the world’s first true astronomical observatory and major works on engineering, technology and pharmacology in the 13th century, and optics in the 14th century².
Since then however, intellectual excellence has given way to emphasis on blind adherence to superstition and today we see the tragic result where neighbor kills neighbor for no reason other than they observe different religious beliefs. Why can’t these people live peacefully as does most of the civilized world? In the United States, for example, where freedom of religion is guaranteed by the US Constitution, almost 304 million people³ with over 65 different religions, including almost 2 million Muslims ⁴ , live together peacefully and practice their religion, or not, as the case may be.
The non-Islamic world has become civilized due to the respect for the rights of individuals as is found in the US Constitution and in other similar legal protections that have spread throughout the modern world.
The root cause for today’s unbelievable barbarity in the Middle East is the same cause that plagued the earliest humans, Homo habilis, since they first walked out of the jungle and onto the savannah about 2 million years ago ⁵ . This continues today with those who refuse to use their minds to analyze the world around them and, instead, persist in blindly following the teachings of those who promote superstition. The root cause is simply the refusal of some humans to exercise their innate critical thinking skills.
All modern humans, Homo sapiens, are born with the same intellectual potential, whether their parents are from an obscure tribe in the remote Amazon jungle of South America or the highlands of New Guinea, or from Paris, France, or Tuba, Senegal, or London, England or New London, Connecticut. Or, even, Gaza. What determines their intellectual actualization is the environment in which they grow and learn of the world around them. A child raised in an environment where superstition is rampant and without an objective education will be unable to function in modern society as a civilized human being.
The intellectually dysfunctional human, which we see in many places in the world, especially the Middle East, is a result of the absence of a rational environment and the promotion of superstition in the madrasas, the religious schools. Here they are taught not to exercise individual critical thinking skills but to memorize and accept the teachings of those who promote their own perverted version of Islam.
This plague of irrationality can be ended by teaching and encouraging all children to use their minds to view the real world as it exists, not as it is taught in the madrasas. Independent thought leads to logical thought processes which lead to rationality and the ultimate rejection of superstition.
So, perhaps the beginning of the end of the gross irrationality of today’s Islamic fundamentalism, and many other religion’s similar irrationalities, is to replace the Shahada, the traditional whispering in the ear of Muslim newborns of testimony that “God is the only God and Muhammad is His messenger”, with “A is A”, Aristotle’s Law of Identity which is the basis of modern Homo sapiens’s use of their instinctive critical thinking skills.
1 The Koran, Revised Translation by N.J. Dawood. Penguin Classics, 1999, 435 pages with Index, and an eBook version The Qur’an or the Koran, translated by E.H. Palmer, that I use with Microsoft Reader. The eBook version is especially handy when searching for a particular word or phrase.
2 Islam for Dummies, Professor Malcolm Clark, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003.
3 US Census Bureau, 06/18/08, http://www.census.gov
4 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life,
http://religions.pewforum,org/affiliations
5 The Book of Life, Edited by Stephen Jay Gould, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
2001
The major cause of the irrational acts we see being committed by some people of the Islamic faith has little to do with the Koran and much to do with their culture. Many in Islamic countries are not taught to think independently and are discouraged from exercising their critical thinking skills.
They are taught to listen and blindly obey their religious leaders who interpret the Koran to their own ends. I have read the entire Koran¹ and found nothing to support such crimes as “Honor” killings of girls and women, suicide bombings, sexual mutilation of girls, stoning to death of adulteresses, intolerance of other religions and cultures to the point of murder and on and on. None of this is in the Koran. Such barbarity is a relic of the middle ages and is not found in modern non-Islamic societies, other than in the mentally ill. These crimes are an extreme perversion of the teachings of the Koran.
Sharia Law is not found in the Koran but has been developed over the centuries in the interpretations and rulings of generations of religious scholars whose teachings have created a society that is intellectually crippled. It wasn’t always this way. Early Islamic society was rich in intellectual achievement.
The immigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, known as the hijra, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar and, essentially, the Islamic era. Major intellectual achievements by Muslims since then include; the translations of early Greek works in the eighth and ninth centuries, the refinement of Arabic numbers to include the use of zero for the first time in the 10th century, in the 11th and 12th centuries major contributions to algebra, mathematics and medicine, the world’s first true astronomical observatory and major works on engineering, technology and pharmacology in the 13th century, and optics in the 14th century².
Since then however, intellectual excellence has given way to emphasis on blind adherence to superstition and today we see the tragic result where neighbor kills neighbor for no reason other than they observe different religious beliefs. Why can’t these people live peacefully as does most of the civilized world? In the United States, for example, where freedom of religion is guaranteed by the US Constitution, almost 304 million people³ with over 65 different religions, including almost 2 million Muslims ⁴ , live together peacefully and practice their religion, or not, as the case may be.
The non-Islamic world has become civilized due to the respect for the rights of individuals as is found in the US Constitution and in other similar legal protections that have spread throughout the modern world.
The root cause for today’s unbelievable barbarity in the Middle East is the same cause that plagued the earliest humans, Homo habilis, since they first walked out of the jungle and onto the savannah about 2 million years ago ⁵ . This continues today with those who refuse to use their minds to analyze the world around them and, instead, persist in blindly following the teachings of those who promote superstition. The root cause is simply the refusal of some humans to exercise their innate critical thinking skills.
All modern humans, Homo sapiens, are born with the same intellectual potential, whether their parents are from an obscure tribe in the remote Amazon jungle of South America or the highlands of New Guinea, or from Paris, France, or Tuba, Senegal, or London, England or New London, Connecticut. Or, even, Gaza. What determines their intellectual actualization is the environment in which they grow and learn of the world around them. A child raised in an environment where superstition is rampant and without an objective education will be unable to function in modern society as a civilized human being.
The intellectually dysfunctional human, which we see in many places in the world, especially the Middle East, is a result of the absence of a rational environment and the promotion of superstition in the madrasas, the religious schools. Here they are taught not to exercise individual critical thinking skills but to memorize and accept the teachings of those who promote their own perverted version of Islam.
This plague of irrationality can be ended by teaching and encouraging all children to use their minds to view the real world as it exists, not as it is taught in the madrasas. Independent thought leads to logical thought processes which lead to rationality and the ultimate rejection of superstition.
So, perhaps the beginning of the end of the gross irrationality of today’s Islamic fundamentalism, and many other religion’s similar irrationalities, is to replace the Shahada, the traditional whispering in the ear of Muslim newborns of testimony that “God is the only God and Muhammad is His messenger”, with “A is A”, Aristotle’s Law of Identity which is the basis of modern Homo sapiens’s use of their instinctive critical thinking skills.
1 The Koran, Revised Translation by N.J. Dawood. Penguin Classics, 1999, 435 pages with Index, and an eBook version The Qur’an or the Koran, translated by E.H. Palmer, that I use with Microsoft Reader. The eBook version is especially handy when searching for a particular word or phrase.
2 Islam for Dummies, Professor Malcolm Clark, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003.
3 US Census Bureau, 06/18/08, http://www.census.gov
4 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life,
http://religions.pewforum,org/affiliations
5 The Book of Life, Edited by Stephen Jay Gould, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
2001
Friday, July 24, 2009
Some Background
When someone speaks out on an issue of the day it is sometimes helpful to know a bit of their background as it can provide the context in which their statements are made.
Where are they from, what type of education, religious exposure, travels, work experience and personal accomplishments? These all enter into the equation that produces a person’s viewpoint and outlook on life and the world.
A person born and raised in a small town in an Islamic country with little or no education will likely produce a biased view of the United States Constitution.
So, to assist in your understanding of “where I am coming from” I offer the following abbreviated autobiography.
Born in Ohio, raised in Tucson, Arizona, and attended Tanque Verde Elementary School, Roskruge Junior High School, both in Tucson, New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico for High School, and then attended Columbia College, New York, New York for two years and the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona for two years. No degrees.
I worked in the land title business for a number of years before starting a data processing company with a friend. Sold my interest in that company after a few years and began working as a free-lance computer programmer. Most recently I worked as a Software Engineer for a company that provided software to the Public Health industry.
I have traveled extensively in the United States missing only 6 states so far. I have lived and worked in the following cities, listed alphabetically. Atlanta, GA, Bismarck, ND, Columbus, OH, Dallas, TX, New Orleans, LA, Phoenix, AZ, Seattle, WA, and Tucson, AZ.
Outside the United States I have visited Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela and I worked on a Public Health project in Hong Kong for 4 weeks.
I have been privileged to be a recipient of a J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, received a commendation from the Centers for Disease Control for my work on the National Smallpox Vaccination Program and was the Tucson Daily Citizen’s “Citizen of the Year” for 2000.
I am divorced, have a son, 2 grandsons and 2 great-grandaughters and 1 great- grandson.
I am an “animal person”, a licensed pilot, hiker, avid reader, philosophically a student of Objectivism, and politically, a Libertarian.
Where are they from, what type of education, religious exposure, travels, work experience and personal accomplishments? These all enter into the equation that produces a person’s viewpoint and outlook on life and the world.
A person born and raised in a small town in an Islamic country with little or no education will likely produce a biased view of the United States Constitution.
So, to assist in your understanding of “where I am coming from” I offer the following abbreviated autobiography.
Born in Ohio, raised in Tucson, Arizona, and attended Tanque Verde Elementary School, Roskruge Junior High School, both in Tucson, New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico for High School, and then attended Columbia College, New York, New York for two years and the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona for two years. No degrees.
I worked in the land title business for a number of years before starting a data processing company with a friend. Sold my interest in that company after a few years and began working as a free-lance computer programmer. Most recently I worked as a Software Engineer for a company that provided software to the Public Health industry.
I have traveled extensively in the United States missing only 6 states so far. I have lived and worked in the following cities, listed alphabetically. Atlanta, GA, Bismarck, ND, Columbus, OH, Dallas, TX, New Orleans, LA, Phoenix, AZ, Seattle, WA, and Tucson, AZ.
Outside the United States I have visited Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela and I worked on a Public Health project in Hong Kong for 4 weeks.
I have been privileged to be a recipient of a J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, received a commendation from the Centers for Disease Control for my work on the National Smallpox Vaccination Program and was the Tucson Daily Citizen’s “Citizen of the Year” for 2000.
I am divorced, have a son, 2 grandsons and 2 great-grandaughters and 1 great- grandson.
I am an “animal person”, a licensed pilot, hiker, avid reader, philosophically a student of Objectivism, and politically, a Libertarian.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Beginning
This is the beginning blog of what I hope will be many that you will find interesting, provocative and a little different than the usual fare.
I will provide opinions of current events and major ethical issues based on a lifetime of observations from the view of a person who grew up on a ranch in Southern Arizona with all of the attributes that that implies. A fan of Thomas Jefferson, believer in the realities and ethics of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.
Stay tuned for more . . .
I will provide opinions of current events and major ethical issues based on a lifetime of observations from the view of a person who grew up on a ranch in Southern Arizona with all of the attributes that that implies. A fan of Thomas Jefferson, believer in the realities and ethics of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.
Stay tuned for more . . .
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