Philosophy
The kids have this little book by Todd Parr called "The Peace Book" and it got me to thinking. Peace is a positive concept, not defined simply as the absence of war. What else, then, is a necessary or sufficient condition for peace? I don't mean peace in terms of quiet or solitude, but as a social/political concept. When we say of a place that it is peaceful or when we say we are working for peace, what is it exactly that we are pointing to?
- Is Peace Just Internalized Conflict?
Came across an interesting passage in, "The Meaning of 'Ethical Neutrality' in sociology and Economics," an essay of Max Weber in which he argues that there is no such thing as peace: "Conflict cannot be excluded from social life. One can...
- Medicare Semantics
Democrats are arguing that Paul Ryan's approach to replace the current Medicare system with one of vouchers for private insurance for seniors kills Medicare. Republicans respond that this is a falsehood meant to scare older voters. Many reports in...
- Can The Palestinian Authority Negotiate Peace With Israel?
Today's question is whether the Palestinian Authority can negotiate peace with Israel. I'm not asking whether it is likely to happen when Abbas sits down with Netanyahu, I'm asking a more basic question -- are they the ones who should be sitting...
- Corporate Use Of The Peace Sign: Diluting Its Meaning Or Infiltrating The Young Mind?
The less short of the short people has officially entered the "tween" stage. She and TheWife went through her clothes, purging that which was too babyish. She also let us know that she has a favorite clothing store, a place whose offerings fit what she...
- The Complimentary Close
A standard part of every letter and most e-mails is the complimentary close. That's the one or two word adverbial phrase that you put right above your signature or typed name. They are a rather strange form of utterance. J.L. Austin followed Wittgenstein...
Philosophy
What Is Peace?
The kids have this little book by Todd Parr called "The Peace Book" and it got me to thinking. Peace is a positive concept, not defined simply as the absence of war. What else, then, is a necessary or sufficient condition for peace? I don't mean peace in terms of quiet or solitude, but as a social/political concept. When we say of a place that it is peaceful or when we say we are working for peace, what is it exactly that we are pointing to?
- Is Peace Just Internalized Conflict?
Came across an interesting passage in, "The Meaning of 'Ethical Neutrality' in sociology and Economics," an essay of Max Weber in which he argues that there is no such thing as peace: "Conflict cannot be excluded from social life. One can...
- Medicare Semantics
Democrats are arguing that Paul Ryan's approach to replace the current Medicare system with one of vouchers for private insurance for seniors kills Medicare. Republicans respond that this is a falsehood meant to scare older voters. Many reports in...
- Can The Palestinian Authority Negotiate Peace With Israel?
Today's question is whether the Palestinian Authority can negotiate peace with Israel. I'm not asking whether it is likely to happen when Abbas sits down with Netanyahu, I'm asking a more basic question -- are they the ones who should be sitting...
- Corporate Use Of The Peace Sign: Diluting Its Meaning Or Infiltrating The Young Mind?
The less short of the short people has officially entered the "tween" stage. She and TheWife went through her clothes, purging that which was too babyish. She also let us know that she has a favorite clothing store, a place whose offerings fit what she...
- The Complimentary Close
A standard part of every letter and most e-mails is the complimentary close. That's the one or two word adverbial phrase that you put right above your signature or typed name. They are a rather strange form of utterance. J.L. Austin followed Wittgenstein...