A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
I love this quote! I have to admit, I do kinda enoy annoying the piss out of people from time to time... AND... I'm pretty darn good at it too!! =)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Friedrich Nietzsche, Misunderstood Dead Dude
Most people cringe when they hear Nietzsche's name in the same way they would cringe when they hear names like Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer or Osama Bin Laden. Nietzsche gets a bad rap for a little three word phrase he used four or five times in his lifetime of philosophical works. That phrase... "God is dead."
The problem is Nietzsche didn't mean he was dead in the literal sense...
(Let me preface the rest of this blog by reminding, that I don't necessarily agree with Nietzsche on all his points. I am just clarifying his perspective which I find a fascinating one, and while his argument is extremely well put together, there are a few points of contention).
The modern definition of nihilism is the belief that we have no specific purpose and that there is nothing beyond this world. While often labeled as a nihilist in the modern definition, Nietzsche actually believed nihilism was a huge crisis which faced civilization. He argued that all religions and philosophies of truth, economics or government (including Christianity, Communism, Utopianism, Hinduism, etc.) which focused on an imagined unknown place or state of being, are nihilist.
He comes to this two fold. First, these types of beliefs place little value on earthly materials or bodies and a large degree of faith in a perceived utopia, state of being or heaven. Secondly, and fitting more with our modern definition, he was concerned with people who believed in one philosophy and found evidence at some point that they were wrong or their faith was dis-proven. They then would have nothing to believe in and therefore also have no reason to believe that our earthly being had any meaning.
So if you take his perspective, it is easy to see how his argument that mankind was on a collision course with outright nihilism does hold water. This is where his infamous statement, "God is Dead," came from (which by the way he finishes this quote by saying, "and we killed him"). He was disgusted by the way Christians judged each other and lived motivated by the church and other Christians and not through God himself. He was speaking in the figurative sense that since nihilism is taking over then God can no longer sufficiently be a guide for moral code and is, in effect, dead.
He did however, believe than civilization could overcome nihilism. He reasoned that if God (read, or any other perceived but unearthly belief) is not sufficient to be a guide for moral code, then there must be something else guiding us to morality. Something innate within us which drives us to fight for ourselves. He called this internal drive the "will to power" and anyone who acted on this will was of the "master morality." A person who failed to act on this will, suppressing it to follow the beliefs of philosophies of Christianity, et al. (aka nihilism) was of the "slave morality" or someone who is motivated by something external.
Nietzsche knew that this idea would be balked at by Christians (of which comprised the majority of the people within his geographic influence) and other "nihilistic" views. However, he also thought that if outright nihilism became more evident that it would quickly be overturned as people began to shed their slave morality and move to the master morality. Therefore, another reason for his statement "God is dead," was undoubtedly an attempt to spur on the more modern definition of nihilism so that is could more quickly be defeated.
I think Nietzsche's portrayal of Christians and other belief systems with a focus on the unknown heaven/afterlife as nihilism is a bit of a stretch, however, he does make a compelling and interesting argument.
I completely agree with Nietzsche that we should be motivated by INTERNAL not EXTERNAL beliefs and that we should not be of the slave morality but of the master morality. I do believe that we have a sort of will to power and that we should act on it. I believe our will to power was given to us by God (Nietzsche never said it wasn't) and that listening to him IS internal. I think the point Nietzsche was trying to make is and extremely important one for anyone who believes in God to remember and so many claiming to be Christian forget.... There is a fine line that must be tread when listening to others about God because, while I agree it is important to learn from others, we must make sure we are not motivated by them (external/slave morality) but by God Himself(internal/master morality). If we allows the others to motivate our action then we have, in effect killed God by demeaning Him and placing a higher authority on ourselves. However, by looking within our self and acting on the will He gave us, we can find meaning in today's material world as well as look forward to a world beyond it, thereby defeating nihilism by never allowing it a breath.
The problem is Nietzsche didn't mean he was dead in the literal sense...
(Let me preface the rest of this blog by reminding, that I don't necessarily agree with Nietzsche on all his points. I am just clarifying his perspective which I find a fascinating one, and while his argument is extremely well put together, there are a few points of contention).
The modern definition of nihilism is the belief that we have no specific purpose and that there is nothing beyond this world. While often labeled as a nihilist in the modern definition, Nietzsche actually believed nihilism was a huge crisis which faced civilization. He argued that all religions and philosophies of truth, economics or government (including Christianity, Communism, Utopianism, Hinduism, etc.) which focused on an imagined unknown place or state of being, are nihilist.
He comes to this two fold. First, these types of beliefs place little value on earthly materials or bodies and a large degree of faith in a perceived utopia, state of being or heaven. Secondly, and fitting more with our modern definition, he was concerned with people who believed in one philosophy and found evidence at some point that they were wrong or their faith was dis-proven. They then would have nothing to believe in and therefore also have no reason to believe that our earthly being had any meaning.
So if you take his perspective, it is easy to see how his argument that mankind was on a collision course with outright nihilism does hold water. This is where his infamous statement, "God is Dead," came from (which by the way he finishes this quote by saying, "and we killed him"). He was disgusted by the way Christians judged each other and lived motivated by the church and other Christians and not through God himself. He was speaking in the figurative sense that since nihilism is taking over then God can no longer sufficiently be a guide for moral code and is, in effect, dead.
He did however, believe than civilization could overcome nihilism. He reasoned that if God (read, or any other perceived but unearthly belief) is not sufficient to be a guide for moral code, then there must be something else guiding us to morality. Something innate within us which drives us to fight for ourselves. He called this internal drive the "will to power" and anyone who acted on this will was of the "master morality." A person who failed to act on this will, suppressing it to follow the beliefs of philosophies of Christianity, et al. (aka nihilism) was of the "slave morality" or someone who is motivated by something external.
Nietzsche knew that this idea would be balked at by Christians (of which comprised the majority of the people within his geographic influence) and other "nihilistic" views. However, he also thought that if outright nihilism became more evident that it would quickly be overturned as people began to shed their slave morality and move to the master morality. Therefore, another reason for his statement "God is dead," was undoubtedly an attempt to spur on the more modern definition of nihilism so that is could more quickly be defeated.
I think Nietzsche's portrayal of Christians and other belief systems with a focus on the unknown heaven/afterlife as nihilism is a bit of a stretch, however, he does make a compelling and interesting argument.
I completely agree with Nietzsche that we should be motivated by INTERNAL not EXTERNAL beliefs and that we should not be of the slave morality but of the master morality. I do believe that we have a sort of will to power and that we should act on it. I believe our will to power was given to us by God (Nietzsche never said it wasn't) and that listening to him IS internal. I think the point Nietzsche was trying to make is and extremely important one for anyone who believes in God to remember and so many claiming to be Christian forget.... There is a fine line that must be tread when listening to others about God because, while I agree it is important to learn from others, we must make sure we are not motivated by them (external/slave morality) but by God Himself(internal/master morality). If we allows the others to motivate our action then we have, in effect killed God by demeaning Him and placing a higher authority on ourselves. However, by looking within our self and acting on the will He gave us, we can find meaning in today's material world as well as look forward to a world beyond it, thereby defeating nihilism by never allowing it a breath.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Enough!!
I am fed up with the hate mongering!! John McCain is a piece of trash! He has sunk to levels in this campaign that are embarassing to him, his party and this nation! To allow the slander and dangerous libel at his rallies to continue unchecked is irresponsible and dangerous. While he renouced such bigotry for ONE DAY, he showed his true colors when he and his campaign went right back to inciting this riotous, lynch mob mentality. Shouts of "Kill him!" can be heard as recently as yesterday at McCain-Palin rallies and Senator McCain has the audacity to claim to be a victim of negative campaigning!
Keith Olberman last night had this special comment below. It needed to be said and apparently it needed to be said in such a tone, but unfortunately, Olberman's comments, while completely justified, will likely be written off by the McCain campaign as "Liberal Media Bias."
Keith Olberman last night had this special comment below. It needed to be said and apparently it needed to be said in such a tone, but unfortunately, Olberman's comments, while completely justified, will likely be written off by the McCain campaign as "Liberal Media Bias."
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Latest Thought on Truth
You can always find/make a good argument to support what you want to be true. It bothers me when people are so quick to discredit a thought or idea from a worldview in conflict with Christianity because they say it is only trying to conform truth to that worldview's particular agenda. They usually discredit it by using some quote or idea from some fellow Christian (DOGMA DOGMA DOGMA). The problem with this is that the quote is obviously spoken/written by someone who is a passionate "fan" (which, as Colin Cowherd reminds us, is short for FANatic) of traditional Christianity. Therefore, logic would dictate that their statement is no more credible than the thought or idea they are seeking to discredit since they have just as much of an agenda as the other worldview.
I don't think we can rely on the judgment of other people to determine what is real because by nature, we ALWAYS have an agenda. I think everyone has a unique experience of God and no two people have the same experience. That means truth for me is different than what is truth for you or anyone else AND it means we can only understand that experience by listening to God and not to other people. I think that is why, while we should listen to what others have to say, we should try to keep the volume down because if we allow them to be to loud we may not be able to "hear" how God is really speaking to us.
I'm throwing in this picture of Nala because she is cute!!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
@#%$^& Liars
I didn't have a chance to watch most of the DNC a couple weeks ago, but Ally and I watched quite a bit of the RNC last week. I have to admit, I was impressed by a few of the speeches, namely Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and John McCain. However, I do have to remind myself that anyone can make a good speech with weeks of preparation and the best speech writers in the world. I thought I'd better listen to a few of the DNC speeches too so I could really balance what was being said. So far, I've listened to all the DNC speeches with the exception of Obama. The only was I wasn't impressed with was Hillary's. She still seems bitter over losing to Obama.
Anyway, what I was extremely frustrated about is that BOTH sides seem to be caught up in the same old Washington politics. The GOP says Obama wants to raise taxes and they aren't going to and the Dems say McCain wants to raise taxes and they won't. Somebody is lying!! Or at least skewing the truth and not going into enough detail to make it clear.
These convention are a waste of time. They have all the time in the world to make strategy and make the perfect speech, hitting every important point and making sure to avoid the issues that could hurt them. When i comes down to it, what I am sure of, is that politicians are liars. They have to be, because of the ridiculous amount of mudslinging the other party will inevitably hit them with. If they aren't conniving and slippery, what chance do they have of winning.
Therefore, I think there are two key things that we need to base our presidential choice on... First, is the big picture, timeless issues. The only thing that the candidates seem to be really clear on are the issues like capital punishment, abortion, gay rights, etc. Vote for the candidate who is close to you on these issues and you will be making the right choice. They are cryptic about the economy, taxes and war so why not look at the things they are clear about.
Secondly, I think we need to look at the things a candidate says on the fly. Look at the things that come out of their mouths when they don't have the benefit of practicing speeches and advisers instructing them how to respond. This is the best way to make sure you are voting for the right person and not the person who is covering their flaws with the people working for him.
Don't vote Red or Blue, vote YOU!!
Anyway, what I was extremely frustrated about is that BOTH sides seem to be caught up in the same old Washington politics. The GOP says Obama wants to raise taxes and they aren't going to and the Dems say McCain wants to raise taxes and they won't. Somebody is lying!! Or at least skewing the truth and not going into enough detail to make it clear.
These convention are a waste of time. They have all the time in the world to make strategy and make the perfect speech, hitting every important point and making sure to avoid the issues that could hurt them. When i comes down to it, what I am sure of, is that politicians are liars. They have to be, because of the ridiculous amount of mudslinging the other party will inevitably hit them with. If they aren't conniving and slippery, what chance do they have of winning.
Therefore, I think there are two key things that we need to base our presidential choice on... First, is the big picture, timeless issues. The only thing that the candidates seem to be really clear on are the issues like capital punishment, abortion, gay rights, etc. Vote for the candidate who is close to you on these issues and you will be making the right choice. They are cryptic about the economy, taxes and war so why not look at the things they are clear about.
Secondly, I think we need to look at the things a candidate says on the fly. Look at the things that come out of their mouths when they don't have the benefit of practicing speeches and advisers instructing them how to respond. This is the best way to make sure you are voting for the right person and not the person who is covering their flaws with the people working for him.
Don't vote Red or Blue, vote YOU!!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Resultant "Languages"
If anyone has not read Gary Chapman's "Five Love Languages, " they should. The basic gist of it is that there a five different ways that people express love (Words of Affirmation, Deeds of Service, Physical, Gift Giving and Quality Time) and the best way for us to feel loved is when someone speaks our language. Understanding this and more importantly using it can greatly improve every relationship in a person's life. Ally and I were talking about this the other night and as she fell asleep, I kept thinking...
I think it can be taken a step further... In music when a root and a fifth is played perfectly in tune, a third tone can be heard two octaves and a third below the root. This is called a resultant tone. If one of the notes is not perfectly in tune, the resultant tone will not sound. While Ally and I have different love languages, I noticed that when we are really focused on speaking each other's language, a third language becomes equally important to us and we can speak it and understand it fluently as if it was our own. The closer we get to being perfectly in tune, the more important this third language becomes.
I started thinking about the parallel between music and love more and realized there are a lot of them. But for now, I need to go, so maybe I'll write more about those another time.
Thoughts and comments welcome
I think it can be taken a step further... In music when a root and a fifth is played perfectly in tune, a third tone can be heard two octaves and a third below the root. This is called a resultant tone. If one of the notes is not perfectly in tune, the resultant tone will not sound. While Ally and I have different love languages, I noticed that when we are really focused on speaking each other's language, a third language becomes equally important to us and we can speak it and understand it fluently as if it was our own. The closer we get to being perfectly in tune, the more important this third language becomes.
I started thinking about the parallel between music and love more and realized there are a lot of them. But for now, I need to go, so maybe I'll write more about those another time.
Thoughts and comments welcome
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Puzzlers Anonymous
Hello, my name is Chris, and I'm a puzzler....
Have you ever watched Beauty and the Geek? They always have these crazy dudes who are obsessed with really weird stuff, like rubber band collections, Rubik's cubes, D&D (that's Dungeons and Dragons in case you were pretending not to know), and L.A.R.P.-ing (Live Action Role Playing (OK, this one I'll believe you if you didn't know about).
The thing is, I realized this week that I have a geeky obsession myself. I am a puzzler. That is, I am SERIOUSLY addicted to jig-saw puzzles!
As with all addictions, mine starts with denial. I will, nearly never voluntarily begin a puzzle myself, because I am aware of what it may lead to and am trying to "kick the habit." But once someone around me starts working on one the addiction takes over. Right around the time someone finishes the border, I can't hold back anymore, so I decide I will just finish one little part for them, like maybe the small boat in the corner, I'll just find all the pieces that go with that boat and finish that part and then, I'll quit. I work hard and fast on this little boat and before I know it, I am finished....
"Oh Shit," I think. "I am done with the boat but there are still pieces left that I thought went with this boat, but they didn't so they must go with a different boat and since I already have so many of the pieces for that boat I might as well just finish that one real quick like."
This vicious cycle (the reasoning stage) continues, finishing each boat and continuing to work to fill in the gaps long after the puzzle starter has left for more interesting endeavors. Eventually, I have finished everything except the sky or water (you know, all the pieces that look exactly alike and the only way to find where they go is trial and error?).
Time to kick it into hyper-drive (Wow, Star Wars reference, that was geeky too huh?)!! This is the binging stage. I begin sorting the different shapes according to how many knobs they have and whether the knobs are adjacent of across from each other. That is a potential for 6 different piles:
The "No Knob Pile"
The "One Knob Pile"
The "Two Knob Opposite Pile"
The "Two Knob Adjacent Pile"
The "Three Knob Pile"
The "Four Knob Pile"
Then I start finding specific spots where I can narrow down which pile the correct piece may be in. For instance if there is a corner where there are two open ends, I know the correct piece must be in either the four knob pile (rotate the piece four times to see if it fits), the three knob pile (rotate twice to see if it fits) or the two adjacent knob pile (no rotation needed).
I continue this process diligently (while no one else has any interest in continuing) until the puzzle is complete and I have achieved the peak high. Almost immediately after I feel a sense of disappointment and tension (hangover/withdrawal stage). I want another damn puzzle!!
The urge continues until I finally get another one and then I sit looking at it trying not to start it because I know where is will lead and then someone goes and finishes the stupid border....
Here we go again!.....
Have you ever watched Beauty and the Geek? They always have these crazy dudes who are obsessed with really weird stuff, like rubber band collections, Rubik's cubes, D&D (that's Dungeons and Dragons in case you were pretending not to know), and L.A.R.P.-ing (Live Action Role Playing (OK, this one I'll believe you if you didn't know about).
The thing is, I realized this week that I have a geeky obsession myself. I am a puzzler. That is, I am SERIOUSLY addicted to jig-saw puzzles!
As with all addictions, mine starts with denial. I will, nearly never voluntarily begin a puzzle myself, because I am aware of what it may lead to and am trying to "kick the habit." But once someone around me starts working on one the addiction takes over. Right around the time someone finishes the border, I can't hold back anymore, so I decide I will just finish one little part for them, like maybe the small boat in the corner, I'll just find all the pieces that go with that boat and finish that part and then, I'll quit. I work hard and fast on this little boat and before I know it, I am finished....
"Oh Shit," I think. "I am done with the boat but there are still pieces left that I thought went with this boat, but they didn't so they must go with a different boat and since I already have so many of the pieces for that boat I might as well just finish that one real quick like."
This vicious cycle (the reasoning stage) continues, finishing each boat and continuing to work to fill in the gaps long after the puzzle starter has left for more interesting endeavors. Eventually, I have finished everything except the sky or water (you know, all the pieces that look exactly alike and the only way to find where they go is trial and error?).
Time to kick it into hyper-drive (Wow, Star Wars reference, that was geeky too huh?)!! This is the binging stage. I begin sorting the different shapes according to how many knobs they have and whether the knobs are adjacent of across from each other. That is a potential for 6 different piles:
The "No Knob Pile"
The "One Knob Pile"
The "Two Knob Opposite Pile"
The "Two Knob Adjacent Pile"
The "Three Knob Pile"
The "Four Knob Pile"
Then I start finding specific spots where I can narrow down which pile the correct piece may be in. For instance if there is a corner where there are two open ends, I know the correct piece must be in either the four knob pile (rotate the piece four times to see if it fits), the three knob pile (rotate twice to see if it fits) or the two adjacent knob pile (no rotation needed).
I continue this process diligently (while no one else has any interest in continuing) until the puzzle is complete and I have achieved the peak high. Almost immediately after I feel a sense of disappointment and tension (hangover/withdrawal stage). I want another damn puzzle!!
The urge continues until I finally get another one and then I sit looking at it trying not to start it because I know where is will lead and then someone goes and finishes the stupid border....
Here we go again!.....
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