Thinken

[Floor]

I believe it is a miss step to make a god of intellect or reason.
I for one, believe that neither life nor the universe make sense.
I do not think that is their purpose.
I believe that reasonableness and sensibility are an interface between
man and existence, one of many aspects and options.

regards
    floor

That being said, here are two gems, two pinnacles, which I pop up, now and again.

   From WWW. criticalthinking. org
Two works of art, see the attached below

[Floor]

    Look at the previous post

[Floor]

I try to pop this up a couple of times a year or so.


Two works of art

From WWW. criticalthinking. org

[Floor]

I believe it is a miss step to make a god of intellect or reason.
I for one, believe that neither life nor the universe make sense.
I do not think that is their purpose.
I believe that reasonableness and sensibility are an interface between
man and existence, one of many aspects and options.

regards
    floor

That being said, here are three gems, three pinnacles, which I pop up, now and again.

   From WWW. criticalthinking. org
Two works of art, see the attached below

  Open minded inquiry.pdf
 
   Bertrand Russell on Critical Thinking.pdf

   Valuable Intellectual Traits.pdf

[onepower]

Floor
I have been reading "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand lately.

It's not what the title implies, just the opposite. The premise is more like, if were going to pretend to be a man then the least we can do is try to act like one and here is how. It does away with the fear and the familiar blame game pretending we are dependent on others beliefs or some mystical forces as if we were a child who cannot think for themselves. It teaches that as a man we should always take responsibility for our actions and justify our thoughts with reason.

For example...

It means one's acceptance of the responsibility of forming one's own judgments and of living by the work of one's own mind (which is the virtue of Independence). It means that one must never sacrifice one's convictions to the opinions or wishes of others (which is the virtue of Integrity)—that one must never attempt to fake reality in any manner (which is the virtue of Honesty)—that one must never seek or grant the unearned and undeserved, neither in matter nor in spirit (which is the virtue of Justice).

It means that one must never desire effects without causes, and that one must never enact a cause without assuming full responsibility for its effects—that one must never act like a zombie, i.e., without knowing one's own purposes and motives—that one must never make any decisions, form any convictions or seek any values out of context, i.e., apart from or against the total, integrated sum of one's knowledge—and, above all, that one must never seek to get away with contradictions. It means the rejection of any form of mysticism, i.e., any claim to some nonsensory, nonrational, nondefinable, supernatural source of knowledge. It means a commitment to reason, not in sporadic fits or on selected issues or in special emergencies, but as a permanent way of life.

Very much different than the growing trend of the guiltless "man child" always feigning to be the victim of something or someone they can blame all there troubles on. It is the polar opposite to theism and populism preaching that man is inherently weak, stupid, fearful and should follow others of similar beliefs. Above all else it teaches individualism and rational thought based on facts and reality.

He is free to make the wrong choice, but not free to succeed with it. He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see. Knowledge, for any conscious organism, is the means of survival; to a living consciousness, every "is" implies an "ought." Man is free to choose not to be conscious, but not free to escape the penalty of unconsciousness: destruction. Man is the only living species that has the power to act as his own destroyer—and that is the way he has acted through most of his history.

I like this part, as men but more so individuals we were always free despite the false rhetoric and victimization others peddle. We were always free to make our own choices but said choices always have consequences. If we keep making the wrong choices things will get worse and if we start making the correct choices things will get better. Using rational thought based on demonstrable facts will always yield better results than blindly following others and there false beliefs. It's not rocket science it's just common sense...

It's a very good read...

Regards
AC