Hello all, sorry for the delay in show notes. I was away for Spring Break this past week, but I’m back and so are the notes.
The Open Mind vs. The Active Mind (Show 053)
Mosley and Arthur discuss the term the expression “having an open mind” and what it actually means. They argue that having an “open mind” is not being open to reason, but disregarding it. It consists of granting equal plausibility to any claim, regardless of any knowledge that one may have that contradicts it. And so, they conclude, one should not have an “open mind” but rather an active mind. Their view corresponds with Ayn Rand’s position.
Corporate Responsibility/States’ Rights (Show 054)
Show 054 consisted of an excellent discussion of two topics suggested by a listener. The first topic dealt with how responsibility should fall on, and how justice should be served amongst, a corporation. The second topic dealt with states’ rights. I won’t try to rehash the arguments here. It was a great show and I highly recommend it.
a couple points I meant to make and didn’t…
while philosophy is an interesting discussion… if you think your message is stronger than the counter message being made by all this legislation that is actually making ground in removing your rights… all you’ll have left is philosophy.
Even if you’re right about a major change happening in 20 years… so freaking what? I’ll be in my 50’s and in the meantime, I’ll be presenting my national ID to get my national health care and shoping for my nationally approved food at the national grocery store…
State and Federal legislation is the clear and present danger to your freedom. And it’s happing right now… every day… and you can resist… that very resistance is the message of freedom and education in one.
The root of the problem isn’t our culture… it’s runaway power in the hands of power hungry people. The government is the source of the corruption, not a symptom of it.
Philosophy is more than an interesting discussion; it’s the most significant factor that shapes a society, including its politics. It is the source of the politicians’ policies (their own philosophy) and of their power (the philosophy of the citizens that vote for them). This is why I believe that if you want to change politics, it is the dominant ideas of society that you have to change. Fighting against individual acts of legislation alone will not do this.
We will not have a government that recognizes and protects individual rights until we have a society that understands the moral basis for these rights and demands them to be enforced. That is why I think that education should be the primary goal.
Paul Hsieh on NoodleFood Blog recently quoted Richard Ralston of AFCM (Americans for Free Choice in Medicine) saying, “Don’t worry about changing the politicians. The politicians will wear their fingers to the bone sticking them in the air to test which way the wind is blowing. Instead, work on changing the wind. If you change the wind, the politicians will follow.” I think this illustrates the point wonderfully.