Death of Hypatia®

Author: Death of Hypatia Inc.

  • Know Thyself Post #49

    Know Thyself through PHILOSOPHY:

    To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most People exist, that is all.

    -Oscar Wilde

    Do YOU live or exist? What do YOU think the difference is?… more “Know Thyself Post #49”

  • WIBCI Post #48

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from PHILOSOPHY?

    Daniel N. Robinson Ph.D. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Georgetown/Oxford University on why PHILOSOPHY is so important:

    We are not simply foils, merely material objects to be moved around by the whim and caprice of hidden forces. Lose that reason, suspend that criticality, become gullible, accept anything that custom serves up, and YOU enter the life of a puppet on a string, the life of a slave.

    Do YOU agree that philosophy offers us the criticality to judge and live YOUR life on YOUR beliefs?

    Do YOU feel more often like a puppet or the decider of YOUR own destiny?

     … more “WIBCI Post #48”

  • Know Thyself Post #48

    Know Thyself through HISTORY:

    Paul Strathern wrote:

    The first people to come up with philosophical answers–that is, those who used reason and observation unclouded by metaphysical mumbo jumbo-were the ancient Greeks, in the sixth century B.C. Precisely why this major step in human evolution should have taken place at this time on the obscure shores of the Aegean remains a mystery.

    Fact:

    The Hellenistic period (323- 30 BC) when Greek cultural influence reached its peak within and beyond its own borders. This was a time of great progress in philosophy, science, the arts, architecture, and music influencing readers, writers, artists and scientists ever since and is considered the foundation for Western culture.

    Fact:

    The Ancient Greek world never hosted a state religion.

     

    Coincidence, cause and effect, ingredients but not the full recipe?

    What do YOU think?… more “Know Thyself Post #48”

  • WIBCI Post #47

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If POLITICS learned from history?

    WIBCI the government did not defund Public Broadcasting?

    Why can’t we back those that brought us Sesame Street, Masterpiece, Bob Ross and Mister Rogers Neighborhood?

    I bet those that cancelled checks watched PBS when they were kids…. we can’t learn and be entertained for free without commercials every eight seconds propping up a billion dollar corporation that doesn’t pay taxes?

    Not cool in my opinion.

    Did YOU watch PBS as a kid? What shows? Curious George? Sesame Street? Arthur? Mr. Rogers? The Berenstain Bears? Bill Nye the Science Guy? The Electric Company? Barney?… more “WIBCI Post #47”

  • Know Thyself Post #47

    Know Thyself through LITERATURE:

    Again, lyrics, to me, are literature; they are poems of someone’s feelings put to music.

    The things, you say
    Your purple prose just give you away
    The things, you say
    You’re Unbelievable
    (What the)

    Seemingly lastless, don’t mean
    You can ask us
    Pushing down the relative
    Bringing out your higher self
    Think of the fine times, pushing
    Down the better few, instead of
    Bringing out the clues, to what the
    World and everything anger to, brace
    Yourself with the grace of ease
    I know this world ain’t what it seems
    (What the)
    It’s unbelievable

    -EMF

    Who would YOU say this to if YOU could?… more “Know Thyself Post #47”

  • WIBCI Post #46

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If POLITICS learned from PHILOSOPHY?

    WIBCI we understood Myth vs. Philosophy?

    Daniel N. Robinson Ph.D. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Georgetown/Oxford University in a lecture on Philosophy discusses Myth vs. Philosophy:

    The Myth answers perplexing questions but it answers them in a special kind of way. It answers them in such a way as to create and preserve a kind of civic coherence. Now to some extent Philosophy is disruptive in just this regard. The enterprise is not an essentially civic one. It does not begin with a settled position on political and moral matters, then seeking ways to enshrine the settled view. Rather the mission is a broadly epistemological one. The search, as we shall discover, is the search for truth, or at least for such illumination as to allow us to see the biases and half-truths that have lead from one blind alley to another in the labyrinth of thought.

    Imagine if politics were so fluid and open to what is Better For The Most?

    Imagine if those in politics wanted to illuminate the public rather than take from them?

    Do YOU think philosophy could do this for YOU?… more “WIBCI Post #46”

  • Know Thyself Post #46

    Know Thyself through HISTORY:

    Out of the 50 States only 10 names have an association with the English language.

    Wonderful, descriptive and meaningful for future generations names, like, Mary-land which is named after the wife of King Charles I. Or how about North Carolina AND South Carolina, whose names, according to Wikipedia, have the exact same definition?: After King Charles I of England and his son, King Charles II of England.  The name Charles itself is derived from Frankish karl, ‘man, husband’.

    I think the states have all made their names have meaning rather than their meaning coming from their names but….for me, I prefer the 40 names that came from native languages; like Michigan which means Large Water in Ojibwe, or South Dakota meaning Ally or Friend in Sioux.

    Why aren’t we taught this? I find more AMERICAN pride in a name that stands for friendship by a people who actually lived here, than a label whore king 6,000 miles away. Just me?

    Do YOU know the language origin of YOUR state’s name and what it means? that is….assuming residence in the 50 US states, if not, pick one, there’s 50 of them.… more “Know Thyself Post #46”

  • Know Thyself Post #45

    Know Thyself through YOUR HISTORY:

    What was one of YOUR favorite ‘things’, something that was all yours when you were a kid?

    Mine was a bike. It had a name (one given by the maker, and one it earned from me:), a banana seat, no stupid bell, but I did used to put playing cards in the spokes of the wheels.  And when I raced down that Franklin Street hill near my house, I felt free.

    Do any of YOUR present day possessions make YOU feel like that?… more “Know Thyself Post #45”

  • WIBCI Post #45

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we were allowed to learn from POLITICS?

    With all the departments that have been closed, all the public services that have had budgets pulled or fully defunded, all the research and grants that are no longer funded….. where did/does the money go?

    Does it offset Billionaires having to pay taxes?

    Do we get to know?

    Where do YOU think it is going? In YOUR opinion is wherever you think it is going Better than where it was?… more “WIBCI Post #45”

  • WIBCI Post #44

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from HISTORY?

    According to The Archeologist there are many factors that cause healthy, powerful empires to collapse:

    • Inequality and Overspending: When wealth concentrates in the hands of a few, the majority of the population can suffer. This economic disparity can breed resentment and social unrest. The decline of the Roman Republic is partly attributed to the widening gap between rich and poor.

    • Corruption and Ineffective Leadership: Leaders who prioritize self-interest over the well-being of their citizens can erode public trust and weaken the fabric of society. The later Roman emperors are often cited as examples of corrupt leadership that contributed to the empire’s downfall.

    Remind YOU of any present day ’empire’?…….

    If YOU had the choice of hiding away a lot of money for yourself illegally, OR receive legally a shit-ton of money you had to give away, which would YOU do….really. Why?… more “WIBCI Post #44”

  • Know Thyself Post #44

    Know Thyself through PHILOSOPHY:

    “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter’

                -Martin Luther King Jr.

    What do YOU think about this statement?

    Have YOU been silent about anything?… more “Know Thyself Post #44”

  • WIBCI Post #43

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from LITERATURE?

    “Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve.”

    “What idol has displaced you?”

    “A golden one.”

    -Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

    Money doesn’t love YOU back.

    YOU can’t take it with YOU.

    No one on their deathbed wishes they had more money surrounding them than people.

    How important is money to YOU? Why? What has it ever done for YOU?

    seems to me like people with a lot of money…..kinda suck.

     … more “WIBCI Post #43”

  • Know Thyself Post #43

    Know Thyself…

    Do YOU know how to whistle?

    Did you know that you can’t be taught how to whistle? You have to figure it out yourself, and if you don’t have an uncle or neighbor that was a whistler, you may not have been exposed.

    But YOU can learn how to whistle, YOU just need to take the time and try.… more “Know Thyself Post #43”

  • WIBCI Post #42

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from LITERATURE?

    An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters between the characters. Lady Susan by Jane Austen is an example of this.  Lady Susan was written in 1797, and at that time, it took 3 days for a letter to go from Bath to London, or a distance of 120 miles.

    Imagine the amount of time, thought and energy that went into a single letter.

    Think about the amount of time you put into sending a text…maybe 1 minute?  If you really scrutinize, edit, and rewrite a few times? WIBCI we put that effort into what we wrote?

    Now imagine if a letter was written with today’s effort in 1774:

    -Lady Susan Vernon sends a hastily written letter to Alecia Johnson with an accusatory vibe:     Monday, June 3rd, 1794

    -Alecia Johnson receives and replies immediately with a ‘pardon me?’ vibe:      Thursday, June 6th, 1794

    -Lady Susan Vernon receives and replies with a snarky ‘Like-you-don’t know-Alecia‘ vibe:      Sunday, June 9th, 1794

    -Alecia Johnson receives and replies with a ‘WTF-you-talking-about-Willis‘ vibe:      Wednesday, June 12th, 1794

    -……you get the gist.

     

    If our communications took days to reach someone and then days for a response, think about how clearly you would express yourself. You would be forced to really think about what you think before you tried to get someone else to understand it. Plus, people died back then with very little notice from a cornucopia of things. Hell, the guy on the horse delivering your letter could meet his maker in a dozen different ways. You actually may NEVER ever see the person again that you are writing to! I bet you would put some thought into that letter huh? Plus you had to pay to RECEIVE a letter back then and the price was based on the # of pages and the distance, so there were no envelopes and people wrote ‘cross letter’ which means they wrote ACROSS other lines in a 90 degree turn! These were treasured possessions and sometimes the only record of a relationship or existence left.

    I would like to get a letter like that. Would YOU?

    I would like to give a letter like that to someone. Would YOU?

    Maybe I will.… more “WIBCI Post #42”

  • Know Thyself Post #42

    Know Thyself:

    If YOU had three minutes to take three possessions from YOUR home in an emergency, what would they be?

    Mine =

    -my dog

    -my pictures and my writings (aka laptop)

    -jewelry (my dad’s watch etc.)

    What would YOU take? Why?… more “Know Thyself Post #42”

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