The ugly civil war in Syria is already being influenced by outside forces: Iran and Russia, to name just two. Normally, the U.S. runs guns to wars. Now, there’s dangerous talk of engaging our military to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
All posts by Daniel Neumann
Under Greener Tyranny
Under Greener Tyranny
I’m chained to these weights.
The change I crave has to wait.
I’m hopelessly poor.
So is my whole family.
And our funds are bleeding out.
Post-College Generation Blues
I graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Professional Writing with a minor in Philosophy. That’s how I begin most of my cover letters.
I still live at home with my parents. I work freelance gigs to pay the rent. Mostly, that’s all done from my bedroom. (That’s where I’m typing now).
Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Ignis, et Animus
Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Ignis, et Animus
A meditation by Daniel J. Neumann
You begin your journey of the five elements with the Earth: Density. Gravity has unlimited reach (although is weaker when compared to the other three forces of physics). Every black hole—subatomic, stellar, supermassive, and otherwise—affects us. The sun, moon, and earth, too, tug at you, reach out to you, beckoning you to the center. Continue reading Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Ignis, et Animus
Attuning Ourselves to Nature
The environment produced human beings. The simplest of physical laws interacted through a cycle of entropy and gravity to make stars, galaxies, particles, planets, and even complex and sentient life forms like us. Regardless of religious choice, indecision, or rejection, something within all of us ought to recognize that this ever-evolving system is a miracle. And the fact that we hardly understand the dynamic interplay between forces makes it that much more magical. People are, obviously, intelligent (relative to most ambient life). We consider ourselves sentient (as Descartes said, “Cogito ergo sum,” “I think; therefore, I am”), merely because we discern our consciousness as separate from the environment. It is certainly not the case that sentience depends on knowing how or why our consciousness exists, or most of the human race would not have it (except maybe a few neurobiologists and philosophers). Most people assume that no other animals or plants sense individuality (proto-ego or id-sentience—a primitive form of intellect), with little to no evidence supporting this claim. Our (seemingly) unique capability of thought allows human beings to discern the right action from the wrong actions—or, put more bluntly: ethics. Morality compounds two forms of thinking—logic and emotions—into a mode for decision-making. Philosophy compounds two disciplines—science and humanities—into a common love of wisdom. Spirituality compounds two attitudes—rational and empathetic—in order to develop a deeper understanding of absolute being. Morality, philosophy, and spirituality all correlate to each other. A person’s spiritual beliefs ground all morality, since our rationality and empathy correspond to our relationship with other beings. Spirituality is a subset of philosophy—it lies in the metaphysical, ontological realm concerning static identity. I believe the solution to the encroaching environmental, ecological, and economic calamity rests squarely on the shoulders of a spiritual revolution that takes into account the equilibrium of force and the value of life.
A simple, yet brilliant, perspective for identifying motivations
Reviewer: Daniel J. Neumann
Book: A Margin of Theft
Date: June 10, 2013
“A Margin of Theft: Getting the mind around government” (AMOT) conveys a perspective, a metric, for judging the motivations of people, organizations, corporations, and states. While John Macidull claims this isn’t a philosophic—but engineering—analysis, I humbly disagree. Philosophy means the love of wisdom. And there’s something very wise going on with this book.
Continue reading A simple, yet brilliant, perspective for identifying motivations
What Happened to Privacy?
Something is very wrong with America
Have you read about the NSA gathering records from Verizon in mass, without a warrant? If not, I suggest you open this page in a new tab: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/06/the-nsa-verizon-scandal.html
What’s the point of the Constitution if we don’t follow it anymore?
The Source of Bad Things
Moral evil occurs when men either act in a malevolent manner or fail to intervene on a malevolent act. Natural evil happens when the environment behaves in a way unfavorable to human beings. The two share in common the unfavorable consequences to human beings. Continue reading The Source of Bad Things
Ease versus Ecological Responsibility
Genetically Modified Food
Those who champion Genetically Modified (GM) food, promise it’ll put an end to world hunger by driving down food prices. Others claim GM food jeopardizes the welfare of our biotic community, since it interferes with bio-diversity. Still, others claim that, because of the lack of bio-diversity, because of the successfulness and affordability of the crop, a pandemic could wipe out our entire food supply.
Christine’s Birthday Poetry
Christine’s Birthday Poetry:
I love my sister.
She looks out for my welfare.
She’s my best comrade.
She took me on vacation.
She did cover art for me.