Critical Thinking Protects the Mind Against Acceptance of Tyranny

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following artwork here, being shared by the page, “Freedom is a State of Mind,” and originally posted it to my own wall, along with commentary…

“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.” – Albert Camus

My CommentaryCritical thinking!

Should “Good Ideas” Be Mandatory, or Is Such Coercion Just Another Form of Slavery?

The following debate originally took place on my Facebook wall, upon my post, “Good Ideas Don’t Require Force!“…

Rayn: Apparently, the authoritarians among us will continue to arrogantly force their “great ideas” upon us, because REASON and CONSENT are not as important to them as BLIND FAITH and COMPLIANCE!

It’s time for Individuals to wake up, and reject ALL FORMS OF COERCION as illegitimate!

"Good ideas don't require force"

“Good ideas don’t require force”

Jonas A.: That’s right! No “brown” nosing to get us to work for free!  😛

Brian K.: That assumes most people would be smart enough to recognize the good ideas.
“We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge.”
Thomas R. Lounsbury

Genaire: Brian how would we measure ones intelligence… an iq test? I know several people that would do extremely well on an iq test yet would be unable to survive without the aide of others. I also know several people in school that consider themselves to be very intelligent yet have not tested this intelligence outside the sheltered environment of a classroom. Then one has to ask himself what overlord would one place in charge of determining this said intelligence the government? I know of governments that deemed unintelligent people worthy of extermination. In a free society however one does not have to worry themself about those arrogant few who deem themselves intelligent enough to decide what a good or bad idea may or may not be.

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Right is Right and Wrong is Wrong, No Matter How Many Share In It!

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following artwork here, being shared by the page, “I AM AN Individual,” and originally posted it to my own wall, along with commentary…

"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." - Leo Tolstoy

“Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” – Leo Tolstoy

My Commentary: Truth! And, similarly: right is right, even if no one’s doing!

The fallacy of the Bandwagon argument is that it shifts focus from REASON to SENTIMENT! It is the ill logic of cowardice!

Without the Reason of Choice, Even the Best Idea is Illegitimate!

As I scrolled through my Facebook news feed, I discovered the following artwork here, being shared by the page, “A Free and Voluntary Society,” and originally posted it to my own wall, along with commentary…

"You make a good point, but is it voluntary?"

“You make a good point, but is it voluntary?”

My Commentary: Without the REASON of CHOICE, even the BEST idea is proven illegitimate!

Deconstructing Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man”

I wrote the core of following piece in March of 2001 for the Stonybrook University class, EGL 310 – Neoclassical Literature, later added to it, then originally published it to my MySpace blog…

"Essay on Man & Other Poems" by Alexander Pope

“Essay on Man & Other Poems” by Alexander Pope

When studying an author’s writing, a reader is sometimes presented with the opportunity to better understand and appreciate one particular work by considering it in direct relation to another. In holding two points of reference, one can fluidly journey with a writer through some of life’s more complex and far-reaching topics, while still thoroughly exploring them to conclusion, and in regard to one another. Alexander Pope’s two writings, Essay on Man: Epistle I and Essay on Man: Epistle II, being complimentary works, are worthy of such comparison.

Both Epistle I and Epistle II are laced with the themes of passion and reason. Using them as a basis, Pope is able to describe some of the many complex characteristics of the personality and behavior of human beings. Reading both works together is the best way to gain a fully-enriched understanding of the implications surrounding these two themes and just how intricately they are related to each other.

Pope believes that our amount of reason not only separates us, as human beings, from any other animal on earth, but that it also gives us our power over them. According to Epistle I, “…Throughout the…world, an universal order and gradation in the sensual and mental faculties is observed which cause the subordination of creature, and of all creatures to Man. The graduations of sense, instinct, thought, reflection, reason; that Reason alone countervails all other faculties” (VII, 122). Aware that this is a powerful gift, Pope does not believe, however, that human beings are the sole carriers of reason. He notes the fact that non-reasoning inorganic and organic matter, as well organisms, still follow an overall reason-based balance with each other in their environment. He also doesn’t exclude the possibility that reason might have been given to human beings directly by another force, with direct access to reason, as well. For proof, Pope observes that our natural environment makes sense even when it is unaware of this fact for itself. According to Epistle I, “of Systems possible, if ’tis confest…that all that rises, rise in due degree; then, in the scale of reas’ning life, ’tis plain there must be, somewhere, such a rank as Man” (43-48, 123).

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