Daily Archives: June 19, 2016

Bronze Age collapse – Simple English Wikipedia, the free …

Posted: June 19, 2016 at 2:47 pm

The Bronze Age collapse is so called by historians who study the end of the Bronze Age.

They see the transition in the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, as violent, sudden and culturally disruptive.

The palace economies of the Aegean and Anatolia of the late Bronze Age were replaced, eventually, by the village cultures of the 'Greek dark ages'.

Between 1200 and 1150 BC, the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria,[1] and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Canaan,[2] interrupted trade routes and extinguished literacy.

In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Troy and Gaza was violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied: examples include Hattusa, Mycenae, Ugarit.

The gradual end of the Dark Age saw the rise of settled Neo-Hittite Aramaean kingdoms of the mid-10th century BC, and the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Every important Anatolian site during the preceding late Bronze Age shows a destruction layer.[3] It appears that civilization did not recover to the same level as that of the Hittites for another thousand years. Hattusa, the Hittite capital, was burned and abandoned, and never reoccupied. Troy was destroyed at least twice, before being abandoned until Roman times.

The sacking and burning of the sites of Enkomi, Kition, and Sinda may have happened twice, before they were abandoned. Originally, two waves of destruction, ca. 1230 BC by the Sea Peoples and ca. 1190 BC by Aegean refugees have been proposed.[4]

Syrian sites previously showed evidence of trade links with Egypt and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age. Evidence at Ugarit shows that the destruction there occurred after the reign of Merenptah.

The last Bronze Age king of Ugarit, Ammurapi, was a contemporary of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma II. The exact dates of his reign are unknown. A letter by the king is preserved on one of the clay tablets found baked in the conflagration of the destruction of the city. Ammurapi stresses the seriousness of the crisis faced by many Near Eastern states from invasion by the advancing Sea Peoples in a dramatic response to a plea for assistance from the king of Alasiya (Cyprus):

My father, behold, the enemy's ships came (here); my cities(?) were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots(?) are in the Land of Hatti, and all my ships are in the Land of Lukka?...Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us.[5]

Unfortunately for Ugarit, no help arrived and Ugarit was burned to the ground at the end of the Bronze Age. A cuneiform tablet found in 1986 shows that Ugarit was destroyed after the death of Merneptah, about 1178 BC.

All centres along a coastal route from Gaza northward were destroyed, and not reoccupied for up to thirty years.

None of the Mycenaean palaces of the Late Bronze Age survived, with destruction being heaviest at palaces and fortified sites. Up to 90% of small sites in the Peloponnese were abandoned, suggesting a major depopulation. The end Bronze Age collapse marked the start of what has been called the Greek Dark Ages, which lasted for more than 400 years. Some cities, like Athens, continued to be occupied. They had a more local sphere of influence, limited trade and an impoverished culture. It took centuries to recover.

Several cities were destroyed, Assyria lost northwestern cities which were reconquered by Tiglath-Pileser I after his ascension to kingship. Control of the Babylonian and Assyrian regions extended barely beyond the city limits. Babylon was sacked by the Elamites.

After apparently surviving for a while, the Egyptian Empire collapsed in the mid twelfth century BCE (during the reign of Ramesses VI). This led to the Third Intermediate Period, that is, non-dynasty.

Robert Drews describes the collapse as "the worst disaster in ancient history, even more calamitous than the collapse of the Western Roman Empire".[6] A number of people have spoken of the cultural memories of the disaster as stories of a "lost golden age". Hesiod for example spoke of Ages of Gold, Silver and Bronze, separated from the modern harsh cruel world of the Age of Iron by the Age of Heroes.

It was a period associated with the collapse of central authority, a depopulation, particularly of urban areas, the loss of literacy in Anatolia and the Aegean, and its restriction elsewhere, the disappearance of established patterns of long-distance international trade, and increasingly vicious struggles for power.

There are various theories put forward to explain the situation of collapse, many of them compatible with each other.

The Hekla 3 eruption was about this time, and is dated at 1159 BC by Egyptologists and British archeologists.[7][8]

Earthquakes tend to occur in sequences or 'storms', where a major earthquake above 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale can set off later earthquakes along the weakened fault line. When a map of earthquake occurrence is superimposed on a map of the sites destroyed in the Late Bronze Age, there is a very close correspondence.[9]

Evidence includes the widespread findings of Naue II-type swords (coming from South-Eastern Europe) throughout the region, and Egyptian records of invading "northerners from all the lands".[10] The Ugarit correspondence at the time mentions invasions by tribes of such as the mysterious Sea Peoples. Equally, the last Linear B documents in the Aegean (dating to just before the collapse) reported a large rise in piracy, slave raiding and other attacks, particularly around Anatolia. Later fortresses along the Libyan coast, constructed and maintained by the Egyptians after the reign of Ramesses II, were built to reduce raiding.

This theory is strengthened by the fact that the collapse coincides with the appearance in the region of many new ethnic groups. Indo-European tribes such as the Phrygians, Thracians, Macedonians and Dorian Greeks seem to have arrived at this time possibly from the north. There also seems to have been widespread migration of the Aramaeans possibly from the South-East.

Ultimate reasons for these migrations could include drought, developments in warfare/weaponry, earthquakes or other natural disasters. This means that the migrations theory is not incompatible with the other theories mentioned here.

The Bronze Age collapse may be seen in the context of a technological history that saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region, beginning with precocious iron-working in what is now Bulgaria and Romania in the 13th and 12th centuries BCE.[11] Leonard R. Palmer suggested that iron, whilst inferior to bronze weapons, was in more plentiful supply and so allowed larger armies of iron users to overwhelm the smaller armies of bronze-using chariotry.[12]

It now seems that the disruption of long distance trade cut easy supplies of tin, making bronze impossible to make. Older implements were recycled and then iron substitutes were used.

Drought could have easily precipitated or hastened socio-economic problems and led to wars.[13][14] More recently Brian Fagan has shown how the diversion of mid-winter storms, from the Atlantic to north of the Pyrenees and the Alps, bringing wetter conditions to Central Europe but drought to the Eastern Mediterranean, was
associated with the Late Bronze Age collapse.[15]

Robert Drews argues that massed infantry used newly developed weapons and armor.[16]192ff Cast rather than forged spearheads and long swords, a revolutionizing cut-and-thrust weapon,[17] and javelins were used. The appearance of bronze foundries suggest "that mass production of bronze artifacts was suddenly important in the Aegean". For example, Homer uses "spears" as a virtual synonym for "warrior", suggesting the continued importance of the spear in combat.

Such new weaponry, used by a proto-hoplite model of infantry able to withstand attacks of massed chariotry, would destabilize states that were based upon the use of chariots by the ruling class. This precipitated an abrupt social collapse as raiders and/or infantry mercenaries began to conquer, loot, and burn the cities.[16][18][19]

A general systems collapse has been put forward as an explanation for the reversals in culture.[20][21] This theory raises the question of whether this collapse was the cause of, or the effect of, the Bronze Age collapse being discussed.

In the Middle East, a variety of factors including population growth, soil degradation, drought, cast bronze weapon and iron production technologies could have combined to push the relative price of weaponry (compared to arable land) to a level unsustainable for traditional warrior aristocracies. In complex societies which were increasingly fragile, this combination of factors may have contributed to the collapse.[22]

The critical flaws of the late Bronze Age are its centralization, specialization, complexity and top-heavy political structure. These flaws then revealed themselves through revolts, defections, demographic crises (overpopulation), and wars between states. Other factors which could have placed increasing pressure on the fragile kingdoms. These include the aggression of the Sea Peoples, pirates on maritime trade, drought, crop failures, famine.

See the article here:

Bronze Age collapse - Simple English Wikipedia, the free ...

Posted in Socio-economic Collapse | Comments Off on Bronze Age collapse – Simple English Wikipedia, the free …

Who Is Ayn Rand? – The Objective Standard

Posted: at 2:46 pm

This essay is part of a compilation ebook, Objectivism, available at Amazon.comor free with any subscription to TOS.

Ayn Rand (19051982) was an American novelist and philosopher, and the creator of Objectivism, which she called a philosophy for living on earth.

Rands most widely read novels are The Fountainhead, a story about an independent and uncompromising architect; and Atlas Shrugged, a story about the role of the mind in human life and about what happens to the world when the thinkers and producers mysteriously disappear. Her most popular nonfiction books are The Virtue of Selfishness, a series of essays about the foundations and principles of the morality of self-interest; and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, a series of essays about what capitalism is and why it is the only moral social system.

Rand was born in Russia, where she attended grade school and university; studied history, philosophy, and screenwriting; and witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution and the birth of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1925, she left the burgeoning communist state, telling Soviet authorities she was going for a brief visit with relatives in America, and never returned.

She soon made her way to Hollywood, where she worked as a screenwriter, married actor Frank OConnor, and wrote her first novel, We The Living. She then moved to New York City, where she wrote Anthem (a novelette), The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, numerous articles and essays, and several nonfiction books in which she defined and elaborated the principles of Objectivism.

Rands staunch advocacy of reason (as against faith and whim), self-interest (as against self-sacrifice), individualism and individual rights (as against collectivism and group rights), and capitalism (as against all forms of statism) make her both the most controversial and most important philosopher of the 20th century.

Describing Objectivism, Rand wrote: My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

For a good biography of Rand, see Jeffery Brittings Ayn Rand or Scott McConnells 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand. For a brief presentation of the principles of Objectivism, see What is Objectivism? For the application of these principles to cultural and political issues of the day, subscribe to The Objective Standard, the preeminent source for commentary from an Objectivist perspective.

Sign up to receive our free weekly newsletter.

See the article here:

Who Is Ayn Rand? - The Objective Standard

Posted in Ayn Rand | Comments Off on Who Is Ayn Rand? – The Objective Standard

Ayn Rand Wikipedia

Posted: at 2:46 pm

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand (1925)

Ayn Rand, ursprungligen Alisa Zinovjevna Rosenbaum, fdd 2 februari[2]1905 i Sankt Petersburg i Ryssland, dd 6 mars 1982 i New York i New York, var en amerikansk filosof och frfattare. Hon frknippas frmst med sin egen filosofiska skola objektivismen som frsvarar rationell egoism, individualism, kapitalism (laissez faire) och en objektiv moral. Hennes mest knda verk, Urkllan (1943) och Och vrlden sklvde (1957), r idpolitiska romaner som skildrar individens kamp mot verhet, normer, kollektiv likriktning och myndigheters vertramp. Rand var ven kompromissls religionskritiker och bidrog genom sin kritik av all tvngsmakt som illegitim - utver frhindrandet av uppkomsten av nya tvngsmakter, - och avfrdande av icke-mnskliga eller obevisade auktoriteter till den ideologiska fra som tidigare kallades nyliberalismen. Rand sjlv hvdade Aristoteles och Victor Hugo som sina frmsta epistemologiska respektive litterra frebilder och stllde sig mycket kritisk till tankefror som ifrgasatte tanken om en objektiv verklighet, ssom Platon och Kant.

Rand betraktas allmnt som en av de ledande gestalterna bakom de klassiskt liberala idernas terkomst till den idpolitiska scenen under 1960-talet och framt, och anses ha inspirerat den s.k. Hgervgen under 1980-talet. Ekonomen Milton Friedman utpekade henne som en av libertarianismens tv viktigaste intellektuella trendbrytare (tillsammans med Ludwig von Mises).

Ayn Rands far var en rysk-judisk apotekare som fick sin verksamhet konfiskerad av den sovjetiska staten likt de flesta andra smfretagare. Efter att ha avslutat sin utbildning i Sovjetunionen med lysande betyg frn universitetet i Leningrad flydde Rand till USA 1926 i hopp om ett bttre liv. Hon arbetade inom den amerikanska filmindustrin 1926-1949 men hade det svrt ekonomiskt. P fritiden skrev hon ett antal bcker riktade mot fascismen och stalinismen men ndde ekonomisk och frsljningsmssig framgng frst med Urkllan 1943. Drefter frsrjde hon sig som frfattare och filosof p heltid.

Ayn Rand var en ideologisk motstndare mot alla kollektivistiska ideologier, i vilket hon inkluderade alla former av organiserad religion samt monarkism, socialism, fascism, nazism, anarkism (inklusive s kallad anarkokapitalism) och var ven kritisk till samtida libertarianism. Hon sg emellertid det strsta hotet mot den kapitalism och individualism hon sjlv frfktade i deras sjlvutnmnda frsvarares ovilja eller ofrmga att frsvara dem med annat n nyttoargument, utan ngon moralisk grund. Drfr tog hon kunskapsteori och etik till hjlp och skapade ett eget filosofiskt system som skulle skra individens rttigheter mot kollektivet. Genom ett frsvar fr frnuftet, det upplysta egenintresset och laissez-faire-kapitalism ville hon ge ett alternativ till de enligt henne tvngsbaserade ideologier som hon sg dominera vrlden.

Fr de intellektuella studenter som ansg sig som motstndare mot bde etablissemanget och 68-vnstern blev Rand den stora frebilden i USA. Mnga i den generationen av unga ekonomer, filosofer och statsvetare fick inspiration av Rands individualistiska vision, och hon kan till viss del anses ha inspirerat den vg av globalisering och liberalisering som skett sedan 1980-talet. Sjlv frblev hon kritisk mot etablerad "nyliberalism", samt den mer rena libertarianismen livet ut och ansg att den fortfarande var alltfr djupt rotad i en filosofiskt misslyckad kollektivism fr att kunna fungera i lngden. Hon sg de fullstndiga libertarianerna som vad hon kallade "hger-hippies".

Ayn Rand var gift med Frank OConnor. Under McCarthy-perioden vittnade Rand om vad hon sg som kommunistisk infiltration i Hollywood. Hon jmfrde d filmen Song of Russia med verklighetens Sovjetunionen, och ansg att filmen sknmlade Sovjet. Rand var emellertid obegrnsad anhngare till yttrandefrihet.

Ayn Rands frsta frsljningssucc (efter de tv mindre framgngsrika: De levande, 1936 samt Lovsng, 1938) kom 1943 med boken Urkllan. Boken slde i en halv miljon exemplar enbart fram till 1950, trots att den blev hrt kritiserad fr sin ideologi och de frsta frsljningssiffrorna var lga. Urkllan blev snart en kultbok.

Boken fljdes av Rands centrala verk Och vrlden sklvde (1957). Boken fick, liksom Urkllan hrd och sarkastisk kritik ofta baserad p bokens individualistiska ideologi, men det avskrckte inte miljontals lsare. Frsljningen har nmligen kat till omkring 300 000 exemplar/r. Vid en amerikansk underskning dr lsare ombads vlja ut den bok som pverkat dem mest s hamnade Och vrlden sklvde p en andraplats efter Bibeln.[3]

Vid sidan av romanproduktionen skrev sedan Rand manus till ett par filmer och arbetade strax innan sin dd p en mini-serie baserad p Och vrlden sklvde.

ven om alla hennes bcker i varierande grad r politiska och samhllskritiska, r Rand mest knd som filosof fr sina skrifter om sin egen filosofi objektivism och rationell egoism.

De levande och Urkllan har filmatiserats; De levande spelades in i det facistiska Italien 1942 i tv delar Noi Vivi och Addio Kira!, men dessa frbjds av Benito Mussolini. Dessa tv filmer klipptes sedan ihop till en film, We the living, som gavs ut 1986 (DVD 2009). Urkllan 1949 (svensk filmtitel Pionjren) med Gary Cooper och Patricia Neal. "Och Vrlden Sklvde" filmatiserades och slpptes 2011.[4] Filmen handlar om hur USA:s miljardrer "strejkar" och bildar en ny stat fr sig sjlva i demarken. "Vanliga amerikaner" fr det d hastigt mycket smre och vdjar till miljardrerna att terkomma.

Ayn Rand ansg att mnniskan r en varelse med frmga till frnuft, som drfr krvde frihet fr att kunna bruka sitt frnuft fullt ut, s att hon kan leva i enlighet med sin natur. Drmed ansg hon att friheten r en individuell rttighet som mste skyddas i ett samhlle genom lag. Ett steg mot denna vision kallade hon "separationen mellan stat och ekonomi." (jmfr: separation mellan stat och kyrka)

Ayn Rand ansg att verkligheten r objektiv drav namnet p filosofin. Hon ansg ocks att mnniskan br agera efter sitt rationella egenintresse efter denna objektiva verklighet, och frkastade drmed altruismen som ett moraliskt ideal, som enligt henne stred mot mnniskans natur.

Rand tog stllning fr kapitalismen i sin bok Kapitalismen: det oknda idealet, dr hon skriver att ett alltfr stort avvikande frn kapitalismen leder till samhllets kollaps. Hon fresprkade i praktiken motsvarande en nattvktarstat.

Rand har en viss popularitet i nyliberala och nykonservativa kretsar, ven om lngtifrn alla anser sig vara anhngare av objektivismen i sin helhet. Detta inte minst fr att hon var kraftfull religionsmotstndare och ateist.

Efter succn med Och vrlden sklvde fick Rand mnga beundrare. Den inre cirkeln av objektivism- och egoism-anhngare, som kallade sig The Collective som ett internt skmt, leddes av filosofen och psykologen Nathaniel "Nathan" Branden.

Frn omkring 1954 var Nathaniel Branden inte bara Rands hgra hand utan ven hennes lskare. Detta pgick med deras makars vetskap nda fram till 1968, nr Barbara Branden berttade fr Rand att Nathaniel var frlskad i en annan kvinna och hade ljugit fr dem under en lngre tid. Sprickan mellan Rand och det forna paret Branden ledde till splittring i hela rrelsen.[5]

Enligt Michael Shermer fick The Collective sektliknande inslag, dr Rands ord var lag, och hierarkin i gruppen byggde p hur vl man anpassade sig till Rands lra.[6]Milton Friedman var av liknande mening, och menade att hon "hade extremt bra inflytande p alla dem som aldrig blev randianer, men ifall de blev randianer var de hopplsa".[7] Rand sjlv frnekade att
hon var en kultfigur.[8]

Jim Peron kom till Ayn Rands frsvar genom sin analys av objektivismen, i vilken han tar stllning emot kultanklagelserna, med slutsatsen att de r ytliga och ad hominem-attacker vars syfte r att misskreditera objektivismen utan att rationellt behva argumentera mot den.

Bde under sitt liv och efter sin dd 1982 har Ayn Rand haft ett betydande inflytande p politik och filosofi, frmst i USA och Storbritannien. Hon anses ha pverkat bland annat Storbritanniens tidigare premirminister Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Thomas (domare vid USA:s hgsta domstol), Anton LaVey (grundare av Church of Satan), de republikanska politikerna Paul Ryan och Rand Paul samt Alan Greenspan (ordfrande fr USA:s centralbank, Federal Reserve 19872006). Greenspan tillhrde personligen hennes inre krets, det s.k. "kollektivet", som korrekturlste Atlas Shrugged innan den utgavs 1957, och har hvdat att Rand utvat inflytande ver hans syn p etik och ekonomi, vilket fick erfor uppmrksamhet och kritik efter 2007 rs recession. P svenska har Ayn Rands bcker utgivits p bland annat Timbro. Centerpartiets ordfrande Annie Lf har rekommenderat Rands "Och vrlden sklvde" som boktips [10], vilket har orsakat debatt.[11][12]

Rand har blivit freml fr flera biografier.

Read more:

Ayn Rand Wikipedia

Posted in Ayn Rand | Comments Off on Ayn Rand Wikipedia

Atlas Shrugged

Posted: at 2:45 pm

Published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged was Ayn Rand's last and most ambitious novel. Rand set out to explain her personal philosophy in this book, which follows a group of pioneering industrialists who go on strike against a corrupt government and a judgmental society. After completing this novel Rand turned to nonfiction and published works on her philosophy for the rest of her career. Rand actually only published four novels in her entire career, and the novel that came out before Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, was published in 1943. So there was a pretty long publishing gap there.

It might seem a bit odd to use a work of fiction to make a philosophical statement, but this actually reflects Rand's view of art. Art, for her, was a way to present ideals and ideas. In other words, Rand herself admitted that her characters may not always be "believable." They are "ideal" people who represent a range of philosophies. Rand used these characters to show how her philosophy could be lived, rather than just publishing an essay about it.

Rand's personal philosophy, known as Objectivism (to read more about it, check out our Themes section) was, and remains, really controversial. Objectivism criticizes a lot of philosophies and views, ranging from Christianity to communism, and as a result it can be very polarizing. Rand herself was a devout atheist, held very open views about sex (which definitely raised some eyebrows in 1950s America), and was a staunch anti-communist.

Rand's anti-communism stems from her personal history. She was born in Russia in 1905 and lived through the Bolshevik Revolution, which is when communists overthrew Russia's monarchy and took over, establishing the Soviet Union. The Revolution was a bloody affair, and the new communist government was very oppressive; as a result Rand developed a lifelong hatred of communism and violence of any sort.

Rand fled the Soviet Union in 1926 and came to America, where she quickly became a fan of American freedom, American democracy, and American capitalism, all of which greatly contrasted to the experiences she'd had in the oppressive Soviet Union. Rand's personal philosophy developed around these American ideas, in opposition to the type of life she saw in the Soviet Union.

Given that Atlas Shrugged is a statement of Rand's personal philosophy, the book expresses many of her views on religion, sex, politics, etc. When it was published, it received a lot of negative reviews. Many conservatives hated the book for its atheist views and its upfront treatment of sex. Many liberals hated the book for its celebration of capitalism. The book also confused a lot of people. But the novel sold, and it has remained popular since; it's actually never been out of print since it was first published over fifty years ago. Atlas Shrugged was kind of like one of those blockbuster movies that gets horrible reviews but still does really well at the box office. Something about this book intrigues people, whether it's the characters, the ideas, or just the mystery plot itself.

In fact, Atlas Shrugged has even seen a renewed surge in popularity lately, coinciding with the recent financial crisis. (If you want to see some of the news coverage of this, check out our "Best of the Web" section.) The book does deal with industrialists and hard financial times, so this popularity boom is not too surprising. In recent years the news media has often classed the novel as ber-conservative, which is funny, since a lot of conservatives hated the book when it first came out. At any rate it's still a very controversial book just check out the hundreds of varied reviews it has racked up on Amazon.

In an old episode of South Park, a character who reads Atlas Shrugged declares that the book ruined reading for him and that he would never read another book again. (If you want to watch this hilarious clip, head on over to the "Best of the Web" section.) There's a reason this book is so often made the butt of jokes. It's long. Crazy long. We're talking Tolstoy levels of longness. It's also a book that's about politics, philosophy, 30-something business people, and more philosophy. Frankly, this book can seem downright off-putting. Even the title is confusing.

So why should you care? Well, for one thing, putting aside all the Deep Thoughts and Profound Ideas in this book, we have a bunch of characters who are challenging the establishment. Seriously. At its core, this book is about individuals who go against the crowd, individuals bold enough to speak their minds, do their own thing, and seek their own happiness. And in trying to do so, these bold individuals face a heck of a lot of peer pressure. In fact, pretty much everyone in the whole world disapproves of these people, who are trying to make better lives for themselves by embracing things like liberty and self-esteem.

It's like high school times a billion. The world is filled with the snobby popular crowd and our intrepid band of misfit heroes is outnumbered, but never outsmarted. Turns out all that philosophy we mentioned earlier has a lot to do with all of this individualism and going against the crowd, too. Whether it's a high school cafeteria or a high-powered business meeting, some things seem to stay pretty universal. This book shows that there are always people who want to march to the beat of their own drum and who are bold enough to risk mass disapproval in order to do it. Kind of cool and inspiring really, regardless of your opinion of their particular philosophy.

Read this article:

Atlas Shrugged

Posted in Atlas Shrugged | Comments Off on Atlas Shrugged

The Golden Rule – harryhiker.com

Posted: at 2:45 pm

My Ethics and the Golden Rule (New York and London: Routledge, 2013) is a fairly comprehensive treatment of the golden rule. It covers a wide range of topics, such as how the golden rule connects with world religions and history, how it applies to practical areas like moral education and business, and how it can be understood and defended philosophically. I wrote this to be a "golden-rule book for everyone," from students to general readers to specialists. Click here for a video overview or here to preview the first 30 pages. Click here to order (or click here for the Kindle version, which I fine-tuned to fit the e-book format).

I got interested in the golden rule in 1968, after hearing a talk in Detroit by R.M. Hare. I did a masters thesis (1969 Wayne State University) and doctoral dissertation (1977 Michigan) on the golden rule. Since then, I've done many book chapters and articles on the golden rule (the short essay above is adapted from my golden-rule entry in the Blackwell Dictionary of Business Ethics). Three of my earlier books have much on the golden rule.

My Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction, second edition (Routledge, 2011) is an introductory textbook in moral philosophy. Chapters 7 to 9 talk about how to understand, defend, and apply the golden rule. This book is written in a simple way and should be understandable to the general reader. This book and Formal Ethics have cool Web exercises and EthiCola downloadable exercise software, much of which deals with the golden rule.

My Introduction to Logic, second edition (Routledge, 2010) has a chapter that formalizes a system of ethics, leading to a proof of the golden rule in symbolic logic. This gets pretty technical. Other books of mine have golden-rule parts, including my Historical Dictionary of Ethics, Anthology of Catholic Philosophy (the essay on pages 523-31), and Ethics: Contemporary Readings. To order any of my books, click here or here. Several of my books are available in e-book format: Kindle, Sony, Routledge (search for author Gensler). Yes, the golden rule does have an intellectual component; it's not as simple as it might seem.

Here are some books on the golden rule by others: (1) R.M. Hare's Freedom and Reason (Oxford 1963) greatly influenced my thinking; compared to Hare, I am more neutral on foundational issues, formulate the golden rule a little differently, and am more of a logician at heart. (2) Jeff Wattles's The Golden Rule (Oxford 1996) emphasizes historical and religious aspects and thus complements my logical-rational approach; I have benefited much from our discussions. (3) Oliver du Roy's La rgle d'or: Le retour d'une maxime oublie (Cerf 2009) and Histoire de la rgle d'or (Cerf 2012); here is a short talk of his on the golden rule, in English and French. (4) Martin Bauschke's Die Goldene Regel: Staunen, Verstehen, Handeln (Erbverlag 2010). (5) Howard (Q.C.) Terry's Golden Rules and Silver Rules of Humanity (Infinity 2011). (6) Mike Bushman's Doing Unto Others (Altfuture 2015).

See more here:

The Golden Rule - harryhiker.com

Posted in Golden Rule | Comments Off on The Golden Rule – harryhiker.com

Health insurance made simple | UnitedHealthOne

Posted: at 2:45 pm

No individual applying for health coverage through the individual Marketplace will be discouraged from applying for benefits, turned down for coverage, or charged more premium because of health status, medical condition, mental illness claims experience, medical history, genetic information or health disability. In addition, no individual will be denied coverage based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, political affiliation or source of income.

References to UnitedHealthcare pertain to each individual company or other UnitedHealthcare affiliated companies. Dental and Vision products are administrated by related companies. Each company is a separate entity and is not responsible for another's financial or contractual obligations. Administrative services are provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc.

Products and services offered are underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, Oxford Health Insurance, Inc., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company.

All products require separate applications. Separate policies or certificates are issued. Golden Rule Short Term MedicalSM plans are medically underwritten. Related insurance products offered by either company may be medically underwritten see the product brochures and applications. Healthiest You is not an insurance product and is provided by HY Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Healthiest You. Travel Health Insurance and Pet Insurance are underwritten by different companies that are not related to the UnitedHealthcare family of companies. Product availability varies by state.

UHOHFR01

Read more:

Health insurance made simple | UnitedHealthOne

Posted in Golden Rule | Comments Off on Health insurance made simple | UnitedHealthOne

Liste de micronations Wikipdia

Posted: at 2:41 pm

La liste de micronations ci-dessous indique des micronations notables, existantes ou ayant exist. Une micronation[1] est une entit cre par un petit nombre de personnes, qui prtend au statut de nation indpendante ou qui en prsente des caractristiques, mais n'est pas formellement reconnue comme telle par des nations officielles ou par des organismes transnationaux[2]. En 2014, on estime prs de 400 le nombre de celles-ci[3].

Aujourd'hui, certaines personnes[Qui?] tentent de faire revivre cette micronation en se proclamant exiles de l'tat libre de Counani et revendiquent encore ce territoire.

Le prsident, nomm vie, est Egrgore le Virtuel, tandis que Jean-Claude Mayo en devient le ministre convoyeur du verbe. La petite Rpublique dite sa propre monnaie, la polymonnaie qui n'a cours lgal que dans la Rpublique.

Lorsque la mine de la Vieille-Montagne y fut puise en 1885, lexistence mme de Moresnet neutre fut remise en question. Plusieurs propositions furent avances pour y amener de nouvelles activits conomiques, telle la cration dun casino ou dun service postal mettant ses propres timbres, bien que cette dernire ide fut repousse par le gouvernement local. Linitiative la plus remarquable fut avance par le docteur Wilhelm Molly, qui proposait de faire de Moresnet une micronation sous forme du premier tat utilisant officiellement lespranto, sous le nom dAmikejo (lieu damiti).

View original post here:

Liste de micronations Wikipdia

Posted in Micronations | Comments Off on Liste de micronations Wikipdia

Intentional Communities | Touchstone Mental Health

Posted: at 2:41 pm

Program Offerings

Through the Intentional Communities, individuals (community members) come together as a supportive group, sharing a common purpose, and working cooperatively to create a lifestyle reflecting shared values. Community members are able to maintain housing stability, reduce the risk of hospitalization, gain independent living skills, and build social supports by becoming a contributing member of a community.

There are two Touchstone Intentional Communities for a total of 40 members. The communities gather two to three times per week for socializing, planned activities and communal meals. Both communities develop an integrity contract which frames their shared values and becomes the basis for shared decisions. The communities have monthly business meetings and use a consensus model to guide their decision making process. The communities are self-governing which means they develop and decide policies for the community as a whole, work together to maintain viable participation, and manage their budget.

We offer:

Program success is measured on:

We are a multidisciplinary team of professionals providing a combination of services to promote an individuals pursuit of life goals, independence and a healthy and safe environment. Team members may include:

You can find more information about intentional communities at http://www.ic.org.

Download the Intentional Communities fact sheet here.

See original here:

Intentional Communities | Touchstone Mental Health

Posted in Intentional Communities | Comments Off on Intentional Communities | Touchstone Mental Health

Ascension of Jesus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted: at 2:40 pm

The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate Latin Acts 1:9-11 section title: Ascensio Iesu) is the Christian teaching found in the New Testament that the resurrected Jesus was taken up to Heaven in his resurrected body, in the presence of eleven of his apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection. In the biblical narrative, an angel tells the watching disciples that Jesus' second coming will take place in the same manner as his ascension.[1]

The canonical gospels include two brief descriptions of the ascension of Jesus in Luke 24:50-53 and Mark 16:19. A more detailed account of Jesus' bodily Ascension into the clouds is then given in the Acts of the Apostles (1:9-11).

The ascension of Jesus is professed in the Nicene Creed and in the Apostles' Creed. The ascension implies Jesus' humanity being taken into Heaven.[2] The Feast of the Ascension, celebrated on the 40th day of Easter (always a Thursday), is one of the chief feasts of the Christian year.[2] The feast dates back at least to the later 4th century, as is widely attested.[2] The ascension is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being baptism, transfiguration, crucifixion, and resurrection.[3][4]

By the 6th century the iconography of the ascension in Christian art had been established and by the 9th century ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches.[5][6] Many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper (Heavenly) part and a lower (earthly) part.[7] The ascending Jesus is often shown blessing with his right hand directed towards the earthly group below him and signifying that he is blessing the entire Church.[8]

The canonical gospels include two somewhat brief descriptions of the Ascension of Jesus in Luke 24:50-53 and Mark 16:19.[9][10][11]

In the Gospel of Mark 16:14, after the resurrection, Jesus "was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; ...". At the meal, Jesus said to them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15) Following this the Ascension is described in Mark 16:19 as follows:[9]

However, based on strong textual and literary evidences, biblical scholars no longer accept Mark 16:9-20 as original to the book.[12] Rather, this section appears to have been compiled based on other gospel accounts and appended at a much later time. As such, the writer of Luke-Acts is the only original author in the New Testament to have referred to the ascension of Jesus.

In Luke, Jesus leads the eleven disciples to Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. Luke 24:50-52 describes the Ascension as follows:[9][10]

The blessing is often interpreted as a priestly act in which Jesus leaves his disciples in the care of God the Father.[10] The return to Jerusalem after the Ascension ends the Gospel of Luke where it began: Jerusalem.[11]

The narrative of the Acts of the Apostles begins with the account of Jesus' appearances after his resurrection and his Ascension forty days thereafter in Acts 1:9-11.[10][11] Acts 1:9-12 specifies the location of the Ascension as the "mount called Olivet" near Jerusalem.

Acts 1:3 states that Jesus:

After giving a number of instructions to the apostles Acts 1:9 describes the Ascension as follows:

Following this two men clothed in white appear and tell the apostles that Jesus will return in the same manner as he was taken, and the apostles return to Jerusalem.[11]

A number of statements in the New Testament may be interpreted as references to the Ascension.[13]

Acts 1:9-12 states that the Ascension took place on Mount Olivet (the "Mount of Olives", on which the village of Bethany sits). After the Ascension the apostles are described as returning to Jerusalem from the mount that is called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day's journey. Tradition has consecrated this site as the Mount of Ascension. The Gospel of Luke states that the event took place 'in the vicinity of Bethany' and the Gospel of Mark specifies no location.

Before the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD, early Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount of Olives. By 384, the place of the Ascension was venerated on the present open site, uphill from the cave.[16]

The Chapel of the Ascension in Jerusalem today is a Christian and Muslim holy site now believed to mark the place where Jesus ascended into heaven. In the small round church/mosque is a stone imprinted with what some claim to be the very footprints of Jesus.[16]

Around the year 390 a wealthy Roman woman named Poimenia financed construction of the original church called "Eleona Basilica" (elaion in Greek means "olive garden", from elaia "olive tree," and has an oft-mentioned similarity to eleos meaning "mercy"). This church was destroyed by Sassanid Persians in 614. It was subsequently rebuilt, destroyed, and rebuilt again by the Crusaders. This final church was later also destroyed by Muslims, leaving only a 12x12 meter octagonal structure (called a martyrium"memorial"or "Edicule") that remains to this day.[17] The site was ultimately acquired by two emissaries of Saladin in the year 1198 and has remained in the possession of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem ever since. The Russian Orthodox Church also maintains a Convent of the Ascension on the top of the Mount of Olives.

The Ascension of Jesus is professed in the Nicene Creed and in the Apostles' Creed. The Ascension implies Jesus' humanity being taken into Heaven.[2]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Item 668) states:[18]

Referring to Mark 16:19 ("So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.") Pope John Paul II stated that Scripture positions the significance of the Ascension in two statements: "Jesus gave instructions, and then Jesus took his place.[19]

John Paul II also separately emphasized that Jesus had foretold of his Ascension several times in the Gospels, e.g. John 16:10 at the Last Supper: "I go to the Father, and you will see me no more" and John 20:17 after his resurrection he tells Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God".[20]

In Orthodox, Oriental non-Chalcedonian, and Assyrian theology, the Ascension of Christ is interpreted as the culmination of the Mystery of the Incarnation, in that it not only marked the completion of Jesus' physical presence among his apostles, but consummated the union of God and man when Jesus ascended in his glorified human body to sit at the right hand of God the Father. The Ascension and the Transfiguration both figure prominently in the Orthodox Christian doctrine of theosis. In the Chalcedonian Churches, the bodily Ascension into heaven is also understood as the final earthly token of Christ's two natures: divine and human.[21]

The Westminster Confession of Faith (part of the Reformed tradition in Calvinism and influential in the Presbyterian church), in Article four of Chapter eight, states: "On the third day He arose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return, to judge men and angels, at the end of the world."[22]

The Second Helvetic Confession addresses the purpose and character of Christ's ascension in Chapter 11:[23]

New Testament
scholar Rudolph Bultmann writes, "The cosmology of the N.T. is essentially mythical in character. The world is viewed as a three-storied structure, with the Earth in the center, the heaven above, and the underworld beneath. Heaven is the abode of God and of celestial beingsangels... No one who is old enough to think for himself supposes that God lives in a local heaven."[24]

The Jesus Seminar considers the New Testament accounts of Jesus' ascension as inventions of the Christian community in the Apostolic Age.[25] They describe the Ascension as a convenient device to discredit ongoing appearance claims within the Christian community.[25]

The Feast of the Ascension is one of the great feasts in the Christian liturgical calendar, and commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day from Easter day. However, some Roman Catholic provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday. The feast is one of the ecumenical feasts (i.e., universally celebrated), ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter, and Pentecost.

The Ascension has been a frequent subject in Christian art, as well as a theme in theological writings.[6] By the 6th century the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches.[5][26] The Rabbula Gospels (c. 586) include some of the earliest images of the Ascension.[26]

Many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper (Heavenly) part and a lower (earthly) part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a resurrection banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand.[7] The blessing gesture by Christ with his right hand is directed towards the earthly group below him and signifies that he is blessing the entire Church.[8] In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, signifying teaching and preaching.[8]

The Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church.[27] In many Eastern icons the Virgin Mary is placed at the center of the scene in the earthly part of the depiction, with her hands raised towards Heaven, often accompanied by various Apostles.[27] The upwards looking depiction of the earthly group matches the Eastern liturgy on the Feast of the Ascension: "Come, let us rise and turn our eyes and thoughts high..."[8]

The 2016 film, Risen, depicts Jesus' ascension in a more understated tone. The film depicts Jesus giving his final address to his disciples while in front of the Sun as it rises on daybreak, and rather than himself physically ascending, Jesus turns and walks into the glare of the Sun and disappears into its light as the Sun itself ascends into the sky.

Read more:

Ascension of Jesus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Posted in Ascension | Comments Off on Ascension of Jesus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Superintelligence Audiobook | Nick Bostrom | Audible.com

Posted: at 2:40 pm

This book is more frightening than any book you'll ever read. The author makes a great case for what the future holds for us humans. I believe the concepts in "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil are mostly spot on, but the one area Kurzweil dismisses prematurely is how the SI (superintelligent advanced artificial intelligence) entity will react to its circumstances.

The book doesn't really dwell much on how the SI will be created. The author mostly assumes a computer algorithm of some kind with perhaps human brain enhancements. If you reject such an SI entity prima facie this book is not for you, since the book mostly deals with assuming such a recursive self aware and self improving entity will be in humanities future.

The author makes some incredibly good points. He mostly hypothesizes that the SI entity will be a singleton and not allow others of its kind to be created independently and will happen on a much faster timeline after certain milestones are fulfilled.

The book points out how hard it is to put safeguards into a procedure to guard against unintended consequences. For example, making 'the greater good for the greatest many' the final goal can lead to unintended consequence such as allowing a Nazi ruled world (he doesn't give that example directly in the book, and I borrow it from Karl Popper who gave it as a refutation for John Stuart Mill's utilitarian philosophy). If the goal is to make us all smile, the SI entity might make brain probes that force us to smile. There is no easy end goal specifiable without unintended consequences.

This kind of thinking within the book is another reason I can recommend the book. As I was listening, I realized that all the ways we try to motivate or control an SI entity to be moral can also be applied to us humans in order to make us moral to. Morality is hard both for us humans and for future SI entities.

There's a movie from the early 70s called "Colossus: The Forbin Project", it really is a template for this book, and I would recommend watching the movie before reading this book.

I just recently listened to the book, "Our Final Invention" by James Barrat. That book covers the same material that is presented in this book. This book is much better even though they overlap very much. The reason why is this author, Nick Bostrom, is a philosopher and knows how to lay out his premises in such a way that the story he is telling is consistent, coherent, and gives a narrative to tie the pieces together (even if the narrative will scare the daylights out of the listener).

This author has really thought about the problems inherent in an SI entity, and this book will be a template for almost all future books on this subject.

Originally posted here:

Superintelligence Audiobook | Nick Bostrom | Audible.com

Posted in Superintelligence | Comments Off on Superintelligence Audiobook | Nick Bostrom | Audible.com