Tuesday, March 22, 2022

985: Left and Right....

For some time already we are tracking the history of what we mean by "FREEDOM" and today I got the feeling that it has no history at all.

   

It may be a biased view, but when I think of the history of something, for instance, science, you also feel that assumption, that history means a kind of development, growth, progress.

    

Take the history of aviation, how it began with the Wright brothers (1909). Today we fly faster than the speed of sound and even to the moon and beyond.

    

But when I think of the history of freedom, I begin to wonder. The history of aviation took less than some fifty years to deliver nice airliners and fighter jets.

    

But freedom? We know that homo sapiens is working on it for millennia and what did it bring us?

   

Don't worry, this is not going to be some depressive and gloomy account of human failure with respect to freedom, but I want to put things in perspective.

   

To begin with, we are an impatient species. When we see a problem we want to have it solved preferably yesterday.

  

However, as I have pointed out several times, accept that the solution of some problems, the emergence of some positive changes may take centuries. That is what history shows us.

   

Taking that into account, what do we see when we look at the way we interpret FREEDOM through the ages?

   

And here I get the feeling, that is constantly the same debate. Only the contexts change. has our handling of freedom changed too through the ages, that is the question.

   

Let's begin at the beginning. Homo sapiens is a social animal. In the previous lecture, we saw how this leads to a correlation between rights and duties.

   

However, the basic atom of society is the individual and according to Thomas Hobbes this individual lives in constant war with the other individuals 

   

unless he succeeds to figure out a way of living together with the other individuals in such a way that he still has the freedom to be himself.

   

If you look at all political debates, I came to the conclusion, that for centuries the basics have never changed.

   

What I mean is this: what is the human condition? On the one hand, it is preserving his own life and on the other hand, it is the observation that he can't achieve this alone.

   

So, the basic inner fight of homo sapiens is between selfishness (greed) and the will to share with others and I thence came to the conclusion 

  

that this is what underlies every political discussion, every discussion about the question: how do we organize our mutual cooperation in our society?

    

In present-day terminology, I would associate selfishness with the inclination towards liberalism and the will to share with the inclination towards socialism.

   

The Ancient Greeks discussed the issue, but they phrased it in other wordings. IN what situation is the citizen free?

  

In a city ruled by a tyrant and a rich elite or in a city where the people formulate the laws that channel the freedom of every citizen in relation to his fellowman?

   

The Humanists in the Renaissance continued the same debate. In the Middle Ages, it became the debate between the people against the Will of God.

   

The Reformation put an end to this dominance of the theological justification of absolute power of royalty and the philosophers revived the ancient view of the rule of the people.

   

And to phrase it in an anachronistic way: it was the debate between the conservatives, right-wing, that supported royal absolutism,

   

and the left-wing, who supported the conviction that one only could be free if the people themselves wrote the laws to live by.

  

In the next lecture, we'll see what would become of this debate in the seventeenth century.

   

Thank you for your attention...



TABLE OF CONTENT ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


  1 - 100 Philosophers                         9 May 2009  Start of

  2 - 25+ Women Philosophers                       10 May 2009  this blog

  3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking                       10 May 2009

  4 - Modern Theories of Ethics                       29 Oct  2009

  5 - The Ideal State                                               24 Febr 2010   /   234

  6 - The Mystery of the Brain                                  3 Sept 2010   /   266

  7 - The Utopia of the Free Market                       16 Febr 2012    /   383

  8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism                      5 Sept 2012   /   413

  9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist                             6 Nov  2012   /   426                        

10  - Non-Western Philosophy                               29 May 2013    /   477

11  -  Why Science is Right                                      2 Sept 2014   /   534      

12  - A Philosopher looks at Atheism                        1 Jan  2015   /   557

13  - EVIL, a philosophical investigation                 17 Apr  2015   /   580                

14  - Existentialism and Free Will                             2 Sept 2015   /   586         

15 - Spinoza                                                             2 Sept 2016   /   615

16 - The Meaning of Life                                        13 Febr 2017   /   637

17 - In Search of of my Self                                     6 Sept 2017   /   670

18 - The 20th Century Revisited                              3 Apr  2018    /   706

19 - The Pessimist                                                  11 Jan 2020    /   819

20 - The Optimist                                                     9 Febr 2020   /   824

21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream                8 Oct  2020   /   872

22 - A World Full of Patterns                                    1 Apr 2021    /   912

23 - The Concept of Freedom                                  8 Jan 2022    /   965


    


 The Discussion


[14:23] oola Neruda: follow the money

[14:23] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman

[14:24] herman Bergson: Through  the ages it looks like the debate has been the same all the time

[14:24] theo Velde is online.

[14:25] herman Bergson: Between....should I care for myself primarily or should I be willing to share and strive for equality

[14:26] herman Bergson: In democracy we seem to have found a reasonable balance.....to continue the debate in a decent way in the meantime

[14:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm

[14:27] herman Bergson: But a number of democracies are deteriorating....I won't mention names :-)

[14:27] oola Neruda: have and have not..... how can one go after this basic ... underlying problem with equality

[14:27] oola Neruda: too often it leads to conflict of one kind or another ... on a person to person level or national

[14:28] herman Bergson: YEs....

[14:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah

[14:28] oola Neruda: or world wide even

[14:28] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true Oola

[14:28] oola Neruda: some inequalities have to do with soil, climate, water...

[14:29] oola Neruda: and that is bigger than some of us know how to tackle

[14:30] oola Neruda: it leads to all kinds of problems... from what animals can survive... crops... or just health

[14:30] herman Bergson: There was a short period n history where the will to share and strive for equality was a leading principle in Europe

[14:30] oola Neruda: let alone transportation

[14:30] herman Bergson: that was the period 1946 -1980.....

[14:31] oola Neruda: just after the war

[14:31] oola Neruda: ?

[14:31] herman Bergson: then neo-liberalism became the leading philosophy...everything was economized.....

[14:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yep

[14:31] herman Bergson: yes oola....the only period socialist parties really had a say in government

[14:32] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): socialist in Europe are different from socialist in the us

[14:32] oola Neruda: and they became.... verboten

[14:32] herman Bergson: drama began in 1989 when the Berlin wall came down and in the early 90s when the Soviet Union imploded....

[14:33] herman Bergson: That was the moment the neoliberals really played there trumpets of triumph....

[14:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah

[14:34] herman Bergson: And this has brought us nto a world where everything is a product on the market where only profit is the leading principle...

[14:34] herman Bergson: all socialist parties have vaporized in Europe

[14:34] oola Neruda: previous to that, I remember friends and more friends who crawled under the wires in the dark, jummpet from windows near the wall... got arrested at checkpoint Charlie... and on and on

[14:35] herman Bergson: sharing is a non issue, equality a bad word, equal chances...we even cant spell it correctly anymore

[14:35] oola Neruda: only a teenager.... but their stories were awful

[14:35] herman Bergson: I have seen the building of the Wall on TV as a child, oola

[14:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok

[14:36] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): P was in that time an agent of the KGB Oola

[14:36] oola Neruda: yes he was

[14:36] herman Bergson: to the left of the poster with the water glasses you see two drawings I then have made as a 10 year old child

[14:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok

[14:37] herman Bergson: So...where are we now?

[14:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): only future can tell but its a mess

[14:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but hopefully in the end a mess that can be untangles

[14:38] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): I guess there will be another wall between Russia and Europa countries

[14:38] herman Bergson: One the one hand indeed Bejiita....

[14:39] herman Bergson: On the other hand...just keep in mind that the old philosophy of the greeks about being free still have survived...

[14:39] herman Bergson: and eventually people protest when they are treated as slaves

[14:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): if they do they go to prison or get shot

[14:40] herman Bergson: Even in Russia today people dare to protest still

[14:40] oola Neruda: the KKK comes in many forms at different times

[14:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): One thing i can conclude we should have realized and that is if someone have been working for KGB he is from the dark side and tainted with evil. and He have had 22 years to set his vision to frution. i bet he planned this ever since he became Russias ruler

[14:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): KGB agents have learn to conceal their true intent and do everything they can to hide it

[14:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats their master skill

[14:41] herman Bergson: He doesn't live forever Bejiita :-)

[14:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): he is from 1952

[14:41] herman Bergson: A palace revolution isn't unthinkable

[14:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but thhe question is does he have time still to blow up the planet before he passes or someone manages to finally shoot him

[14:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): (shudders)

[14:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): we can only hope for the best i guess

[14:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): he is the devil in person

[14:42] herman Bergson: ti is not that simple.....

[14:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that this will not be the case, we clearly see the rest of the world have at least learned their lesson 8part from China which support the invasion with loads of foreign companies pulling away from china as a response)

[14:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the proper and ethical response indeed

[14:43] herman Bergson: P might be willing to blow up the planet....but do his buddies like to join him in that action, or say....some other time P...?

[14:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well i dont know much about this concealed system but

[14:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hopefully somehow it will all sort out peacefully in the end and Putin will have to answer for his evil deeds

[14:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the wold should be at peace after all 2022

[14:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): we don't want the dark ages back

[14:45] oola Neruda: should.... but...

[14:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah

[14:46] herman Bergson: Well...I propose to wait for the next lecture...maybe the world has changed a bit then :-))

[14:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm

[14:46] oola Neruda: I really believe P used T to plant all kinds of the fractures that we have here...

[14:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): to the better I hope indeed

[14:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): we will see

[14:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): all we can do

[14:46] herman Bergson: I think so too oola

[14:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes Oola

[14:47] herman Bergson: But not in this class ^_^

[14:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they are the brothers of evil

[14:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): and T is stupid enough to believe what P says

[14:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but i hope for the best

[14:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as u say herman, Most people are Ok and evil have no place among that majority

[14:47] oola Neruda: yes and too stupid to know how to do it on an international scale

[14:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): good will win in the end

[14:47] oola Neruda: like withdrawing from the nuclear deal

[14:48] bergfrau Apfelbaum: all churches should be rebuilt, to indoor playgrounds. for children and young people. with swings, disco, kasper theater (lol)

[14:48] oola Neruda: and other such things

[14:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes

[14:48] bergfrau Apfelbaum: oops sorry! ww

[14:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): lol Bergie

[14:48] herman Bergson: Good plan Bergie!

[14:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa yes!

[14:48] bergfrau Apfelbaum: hihi

[14:[14:50] herman Bergson: Class dismissed....

[14:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and lets try be happy

[14:50] bergfrau Apfelbaum: thank you Herman and class!!

[14:50] herman Bergson: Fortunately I am Bejiita

[14:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):

   

 

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