Warren Kinston
4. November 2015 09:00
Two big ideas have been the source of endless strife and much debate throughout the ages: “God” and “the State”.
I have not yet posted my work on “the State” because it requires explaining minor modifications of published frameworks. However, our present global predicament pushes me to explain here how these ideas are intrinsic to our personal functioning. We can then consider the consequences for our societies.
Given today's world, a world riven by war both declared and undeclared, we should strive to understand what is happening. More...
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Warren Kinston
Warren Kinston
9. March 2014 10:00
How could we ever do anything without power? Power empowers: yet we know power is a problem. Social interaction is the human condition—and it cannot possibly be improved without exercising power.
The problem is that it is now a universally recognised truism that power corrupts. Why? Read on for a taxonomic answer! But first let's explore some issues.
Recent academic research suggests that power heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies. But this sort of study actually avoids the power issue. It confuses «having power» with «exerting power». Power in the political or social sense is not just being powerful or having authority, but using it on others. More specifically: “using it to get someone to do what they otherwise would not do”— More...
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Warren Kinston
Warren Kinston
24. February 2013 15:00
The food industry is poisoning the population—globally. The USA being the most advanced country is the most poisoned. The giant corporations—Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, MacDonalds, Coca Cola, Frito-Lay, Nestle's and others—they all do it with neuroscience. They know the brain is in charge, as the neuroscientists constantly tell us, and so they address themselves to instinctive reactions. They certainly don't encourage thoughtful deliberation about whether or not to buy what is nutritious.
The food giants deliberately activate brain-based reactions for salt, sugar, fat, crunch, mouth feel, tastes, colors and other factors. The goal is to get you to More...
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Warren Kinston
Warren Kinston
17. February 2013 15:00
The elements in being human are still mysterious for many.
I guess that if you ask most people to identify human elements, they will wonder what you are talking about. You will say: "just name those things that enable you to be human, that mean that you are human and not a machine or a plant or just another animal". They will want examples. You refuse. They squirm, struggle and hazard some guesses: "Is it language then?" or "making tools?" or "laughing?" or "civilization?"
Why is being human so strange?
If you want to show them some long lists of human elements, send them More...
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Warren Kinston
Warren Kinston
9. February 2013 10:00
Like all truly great philosophers, Wittgenstein had a gift for words.
"Uttering a word", he said, "is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination."
THEE could be viewed as codifying many elements in his thinking. There is certainly support for many taxonomic propositions that look strange on the surface e.g. the notion that at the core of all well-founded belief, lies belief that is unfounded. He recognized that “man has to awaken to wonder—and so perhaps do peoples. Science is a way of sending him to sleep again.”
His view that anything that can be said should be said is clearly an approach to using language that I share. However, my taxonomic researches make it clear that this logical method is but one of 7 approaches for using language (available soon in the TOP Studio). It suits some purposes and not others. More...
About
Warren Kinston