Kategorie: general

How do humans guard themselves against their own kind?

The German original „Wie schützt der Mensch sich vor sich selbst“ will be published by Meinhard Miegel.

The question is of actual relevance and it is timeless as well, because it applies to man alone; no other biological species needs to guard itself against its own kind. The survival of species was endangered by predators or by a hostile environment. Man alone among all species has evolved to such an uncanny degree that he now threatens his own survival. How do humans guard themselves against their own kind? weiterlesen

Bertrand Russell’s Fatal Error – how Analytic Philosophy distorts Human Reason

Love for Wisdom (Philosophy) took by no means a bad advice as it embraced the demand of science for truth. Its opposition to religion in the pre-Socratic era, and again at the time of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, emerged from a deep insight. The search for truth is indeed one of the foundations of human knowledge. Bertrand Russell’s Fatal Error – how Analytic Philosophy distorts Human Reason weiterlesen

The Meaning of Economic Philosophy

In ‘The Open Society and its Enemies’, Karl Popper strongly defended the position that major interventions in the economy, especially when ideologically motivated, are usually disastrous and should therefore be avoided. The Meaning of Economic Philosophy weiterlesen

Love for Wisdom (Philosophy) – Grande Dame or living Zombie?

Philosophy is going through rather hard times at present. Like an old lady of genteel birth, she is still talked about because of her stately demeanor and tremendous self-confidence – just as if she did not know that you’re mocking her as a zombie behind her back. Certainly, philosophy is still present at almost all universities, but you only need to translate her boisterous Greek name into plain English to provoke a condescending smile. What, after all, is left of that ‘Love for Wisdom‘? If people are serious about their life, they turn to business, logistics or physics. If they just want to have fun, they don’t care about wisdom at all. Love for Wisdom (Philosophy) – Grande Dame or living Zombie? weiterlesen

Ishiguro – Kehlmann – Houellebecq, a European triad of literary fame

Writers are said to represent the conscience of their time, the finest seismographs for the tectonic shifts of the soul. The three writers mentioned above are among the greatest in their respective linguistic areas, the English, the German and the French. What conclusions can be drawn from their works with regard to the state of mind prevalent among Europeans? Ishiguro – Kehlmann – Houellebecq, a European triad of literary fame weiterlesen

Left or Right – is that the question?

(The German original, which bears the title Rechts oder Links – das ist die Frage, was published in EuroKalypse Now? (Metropolis 2014) Left or Right – is that the question? weiterlesen

Electromobility – When the wish is the father to the thought …

„The car of the future has a problem: there is no tank, only a bulky battery, which weighs several hundred kilograms but delivers no more energy than a few petroleum bottles. The car of the future does not need a filler neck. It draws its food from a cable. And this process is about as fast as filling a canister with a doctor’s syringe“. Electromobility – When the wish is the father to the thought … weiterlesen

Huxley’s Brave New World revisited

Even during the writing of his masterpiece, Huxley seemed to have been in doubt as to how it was to be understood. Should one take it as a satire, a prophecy or a guide to political action? Huxley’s Brave New World revisited weiterlesen

Private Property – does it create free men or lead to revolutions and serfdom?

No more immediate, no more elementary private property can be thought of than that which constitutes my own body. If I am put in chains, imprisoned, or my normal sphere of activity severely restricted, I lose the right to this innate property – my liberty is annulled. Proceeding further on this way you transform free people into slaves, by depriving them of the right to dispose of their own being. Private Property – does it create free men or lead to revolutions and serfdom? weiterlesen

Ownerless society – from Marx to neoliberalism

Marx wanted it – but neo-liberalism achieved it: societies without property and owners. The term is, however, inherently contradictory. Someone always exercises control over the physical environment, i.e. e. the houses, offices, workshops, factories, even rivers, lakes, and every square meter of forest. In other words, somebody always acts as the owner of property. In this sense, ownerless society is based on illusion. Ownerless society – from Marx to neoliberalism weiterlesen

Hannah Arendt versus Vladimir Putin

It is probably due to our biological origin as primates that our most intense feelings are so often associated with triumph over enemies. The Iliad is a hero song, where the bloodiest victories are celebrated with the utmost effort of poetical inspiration. No wonder, then, that the new Russian Czar invites his countrymen to indulge in these atavistic intoxication. More and more often, one can hear from his mouth how heroic the Russian people had fought against fascism and finally overcome it. Hannah Arendt versus Vladimir Putin weiterlesen