Santayana on barbarism. The notion of ‘barbarism’ in Santayana has predominantly (though not exclusively) a form of something that can be called a ‘cultural barbarism’ as opposed to ‘civilization,’ and, in this sense, does not refer directly to any indiscriminate killings or plundering, as it is frequently associated in the popular usage of this term. According to him, barbarism in this cultural form can be found both in the ancient past, when “barbarian genius infused into Christianity” (LR 228) – the Gothic cathedrals having been an example of such an infusion -, and in the modern era, when such eminent representatives of the “poetry of barbarism” can be found as Walt Whitman and Robert Browning. By employing the opposition ‘barbarian-civilized’ in many of his texts, he wanted to tell us that the civilized way of thinking lies in having a clear vision of a perfect life along with the recognition of the ultimate justification of the machinery of life, understanding it with its ideals, wisdom, and beauty (cf. IPR, 166-168); contrary to that, barbarian means “undisciplined, rebellious against the nature of things” (L4, 45). [Read more…]
Webinar on Justice and Injustice in the Practice Life
The problem of ‘justice’ and ‘injustice’ has always been widely and ardently discussed in the public sphere. A professionalized type of discussions, such as amongst philosophers, lawyers, experts on political issues, etc. seems very technical, complicated and frequently misunderstood for the members of the public. One of the reasons is that this notion (‘justice’) is a very general idea having very different meanings and, additionally, it evokes high emotions in those who have experienced themselves some kind of injustice. For example, for some, ‘justice’ means ‘revenge’ (as it was according to the Hammurabi Law and still is in many cultures and in some kinds of individual approaches), which for others means hardly anything more than ‘a barbarian type of practicing injustice.’
Santayana on Values
Santayana on Values. Although Santayana did not use such phrases as a ‘philosophy of values,’ ‘axiology,’ and ‘value theory,’ almost all his numerous works are full of references to the problem of values. He gives us, in his works, an answer to the question as to what is valuable, how values and the valuable emerge, and what constitutes the processes of evaluation. We can talk, then, about a need to reconstruct his philosophy of values or his theory of values, although he saw the practice of becoming a worthy person doing valuable activities much more important for a philosopher than producing a theory in an academic style; as Arthur Danto commented on the example of the value of ‘beauty’, Santayana “doubtless would have said that it is better to create beauty than to analyze it” (Danto xvi). [Read more…]
Why values are important in everyday life?
Free Webinar: Why values are important in everyday life?
Every day, many people from all walks of life think and talk about values. Any time we use such words as ‘worthy/unworthy,’ ‘value/valuable,’ ‘good/better/worse,’ ‘nice/beautiful/ugly,’ and many others we willy-nilly refer to some forms of evaluation and values. Some of these evaluations are short-term, as when we refer to some goods to be achieved soon; some of these evaluations are medium-term, as when we think of our education, partnership, etc.; they refer to long-term, as when we ask questions about the worth of our lives: does my life have any sense/worth? What is or should be its direction? [Read more…]
Improve your English with Rorty
Let’s take a look at Richard Rorty’s skill to employ some words of the colloquial style into a serious philosophical discourse. I show you this to illustrate the thesis saying that one does not have to separate a heavy philosophical style (and serious issues to be discussed) from the informal everyday speech in order to produce a profound message for both audiences, I mean the professional philosophers and those interested in philosophical issues.
people begin to toss around old words in new senses, to throw in the occasional neologism, and thus to hammer out a new idiom which initially attracts attention to itself and only later gets put to work. In this initial stage, words stand out as words, colors as encrusted pigments, chords as dissonances. Half-formed materiality becomes the mark of the avant-garde (“Deconstruction and Circumvention”).
In some dictionaries and for many speakers, such phrasal verbs as ‘toss around, ‘throw in,’ and ‘hammer out’ are seen as informal, and such terms as ‘neologism,’ ‘dissonance,’ and ‘avant-garde’ (not to mention ‘deconstruction’ and ‘circumvention’ in the title) sound formal. Rorty’s use of such words side by side corresponds to his attempt to widen the philosophical audience in hope to include both philosophers and the readers who are outside of academia.
Jose Mujica quoting Santayana – #human
Jose Mujica refers to Santayana’s most famous quotation
We usually think that the new media are away from philosophy. Take a look at the very popular interview these days on Youtube. Ex-president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, known as the ‘poorest president’ talking about life and consumption, is quoting Santayana: “you must remember the past or be condemned to repeat it.” The original version reads: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Santayana, The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense. Scribner’s, 1905: 284). Interestingly, this quote, although in a back-translation form, is present on a plaque at the Auschwitz concentration camp: “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”
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