“Does spiritual philosophy make us outcasts? - Examiner” plus 3 more |
- Does spiritual philosophy make us outcasts? - Examiner
- Sexy gift idea Philosophy's Amazing Grace, body ... - Examiner
- Philosophy Helps Start-Ups Move Faster - Wall Street Journal
- Valley College First To Host District Philosophy ... - Valley Star
| Does spiritual philosophy make us outcasts? - Examiner Posted: 19 May 2010 11:06 AM PDT Can you feel at home in society while practicing philosophy? If we choose to practice our philosophy fully, will that inevitably lead to some degree of isolation or loneliness as we find ourselves less and less like mainstream society? Last Sunday, a club called Socrates Cafe met at Borders Books & Music on Kirby Drive here in Houston, and this was the question examined. Many participated, and their ideas and input I've tried to include here. Philosophy has always had a tendency to illuminate where we are going wrong, as individuals and as a society. It pokes and prods at the assumptions of society and can have an undermining effect on its norms. As such, it shouldn't be surprising if, as we learn more and think philosophically more, we will eventually begin to see that the 'best way to live' is pretty different from the way most people in our society behave. So then we face a quandary. How far do we go in living our philosophy and in the process, become ever more alien and incompatible with our friends, family, and colleagues? Socrates, a "trouble-maker" who got himself sentenced to death, didn't exactly 'fit in' after all. There are many other examples of philosophers being imprisoned, excommunicated, banished, or put to death - and, more relevant, many times that number who simply lived lives feeling disconnected from others and lonely. Subtle and less extreme examples include the difficulty of fitting in with others at gatherings when practicing vegetarian or vegan diets. But if we decide to forgo some practices, or modify them, are we hypocrites who know one thing but practice another just to fit in? Are we refraining from being ourselves just to seek the approval of others? On the other hand, if we decide to go our own way and that makes us into a hermit, how do we know the difference between enlightenment and being a wacko, without the ability to check our ideas against the insight of others? Or, worse, such an attitude may be the seed that opens the doorway to extremism. No, surely a continued exchange - a true dialog which is one of equals who listen and not a one-way sermon - is essential to philosophic practice. But in this exchange there must be proper discernment. We cannot make ourselves into the 'follower of the crowd' simply seeking approval and giving up who we are at our core. But at the same time, we must be open to the possibility that others are wiser than ourselves, or have some nuggets we have yet to fully comprehend. That requires a trust in ourselves - a trust that we can take in the opinions of others, digest them carefully and thoughtfully, and then properly discern between the wise and the foolish (and the as-yet-unknown). Having an open mind means all ideas are welcome to come in for an audition - but not necessarily to end up in the play. Another important measure in exchanges with others is not to pigeonhole others - not to hear one thing about them or their position and think we know everything they think and believe immediately. Sometimes our terms, definitions, and labels can be very misleading. We may think of ourselves as a capitalist, for example. Then after meeting one person who calls himself capitalist and another communist, that we actually agree more with the latter, simply because of different understandings and uses of these terms. Without careful and subtle appreciation of our varying use of the language, we run the risk of letting semantics be a tool to alienate ourselves and others. We should also understand that we have the ability to communicate the very same messages and maintain the integrity of our position and who we are - but phrase our position in ways and present it in ways which will not cause conflict, keeping lines of communication open and productive. But lastly, we must understand that some people are simply not interested or ready to discuss things philosophically. Some go about life without introspection and will never be interested in it. Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living, yet that is their right and if they are not willing, then it is best to accept that. Some may be open to introspection, but simply not at this time or on a certain topic. Use these times as a chance to engage them in other ways and learn something about yourself. We cannot control the actions of others; only ourselves. Eastern philosophies might use the analogy of cultivation: even with the best seed, we must wait for the right conditions to plant it. If our philosophy takes us down a road of contrast to the prevailing culture, there seem to be different ways this can manifest. When we look at examples of people who have 'gone off on their own tangents' philosophically, we see two sides of one coin. On the one side, we have the hermit - sometimes respected but a mystery to others, sometimes hated, often unknown. On the other side, we have the beloved visionary - people like Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, and so on. What is the fundamental distinction between these two paths? The hermit's philosophy is for himself. He hordes it and focuses on his own enlightenment and progress. To others, he might say they are a lost cause and society will never learn. Or, he might say that they too should focus on themselves, because we can only control what we do and should not be concerned with telling others what they ought to do. I have recently taken to heart the notion that if we want change, we must focus on the 'man in the mirror' (as the Michael Jackson song declares). It is not philosophy that heals, but the practice of it. That is something that is up to the individual. But isolationism and extreme individualism cannot be the answer either. This denies that others are wiser than ourselves. It also shows a lack of concern for others. Surely, we don't want to be the 'preachy' holier-than-thou type. But unless we share with one another, not only can we not grow - but we cannot carry on the wisdom which we ourselves enjoy. I've read recently that one possible reason for the decline of Stoicism was that Epictetus held a high regard for practice and a lower regard for commentary and writing. Thus, it only took a few generations with that extreme focus to put a damper on the continued spread of Stoic thought. It behooves us not to focus exclusively on practice to the point of disregarding others or society, becoming self-made outcasts. The examples of visionaries I've mentioned were not 'preachy', but were respected for their distinction from the norms of society. One way they accomplished this was by doing over saying. Showing in our life deeds over words will always be more respected, and something many of us (this author included) need to work at more. Another way they took a different path without isolationism was that they had a compassionate nature. They had ideas that stood in contrast to the prevailing winds, but they shared them with others out of love. They understood that, as they focused on their own actions and personal practice, it was important to exchange with others in respect (both sharing and learning) and with a caring purpose. Their philosophy was not only for themselves, but to be shared for the benefit of all - even while understanding that it is up to each person to decide for themselves to accept or act on that. When our discussion began I was unclear about these questions. While there is still much more to think about here, I was fortunate to gain some clarity on some of this. The above are not solely my thoughts, but an amalgamation of ideas shared by all of the participants of the gathering. I thank everyone who attended with me for this. I'm sorry I don't have all of their names, but invite them to comment below, tell us who you are, and what thoughts you contributed! Socrates Cafe in Houston takes place on the first Sunday of each month at Borders Books & Music, 3025 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77092 (Houston Socrates Cafe website). The Socrates Cafe concept is a global one (main Socrates Cafe website). Until next time :) Like DT Strain articles?
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| Sexy gift idea Philosophy's Amazing Grace, body ... - Examiner Posted: 17 May 2010 12:34 PM PDT Philosophy's Amazing Grace, sexy new body layering collection on QVC - perfect for yourself or as a romantic gift! The Philosophy Amazing Grace Gift Set Video Review. Today's Abiola's Kiss & Tell News. GODDESS FAB ALERT! Be ready for the most intimate of encounters. Keep your lover engaged or attract a new flame. These are the well-deserved powers we give to fragrance. Clearly, I am a perfume lover, and my scent wardrobe is a key part of my personal game. You can imagine how excited I was when Philosophy sent me their Amazing Grace scent layering gift set. I receive many products to review and love freebies, but I only share my honest opinions with you. Although I received these products as a free gift, this Philosophy Grace scent is so romantic and feminine that I found and ordered the Amazing Grace scented candle so that my home would also smell like Grace. Perfect for hot dates or dates of one. Sexy, sexy, sexy!! Watch the episode... I also had a guy who was a chocolaholic so I also own Philosophy Chocolate 3 In 1 Ultra Rich Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash - highly recommended. *****I give it 5 Yummy Abiola Kisses. HOW TO BUY: To learn more or to get a first glimpse of the products watch QVC, and check out my Kiss & Tell episode here. You can also shop online at HERE. What do you think? Subscribe, comment, hit me up on Twitter @AbiolaTV, AbiolaTV.com, Facebook and see you in NYC monthly at Abiola's Kiss & Tell LIVE at Madame X. Buy my novel Dare by Abiola Abrams wherever you buy books. Here's the official stuff: This holiday season, QVC wants to know what's your philosophy? For skin care shoppers, philosophy believes the right fragrance changes the way you smell and feel. This non-prescription, cutting-edge line of skin care, fragrance, bath and body products, and color cosmetics is available now in department stores across America and on QVC. This winter, invest in a new philosophy of beauty with this unique line of products formulated to fit your lifestyle. Philosophy's Amazing Grace on QVC Official Abiola Review!
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| Philosophy Helps Start-Ups Move Faster - Wall Street Journal Posted: 19 May 2010 02:26 PM PDT By PUI-WING TAMSilicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists often churn out how-to business books and fancy themselves as management gurus, but few see their methodologies adopted. Eric Ries is experiencing something different. The 31-year-old techie has coined a burgeoning management philosophy that he calls Lean Startup. Since Mr. Ries began blogging, speaking and consulting on lean start-ups in late 2008, he has gained a following. Dozens of Silicon Valley start-ups are applying his ideas, while entrepreneur groups world-wide are holding regular meetings to discuss the methodologies. Harvard Business Review has also asked Mr. Ries to write a series of articles about the concept. "Eric is espousing a different way to build companies," says Kevin Dewalt, 40, an entrepreneur in Arlington, Va., who has organized three Lean Startup meetings for Beltway entrepreneurs since October 2009. All the events sold out, says Mr. Dewalt, adding, "We've realized entrepreneurship is a unique management science.' Mr. Ries's Lean Startup philosophy aims to help new companies make speedier decisions by taking a more disciplined approach to testing products and ideas and using the resulting customer feedback. Instead of building a software product over months and jamming multiple features into the product, for instance, Mr. Ries advocates continually deploying new software to test whether customers actually want a particular feature. That enables a start-up to more quickly decide if the feature is a waste of time to build and if so, to move on. "Lean isn't about being cheap [but is about] being less wasteful and still doing things that are big," says Mr. Ries, a serial entrepreneur whose projects include virtual-world company There Inc. and 3D instant-messaging and social-networking firm IMVU Inc. He says he began blogging about the idea of lean start-ups after he saw ventures such as There Inc. fail and then managed things differently at IMVU, which today has more than 50 million registered users. One start-up now using Mr. Ries's lean methods is Dropbox Inc., a 27-person San Francisco company that provides Internet file-sharing services. Drew Houston, Dropbox's chief executive, says that since he started reading Mr. Ries's Lean Startup blog about a year ago, the company has started trickling out new features when they are ready instead of waiting to launch a fully featured product. That helps test customer appetite, he says, dubbing the practice "minimum viable product." Some Lean Startup methodologies are sparking a backlash. Marc Andreessen, a co-founder of Netscape Communications Corp. who is now a venture capitalist, says some entrepreneurs have misinterpreted Lean Startups as a reason to remain small and not go for big opportunities. Mr. Ries agrees that some of his philosophy is being misconstrued. To clarify, he held a Lean Startup conference last month that was attended by several thousand people. And, of course, he plans to write a book on the management techniques. Write to Pui-Wing Tam at pui-wing.tam@wsj.com Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Valley College First To Host District Philosophy ... - Valley Star Posted: 19 May 2010 10:52 AM PDT First annual philosophy conference met with positive results.Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Updated: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Valley College's philosophy and economics department hosted the first of what is to be an annual philosophy conference to an audience of students, faculty and staff from the Los Angeles Community College District in Monarch Hall's Fireside Room Saturday. The conference was organized by instructors Zack Knorr and Chris Pallotti of Valley to give students an opportunity to share their work in philosophy with students from around the district. "These events are very important for our campus," said Knorr. "They give students a chance to come together and develop their thoughts and ideas. They help to create an important sense of campus community that is vital to the college experience." The crowd of nearly 80 people was double what was expected. Lectures were heard on everything from ethics and politics, to perspectivism and logic. Keynote speaker Harold Ravitch, a professor at Valley for 30 years, gave a presentation on Aristotle. Other speakers at the event included instructor George Lujan, and students including John Henry Evans. "Philosophy is kind of a lost art," said Evans. "So it's good that people are getting together to discuss these topics. Philosophy is pursuit of wisdom." Using people behind the 9/1l Truth movement as an example, Evans discussed what he called the "true believers," or people who blindly believe in a cause or mass movement without questioning the logical merit of such a cause. The 9/11 Truth movement believes there was a domestic conspiracy behind the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. Attendees of the event were treated with a continental breakfast and a lunch that included pizza and sandwiches. It was an open forum as audience members were able to ask questions of speakers and raise ideas on lecture topics. "We think that this is a very exciting event," said Knorr. "I'm really proud of the great papers that we've received from our students at Valley." Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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