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Human enhancement technology and the horrible challenges to equality that lie ahead

February 14, 2015 by Peter Holding

Throughout history the upper classes have always claimed to be entitled to their wealth on the basis of their claim that they are smarter, stronger and better than the lower classes. These claims were, and remain, largely delusions. The advantages of the upper classes are socio-political not “biological”. But with new scientific developments, the pretensions of the privileged threaten […]

Filed Under: history, philosophy, politics Tagged With: egalitarian values, Equality, human enhancement technology, Oxfam inequality, Piketty, technology and inequality

Harari- Part 3, Nazi Humanists?

February 14, 2015 by Peter Holding

According to Harari Nazi ideology was humanist- which is not, of course, to say that it was “humane” or humanitarian. Harari says that humanism is constituted by any ideology which holds that Homo Sapiens have a unique and sacred nature different from all other animals and that this unique nature is the most important thing in […]

Filed Under: history, philosophy, politics

The remarkable thought of Yuval Harari- Part 1 Introduction

February 1, 2015 by Peter Holding

There are many short histories of the world and histories of philosophy. Where to start? Some historians just write well without necessarily focussing on particular themes- Geoffrey Blainey is an example. Ian Morris and Jarod Diamond explore why the West developed before other parts of the world. Jarod Diamond argues for the primacy of geographical factors. He points to […]

Filed Under: history, philosophy, politics Tagged With: David Cannadine, extinction of human beings, Ian Morris, Jarod Diamond, Phillip Gigantes, Pinker, Ronald Wright, short histories of the world, Stokes-Brown

Kant, Husserl, Heidegger and Marx- a brief note

June 23, 2014 by Peter Holding

  ImmanuelKant (1724- 1804) distinguished between “phenomena” and “noumena”. Phenomena are things that we perceive though our senses and understand by applying our reason to them. But Kant believed that objects also have an existence in themselves which we cannot directly experience. This is “noumena” or the “noumenal world”. Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) agreed that human […]

Filed Under: philosophy Tagged With: being, being and consciousness, change, Heidegger and Marx, Husserl, Kant, phenomenology

Two Dumbest Ideas From Philosophy- Anselm’s “proof” of God and Berkeley’s idea about existence

June 22, 2014 by Peter Holding

There have been a lot of strange ideas in philosophy. But I think St. Anselm’s “proof” of the existence of God and George Berkeley’s ideas about existence rank among the dumbest. Perhaps you can find some dumber ones? St Anselm’s “proof” of the existence of God Anselm (1033-1109) believed he had proved the existence of God in the […]

Filed Under: for teens, philosophy Tagged With: Anslem's proof of God, Berkeley's ideas about existence, dumb ideas in philosophy

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