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The remarkable thought of Yuval Harari- Part 1 Introduction 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 the large ...
China and Climate Change- the Grounds for Hope and Scepticism It is hard to do anything other than welcome the recent pledge by China and the USA, the world’s top carbon emitters, to work together to combat climate change. But in China’s case there are grounds for scepticism as well as hope. Elizabeth Economy has chronicled China’s environmental history in her 2004 book ‘The River Runs ...
Obesity Since the World Health Organisation recognised first recognised obesity as a growing health problem in 1980, no country has succeeded in reducing obesity rates. Capitalism promotes the benefits of competition. Undoubtedly there are some. But as long as there are profits to be made from it, competition among food companies will lead them to resist regulation and to develop an ...
Another Great Capitalist Innovation We all know about sub-prime home loans in the USA. Now there are sub-prime car loans- Loans to lower income earners with poor credit ratings. The loans are secured by a technological innovation. Using GPS systems to track the vehicle, lenders are now able to deactivate the vehicle remotely should payments be missed. The deactivation device is required ...
Paying the Price for Ignoring Iraq Warnings (This article is an expanded version of an article which appeared in ‘The Age’ on 2 October 2014). The idea that the Islamic State (IS) does not represent “real Islam” might be well intentioned. It is also nonsense. The IS denounces moderate Islam as not representing “real Islam”. This equally, is nonsense. There is no such thing ...
‘The Undivided Past’- Book Review Summary: David Cannadine says that people have defined themselves (and others) by applying the identities of religion, nation, class, race, gender or civilisation. But he argues these categories lead to over simplifications of the human condition and human history, because most people have multiple identities. He also argues that rather than history being made up of endless conflicts within these identities, human ...
Thomas Piketty- Some Observations Piketty’s Importance and Basic Theory Thomas Piketty’s book ‘Capital in the 21st Century’ has spurred vigorous public discussion in developed countries about the growth in inequality and what to do about it. Others have previously raised the issue of inequality. But Piketty has been hard to ignore because his book relies upon painstaking analysis of taxation and other data to make out his case regarding ...
USA: One in four young working men now earn below poverty lines wages An Economic Policy Institute report has found that: More than one in four full time employed males between the ages of 25-34 in the USA is now living below the poverty line. This means that they are employed full time on a wage of less than $11.49 US an hour. Between 1979 and 2013 the percentage of full ...
The Catechism, Homosexuality and Child Sex Abuse My theory is that it is hardly surprising that Catholic clergy are over represented when it comes to sexual abuse of boys. I suggest formal Catholic teaching on the question of homosexuality provides an inkling of why this might be the case. The Catechism is the official teaching of the Catholic Church. In 1992, Pope John Paul II said of the ...
Kant, Husserl, Heidegger and Marx- a brief note 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 beings are, by ...
Two Dumbest Ideas From Philosophy- Anselm’s “proof” of God and Berkeley’s idea about existence 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 following way: God ...
AFL Laws of Australian Football- Are they adequate? Introduction The AFL is a multi- million dollar organisation. It cannot be beyond the capacity of the organisation to set out the rules of the game in a clear manner. The current rules are set out in a document known as ‘Laws of Australian Football’ an edition of which is published each year. The 2014 edition ...
Confused About Aussie Rules Umpiring? Here is why! Romantics and egalitarians like to believe that “having a go” at the umpire stems from an anti-authoritarian streak which is part of the archetypical Australian character. There might be some truth to this. But it is also true that, as a sport, Australian Rules has some unique characteristics which lend themselves towards criticism of the umpire. Umpires, their ...
WAR WITH IRAQ-The case against WAR WITH IRAQ-The case against (First published in ‘Overland Magazine’ in Autumn 2003 before the intervention in Iraq) What matters could have been raised in federal parliament if Howard’s promised parliamentary debate on Australia’s participation in a war on Iraq had been allowed to take place? A starting point in the debate should be that the US and ...
Clyde Holding Tribute See the tribute to Clyde Holding here