Google Knols have been available for over a year now and - although still in their infancy - have proven to be very useful.
Examples here: http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/klaus-rohde-knols-english/xk923bc3gp4/69#
An exiting new tool for science communication is now being developed. I thank my son Peter for sending me this. Links here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7266/full/461881a.html
The “Nobel” Prize in Economics has been a very effective instrument in directing economics research into a certain direction, i.e. that of neoclassical free market economics. But, apparently, this is not sufficient. Why not, therefore ask for help from the Bible.
Nobel Prize for Economics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/08/economics-nobel-women-bailout-stockmarket
“The Nobel prize for economics may need its own bailout
“Nobel prize has been a useful tool not only to proclaim the conceptual advances supposedly made by “the dismal science” but also to encourage certain types of economic analysis and research. So its power extends beyond public recognition, altering the very production of economic knowledge.”
“The political effect of the prize in the profession has been undeniable. There has been overwhelming domination of neoclassical economics, to the exclusion of alternative streams of thought, with only a few nods in the direction of broader and more socially embracing approaches. This has encouraged more conservative approaches in research and teaching.
Monetarist and free market approaches have been disproportionately rewarded, often at crucial times….”
The Bible
In a recent post I produced some funny quotes from Heinrich Heine. The Huffington Post, from time to time, produces equally funny ones. Have a look at this one:
From: The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner
First Posted: 10- 5-09 02:26 PM | Updated: 10- 5-09 03:38 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html
Some extracts (bold by me):
“Lo and behold, the Bible has gotten too liberal, according to a group of conservatives. And it needs a little editing.
That’s the inspiration behind the Conservative Bible Project, which seeks to take the text back to its supposed right-wing roots.
Yes, even scripture is not orthodox enough for the modern conservative. Not that it’s the fault of the author(s), exactly. The group cites a few reasons why the Bible is too progressive: “Lack of precision in the original language … lack of precision in modern language” and “translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one.”
So how can the Bible be conservatized? The group has proposed a Wikipedia-like group editing project. Some of the ideas would only bring the translation closer to the original. But others would fundamentally change the text.
1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;defective translations use the word “comrade” three times as often as “volunteer”; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as “word”, “peace”, and “miracle”.
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
Among the words to be eliminated: “government.” A conservative columnist at Beliefnet described the effort as “just crazy … like what you’d get if you crossed the Jesus Seminar with the College Republican chapter at a rural institution of Bible learnin’.”
Concerning the recommended Wikipedia style: I have commented on the serious flaws and biasses of Wikipedia in a knol:
http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/wikipedia-oder-knol-meinungsfreiheit/xk923bc3gp4/73#
Concerning the free market propaganda to be incorporated, is this blasphemous?
The continuing reduction in the number of people learning a second language is a disaster. Here I recommend some quotations from Heinrich Heine, the supreme wit in the German language, as an introduction to learning German. Get a dictionary and try to translate at least some of the quotes. You will enjoy every minute of it. No prior knowledge of the language is necessary. I provide translations of some of the quotes.
Quotes are from:
http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/index.php?id=5&xid=5278&kapitel=1&cHash=69614a6c0e#gb_found
Gedanken und Einfälle
I. Persönliches
“Mein Geist fühlt sich in Frankreich exiliert, in eine fremde Sprache verbannt.” (My spirit feels to be in exile in France, condemned to a foreign language)
II. Religion und Philosophie
“Unterschied des Heidentums (der Inder, Perser) vom Judentum: Sie haben alle ein unendliches, ewiges Urwesen, aber dieses ist bei jenen in der Welt, mit welcher es identisch, und es entfaltet sich mit dieser aus dem Gesetze der Notwendigkeit – der Gott der Juden ist außer der Welt und erschafft sie durch einen Akt des freien Willens.”
“Judentum – Aristokratie: Ein Gott hat die Welt erschaffen und regiert sie; alle Menschen sind seine Kinder, aber die Juden sind seine Lieblinge und ihr Land ist sein auserwähltes Dominium. Er ist ein Monarch, die Juden sind der Adel, und Palästina ist das Exarchat Gottes.
Christentum – Demokratie: Ein Gott, der alles erschaffen und regiert, aber alle Menschen gleich liebt und alle Reiche gleich beschützt. Er ist kein Nationalgott mehr, sondern ein universeller.”
“Die, welche den Kelch der Freuden hienieden getrunken, bekommen dort oben den Katzenjammer”
“Die Germanen ergriffen das Christentum aus Wahlverwandtschaft mit dem jüdischen Moralprinzip, überhaupt dem Judaismus. Die Juden waren die Deutschen des Orients, und jetzt sind die Protestanten in den germanischen Ländern (in Schottland, Amerika, Deutschland, Holland) nichts anderes als altorientalische Juden.”
“Die jüdische Geschichte ist schön; aber die jungen Juden schaden den alten, die man weit über die Griechen und Römer setzen würde. Ich glaube: gäbe es keine Juden mehr und man wüßte, es befände sich irgendwo ein Exemplar von diesem Volk, man würde hundert Stunden reisen, um es zu sehen und ihm die Hände zu drücken – und jetzt weicht man uns aus!”
III. Kunst und Literatur.
“Ein Buch will seine Zeit wie ein Kind. Alle schnell in wenigen Wochen geschriebenen Bücher erregen bei mir ein gewisses Vorurteil gegen den Verfasser. Eine honette Frau bringt ihr Kind nicht vor dem neunten Monat zur Welt.”
“In der Kunst ist die Form alles, der Stoff gilt nichts. Staub berechnet für den Frack, den er ohne Tuch geliefert, denselben Preis, als wenn ihm das Tuch geliefert worden. Er lasse sich nur die Form bezahlen und den Stoff schenke er.”
“Das Genie trägt im Geiste ein Abbild der Natur, und durch diese erinnert, gebiert es dies Abbild; das Talent bildet die Natur nach und schafft analytisch, was das Genie synthetisch schafft. Es gibt aber auch Charaktere, welche zwischen beiden schweben”.
“Die Daguerreotypie ist ein Zeugnis gegen die irrige Ansicht, daß die Kunst eine Nachahmung der Natur sei – die Natur hat selbst den Beweis geliefert, wie wenig sie von der Kunst versteht, wie kläglich es ausfällt, wenn sie sich mit Kunst abgibt.”
“Den Dichtern wird es noch schwerer, zwei Sprachen zu reden – ach! die meisten können kaum eine Sprache reden.
“Clauren ist jetzt in Deutschland so berühmt, daß man in keinem Bordell eingelassen wird, wenn man ihn nicht gelesen hat.” (Clauren is now so famous that you are not let into a brothel if you have not read him) Note: Clauren was (and probably is) a widely read writer of soft (or almost?) pornographic novels, who lived in the nineteenth century.
“Die höchsten Blüten des deutschen Geistes sind die Philosophie und das Lied”.
IV. Individualität. Staat und Gesellschaft.
“Demagogie, die heilige Allianz der Völker.”
“Lafayette
Die Welt wundert sich, daß einmal ein ehrlicher Mann gelebt – die Stelle bleibt vacant” (Lafayette. The world is surprised that there was an honest man - the position remains vacant)
“Die Deutschen werden nicht besser im Ausland, wie das exportierte Bier.” (The Germans don’t improve abroad, like exported beer)
V. Frauen, Liebe und Ehe
“Daß der Gatte Xanthippe’s ein so großer Philosoph geworden, ist merkwürdig. Während allem Gezänk noch denken! Aber schreiben konnte er nicht, das war unmöglich: Sokrates hat kein einziges Buch hinterlassen.”
“Die deutschen Frauen sind gefährlich wegen ihrer Tagebücher, die der Mann finden kann.” (German wives are dangerous because of their diaries, which can be found by their husband)
VI. Vermischte Einfälle.
“Weise erdenken die neuen Gedanken, und Narren verbreiten sie”.
(Wise man think new thoughts, and fools spread them)
“De mortuis nil nisi bene – man soll von den Lebenden nur Böses reden.” (De mortuis nil nisi bene - one shall talk only evil about the living)
VII. Bilder und Farbenstriche.
“Der Engländer, der mit seiner Miß immer an den Badestrand geht, damit der Anblick der nackten Männer sie gegen Sinnlichkeit abstumpfe.” (The Englishman who always goes to the beach with his Miss to dull her senses against sensuality by having to look at the nude men)
Links to my knols on parasitology, ecology, zoogeography, economics, philosophy and art can be found here:
http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/klaus-rohde-knols-english/xk923bc3gp4/69#
The list is continuously updated. Knols can be used as supplementary material for lectures.
My conclusion is that Dawkins has underestimated the positive contributions of religions to human culture, in the arts, philosophy, literature, music and architecture. Religions may well have the function to bring about social coherence (as stated by Dawkins himself), and what would take over if religions should be abolished? Dawkins’ emphasis on religion might even be dangerous, if it deflects attention from other important issues. Would it be perhaps more useful to concentrate on social and economic inequalities and try to suggest recipes for their amelioration? - He considers the concept of God a scientific hypothesis that can be tested by scientific means. But, as pointed out by theological critics, God is more than that: a source of love. - From a scientific point of view, I believe that the role of natural selection, the very basis of Darwin’s interpretation of evolution, is not as important as he claims it is. According to Kauffman [2], many traits of organisms have evolved not because of natural selection but in spite of it. Stephen Wolfram’s [3] extensive computer simulations of many systems have shown that simple “rules” in programs lead to complex characters. In other words, it may not be necessary to assume lengthy processes of selection leading from simple to complex characters. These findings suggest that evolutionary patterns may fit into certain “molds”, i.e., that outcomes of evolution are to a certain degree predetermined by the laws of nature (see discussion in [9][10][11][12]), which opens the way to a Spinozistic interpretation of nature, in which a primary cause (which everybody is welcome to name God) is at the base of and determines all the rest. Of course, this does not imply the existence of a personal God who takes responsibility and care of us.
I have been busy with scientific work over the last week or so, but yesterday I looked at some news items and came across these:
Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, indicted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat for personal gain, Bernard Madoff, the US financial guru and former Nasdaq chairman, released on bail after having been arrested earlier for decades-long fraud leading to the disappearance of nobody knows how much but estimated at around US$50 billion, US$120 billion spent for reconstruction in Iraq without much success, and - such a small item that it is hardly worth mentioning - fraudulent loss of at least US$35 million by Dreier L.L.P.
In this context, the following excerpts from the autobiography of Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve: “The Age of Turbulence” 2007, page 431, may be of interest. He writes: “Indeed, very few regulators of my acquaintance can give me examples of fraud and embezzlement unearthed by anyone other than a whistleblower.” …… “But in truth, there is no way for an audit committee, new or old, to uncover wrongdoing short of deploying a vast army of investigators who would smother the firm with costly oversight that would likely stifle corporate risk taking and ultimately threaten the viability of the company.”
So, risk taking should not be stifled! We are just experiencing the consequences of excessive risk taking. I wonder whether Greenspan would have written this now, after the big crash has occurred and is occurring.
I recommend to read E.F. Schumacher’s (1973) classic : “Small is Beautiful. A Study of Economics as if People Mattered”. He traces many of our present problems (in 1973 bad enough, but much worse now, because nobody listened) to our “materialistic” philosophy of life, leading to an over-emphasis on large size and simply greed. Among other things, he suggests that personal ownership of means of production is really justified only if the owner actively participates in the production process, and should be restricted to relatively small enterprises (a few 100 people).
If you want evidence for greed and the disastrous effects, consider the present financial crisis with millions losing their jobs, and look at the smallest fish of the few examples mentioned above, Dreier:
according to the N. Y. Times 14.12.08: “Their health insurance is in default and the firm will not be able to make its $2.6 million payroll on Monday, lawyers there say.” However, “Mr. Dreier’s lifestyle includes a waterfront home in the Hamptons, a Manhattan triplex and a place on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, Calif. He kept a Mercedes 500 in New York, an Aston Martin in California, and a 121-foot blue and white Heesen motor yacht with a Jacuzzi and a crew of 10 docked in Manhattan or St. Maarten. Associates said the boat, the Seascape, was the site of late-night parties at which Mr. Dreier, who is divorced, was often joined by an attractive young crowd.The law offices themselves at 499 Park Avenue were like modern art galleries. In court papers filed this week, the comptroller for the law firm reported that $30 million to $40 million of the firm’s assets had been spent on art. Among Mr. Dreier’s holdings were works by Picasso and a Warhol depiction of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.”"
I read again in a book published almost 70 years ago (”I Believe. Nineteen Personal Philosophies”, Unwin Press, London 1940). It contains, among others, a brief (five page) contribution by Albert Einstein. It is worth quoting from it:
“I do not believe we can have any freedom at all in the philosophical sense, for we act not only under external compulsion but also by inner necessity. Schopenhauer’s saying - “A man can surely do what he wills to do, but he cannot determine what he wills” - impressed itself upon me in youth and has always consoled me when I have witnessed or suffered life’s hardships. This conviction is a perpetual breeder of tolerance, for it does not allow us to take ourselves or others too seriously; it makes rather for a sense of humour.
To ponder interminably over the reason for one’s own existence or the meaning of life in general seems to me, from an objective point of view, to be sheer folly. And yet everyone holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration and his judgment. The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.”
………..
“This subject brings me to that vilest offspring of the herd mind - the odious militia. The man who enjoys marching in line and file to the strains of music falls below my contempt; he received his great brain by mistake - the spinal cord would have been amply sufficient. ……. War is low and despicable, and I rather be smitten to shreds than participate in such doings.
Such a stain on humanity should be erased without delay. I think well enough of human nature to believe that it would have been wiped out long ago had not the common sense of nations been systematically corrupted through school and press for business and political reasons.”
Here are some excerpts from an article by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in the Guardian, 21.10.08. Full text here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/21/religion-christianity-palin
“God bother in Wasilla. The resurgence of religion now marks the widest divide between US and European politics.”
“John McCain has tried to negatively associate Barack Obama with Jeremiah Wright, his fire-eating radical pastor (or former pastor), but much less attention has been paid to Sarah Palin’s membership of the Assembly Church of God in Wasilla and to her own pastor, Ed Kalnins”
…
“According to Kalnins, the Jewish people must be gathered into the Land of Israel as a preliminary to Armageddon. When that vast conflict comes the Jews will be converted, or possibly annihilated, and it will be followed by the Rapture.
Already Kalnins sees “the storm clouds are gathering” through conflict in the Middle East: “Scripture specifically mentions oil instability as a sign of the Rapture. We’re seeing more and more oil wars. The contractions of the fulfilment of prophecies are getting tighter and tighter.” And he hopes to witness the Rapture soon. “I’m just looking at the turmoil of the world, Iraq, other places - everywhere people are fighting against Christ,” he says. Since Palin is one of his flock, she presumably believes this too. She certainly believes that Jesus told us to invade Iraq: she said so from the pulpit.“
…
“Not long ago John McCain was obliged to disown John Hagee, a Texan preacher with a huge following who is not only militantly hostile to Catholicism and Islam but believes that “Hitler was a hunter” who had been sent by God to drive the Jews to Israel. “
Sarah Palin as President?
Sarah Palin as Vice-President to a belligerent Commander-in Chief?
God help us.
Richard Dawkins may have a case, after all.
Some of my earlier posts have cast doubt on the validity of free market fundamentalism: don’t worry, leave it to the market it will sort itself out! The fewer restrictions, the better! Any external interference with markets is harmful!
But are free markets (as practised in today’s capitalist world) really a universal and universally accepted mechanism driving economic progress?
Medieval Christian ethics did not accept usury, which is the basic tool of capitalism. Max Weber, in a famous essay, traced the origin of capitalism back to the Protestant ethic, especially its Calvinist (Pietist) variety. Islam still does not accept usury. So, how does the Islamic approach to finance do in the modern world?
Loretta Napoleoni: Rogue Economics. Capitalism’s New Reality. Allen&Unwin 2008 discusses the essentials of the Islamic banking system, which is based on sharia law and best developed in Malaysia. Its essentials are prohibition of any kind of ’speculation’ and of interest charges. ‘Immoral’ investments such as in casinos are also forbidden. Islamic banks have to make a profit. They do this by buying assets on behalf of the customer, who has to repay the ‘loan’ and a fee for using the asset. When the ‘loan’ is paid off, the asset’s ownership is transferred to the borrower. The advantage of this arrangement is that the bank shares not only the profit but the risk as well. For that reason, it will also have a very close look at the potential borrowers. For example, take as an example the case of a person or persons who want to buy a factory. They approach an Islamic bank which, after a thorough personal check, agrees to support the purchase. It buys the factory on behalf of the customer(s). Since it bears part of the risk, it has to make sure that this risk is not excessive. In toto, partnership (sharing risk and profit) and avoidance of excessively risky investments are characteristic of Islamic banking.
Napoleoni discusses the Asian financial crisis of the nineties. Several countries (Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines) decided to accept financial support from the IMF and its restrictive conditions, which resulted in a worsening of the crisis. Malaysia, blaming international speculators for the crisis, refused to take the offer and relied on Islamic banking instead. It was the only country which survived the crisis without much damage.
In a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald (October 11-12, 2008), Clancy Yeates (’Islamic finance rides the storm’) shows that the story is being repeated. Whereas we in the West are in a severe global crash, the Dow Jones’s Islamic financial index rose 4.75 per cent in the most recent September quarter and lost a modest 7 per cent in the previous years.
What does this teach us? I would say that, beside the immense debts accumulated particularly in the US, the almost unrestricted speculation (which is often connected with accumulation of debt) is at least to a large degree responsible for the present meltdown.
A propos speculation: The US-magazin Fortune reports that Credit Default Swaps (CDS’s) have doubled annually over the last decade. Trading in CDS’s is completely non-transparent, therefore the CDS volume can only be estimated. Such estimates arrive at US$ 54.5 trillion (compared with the global GNP of US$ 54.3 trillion). What would be the result if sellers default on their payments?
(Wikipedia: “A credit default swap (CDS) is a credit derivative contract between two counterparties, whereby the “buyer” makes periodic payments to the “seller” in exchange for the right to a payoff if there is a default or credit event in respect of a third party or “reference entity”.)
Baruch de Spinoza
Es gibt in der Natur nichts Zufälliges, sondern alles ist gemäss der Notwendigkeit der göttlichen Natur bestimmt, auf gewisse Weise da zu sein und zu wirken.
Nothing in nature is accidental, everything is determined by the necessity of divine nature to exist and act in a certain way.
I do not know how to teach philosophy without becoming a disturber of established religion.
Ich weiss nicht wie man Philosophie lehren kann ohne etablierte Religion zu verstören.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Nichts ist widerwärtiger als die Majorität, denn sie besteht aus wenigen kräftigen Vorgängern, aus Schelmen, die sich akkomodieren, aus Schwachen, die sich assimilieren und der Masse, die nachtrollt, ohne nur im mindesten zu wissen, was sie will.
Nothing is more disgusting than the majority, because it consists of a few strong forerunners, of imps who accommodate themselves, of weaklings who assimilate, and of the masses who imitate without knowing in the least what they want.
Oscar Wilde
Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Heutzutage wissen die Leute den Preis von allem und den Wert von nichts.
(My translations)
Jedoch nimm nichts zu ernst, selbst Zitate nicht:
(However don’t take anything, even quotes, too seriously:)
Der verrückte Maler von (the jolly painter by) Klaus Rohde:
“Damned, again, nothing sold today (Verdammt, wieder heute nichts verkauft)”
(A quote by, Zitat von Klaus Rohde)
