The true forms of government therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest; but governments which rule with a view to the private interest, whether of the one, or of the few, or of the many, are perversions. -Aristotle, Politics [Bk. III: Ch. 7] The reason I bring this up is because: It is a good observation which is obviously equally relevant today as in ancient Greece.In Macroeconomics we learn about central banking. A simple r... Read Full Story

This week has been crazy coming back to University. I've still been reading and getting ideas but there has just been no time to post. It'll be better once I get into the swing of things for sure.Bear with me and all of you keep checking in! (image pun intended^) Read Full Story

If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (chap. 33, tr. S. Mitchell) This is such a pervasive notion in Taoist and Buddhist beliefs. Certainly there is a counter-argument but I find this idea quite beautiful. We strive to get, achieve, acquire, own, but if you keep wanting more and are not content at some point, there is no end to it! Here is another quote along the same lines that illustrates my point: The Master doesn't try to be powerful; thus h... Read Full Story

As Wikipedia will kindly inform you, the Tao Te Ching is a text thought to be written around 600 BC and is essential to the Taoist and Buddhist belief systems. Lao Tzu is traditionally attributed as being the author. The text is closer to poetry than anything else which makes it hard to absorb quickly. One must search for the meaning in every statement to get the most out of it. I read it in one sitting but I'll have to reread it many times to fully appreciate it. There are so many good... Read Full Story

(Photo Credit: Randy Montoya) Photo not really related other than it is a big awesome machine designed to experiment with nuclear fusion (apparently successfully too) but it is kind of how I imagine the "nerve centre" for the machine in the following story. Perhaps that title caught your attention and it's not just a gimmick to get attention but part of the theme of today's reading. I'm talking about "The Machine Stops" written by E.M. Forster in 1909. The fact... Read Full Story

It seems to be a losing argument to say that slavery can be acceptable. However, in Aristotle's time, it was commonplace. This is not to say that the ancient Greeks were barbarians because of this. While, for example, the oppression of slaves in the U.S. up to the last century was obviously unacceptable  Aristotle shows the conditions necessary for "just" slavery (an oxymoron in the eyes of many, particularly Plato [Polit. 258 E. 259]). At first I couldn't believe in a just... Read Full Story

The Scenario:    Don Quixote, on one of his fantastical romps through La Mancha mistakes a herd of sheep for a great army. After wildly slaying a bunch of them, the sheep herders decide to get serious shepherd-style. Anyway, Sancho and Don Quixote get worked like marionettes and are left badly beaten. Don Quixote drinks a magical medicinal "balsam", read: some vinegar and random gross things, then asks Sancho to check if he lost many teeth in the scuffle. Sancho looks into his mou... Read Full Story

The version of Don Quixote that I bought is a formidable Harvard Classics edition which is more than 600 pages of compact writing. I took it on my recent trip to France and Germany and amazingly almost finished it. It turns out that there is good reason why this is such an influential piece of writing. Apparently it's one of the first popular novels out there. I have to admit that it was in fact an enjoyable read and Miguel de Cervantes has very imaginative and timeless observations. I t... Read Full Story

"...it is from the same causes and by the same means that every virtue is both produced and destroyed, and similarly every art; for it is from playing the lyre that both good and bad lyre-players are produced. And the corresponding statement is true of builders and all the rest; men will be good or bad builders as a result of building well or badly. For if this were not so, there would have been no need of a teacher, but all men would have been born good or bad at their craft...This then... Read Full Story

This is Aristotle or at least his sculptured head. I'm currently reading the works of Aristotle. It's very hard to read, such that anyone who struggles with English or is not of a high level would not be able to read the translations. I'm doing it though, and if you can reach through the philosophic babble, there is a lot of valuable knowledge. Much of this knowledge has evidently shaped the way many people think to this day (whether they know it or not). Read Full Story