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And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again? Archilochus

Monday, October 6, 2025

William James, et al: "The Will to Believe"

"Intelligence is a fixed goal with variable means of achieving it"

-William James 

The Anti Anti Religion Position... or:
The Inalienable Right to Your Own Opinion
"Our intelligence cannot wall itself up alive, like a pupa in a chrysalis. It must at any cost keep on speaking terms with the universe that engendered it"

-William James

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“It is time for man to fix his goal. It is time for man to plant the germ of his highest hope. Still is his soil rich enough for it. But that soil will one day be poor and exhausted, and no lofty tree will any longer be able to grow thereon. Alas! there cometh the time when man will no longer launch the arrow of his longing beyond man-and the string of his bow will have unlearned to whizz! I tell you: one must still have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star. I tell you: ye have still chaos in you. Alas! There cometh the time when man will no longer give birth to any star. Alas! There cometh the time of the most despicable man, who can no longer despise himself. Lo! I show you THE LAST MAN.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche, "Thus Spake Zarathustra"

"For whom to live is to be every moment what they already are, without imposing on themselves any effort towards perfection; mere buoys that float on the waves"
-Jose Ortega y Gasset, "The Revolt of the Masses"

35 comments:

Les Carpenter said...

Relative reality is supported by relative truth. And vice versa.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

So when in Relative Reality and you need a break, focus on the transcendent Station 11, Walk thru the Torii's...

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

...celebrate Diversity!

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

@@

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".

Worship the sufferers.... no thanks.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Call me anti-anti!

Les Carpenter said...

Anti Anti... so, you have no ethical foundation?

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Nope. Just a moral one.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

...with a light Constitutionality-centric ethical motif overlayed.

Les Carpenter said...

Why yes. By far better methinks than focusing on the dusty old book of empire and mythology.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I'll do my best to avoid the Tipitaka then.

Les Carpenter said...

If it's indeed a moral one the excruciating discomfort you must feel supporting an immoral sack of crap must very great.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

What makes you believe that I support him and I'm not just anti-anti? Because I oppose your "UniParty"? That's what anti-anti means. To OPPOSE a One Party State serving the interests of BIG Capital (even if it calls itself 2 parties).

Les Carpenter said...

What you fail to see is I have no party anymore. For me the republican party is worthless and the democratic party only slightly less so. But given we have but two parties of any consequence I feel I have but one choice. Vote for the candidate that MOST closely supports my own views. Today, in this moment, there is no conservative that reflects my views and as I said above the party is completely worthless in my opinion..

Les Carpenter said...

So, given your above statement I fail to undertake your method, why you project that which you claim not to support?

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

The Republican Party establishment hates DJT, especially here in Maryland. He crashed the National Party, not the 50 State Party's. He only has 30-40 reliable Trump votes in the House, and maybe a dozen in the Senate. The rest all vote UniParty unless shamed into supporting him by the base, which is 80% pro-Trump (and anti-RINO).

My e-mail address is "RNCScab@hotmail.com" I only "scab" for the Republican Party when they run a change candidate, like DJT. I'm an Independent

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

GOPe + DNCe = UniParty (representing neo-liberal Capitalism)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

That you can't see the Party of Neo-liberalism (Post WWII Open Society Neo-liberal Global Consensus) in BOTH Parties is on you, not me.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Who wanted to run against Trump in the primary last year? Former Republican Governor from Maryland Larry Hogan. He started to run, but then decided against it when he got NO grass-roots support from the base, only large RINO donors.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I support Trump because he's NOT a Republican. He's an old-school Democrat who ran AS a Republican. It's why the Democrats HATE him. He's what they used to be before they "progressed" into a race-essentialist white-hating party of Neoracism.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I also don't support "Trump the Man". He's a symbol of opposition to Neoliberlism and the UniParty. My anti-anti.

Les Carpenter said...

Ist- I am an independent as well.

2'nd - I have, during my 55 year voting actually voted for more republicans tha democrats.

3'rd - I was a vice chair of the republican town committee of the town I used to live in for awhile.

4th- I simply will not vote for a lying malignant narcissist regardless the party.

5th - Truth is if libertarianism understood what capitalism ought to be and understood the importance of empathy, compassion, and compromise I'm likely fully support libertarianism.

6th - I'm not happy with aspects of the democratic party's agenda. Especially as it relates to the 110% green light for the Zionist genocide of Palestinians.

7th ' I'm a classical liberal with an undesanding why democratic socialism works in countries without the manufactured conditioned aversion to it.

8th - Basically, my conscience, awareness, compassion, and empathy guides my decisions to action these days.

9th - Until the FOTUS and his corrupt sycophants are gone for good I have no use whatsoever for the cons of the useless party.

Les Carpenter said...

Might add more later. Might not too.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I question your #5 & #7. Why? Because I'm a classical liberal. In other words, "what would the Founders do?"

They used few words like "empathy, compassion, or even compromise". Those words came later.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

btw - The English word "empathy" originated around 1908-1909 as a translation of the German term Einfühlung ("in-feeling"), coined by German psychologist Theodore Lipps in the 1880s or by Rudolf Lotze in 1858. It is built from the Greek roots en- ("in") and pathos ("feeling, suffering") to describe the ability to share and understand another person's subjective experience.

Les Carpenter said...

My gift of truth to you tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFoHXuhq9mU

Joe Conservative said...

...and mine back at ya!

I love trauma therapy. It always puts me right to sleep!

Les Carpenter said...

Another gift of truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljllYpA-VHY

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

lol!

Some very self-serving re-definitions... and shifty Lefty-Righty flip floppery..

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Like pretending that "Abundance Theory" doesn't need "fascist authoritarianism" to make it work. Meden Agan! Nothing too much! Like a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. A little dab will do ya.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

...like spitting after you say the word, "Communist"! In Plato's "Republic", the Guardians were Commies.

Les Carpenter said...

I spit after saying predatory capitalism. I spit after saying Christian Nationalism.I spit after saying Trump. I spit after saying Project 2025. I spit after saying MAGA.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Sounds like you're drowning in your own saliva.

Les Carpenter said...

Much better than drowning in the alternative.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

What, no shifty lefty-righty flip-floppery?