Arquivo para a ‘Information ethics’ Categoria
What was happiness for the Greeks
09
Nov
The Greeks defined happiness as Eudaimonia
over the various human conditions: for those who are hungry, happiness is food, for those who are cold, warm clothes, for those who are ambitious, money, for those who are vain, honors, for those who are sick, health. , etc.
This is why, as we previously defined, rational happiness was called “good life”, and if so, how can we maintain that happiness is the good for men, since it must bring with it that they are common to all and the real possibility of life for everyone.
The purpose of life for each man can vary greatly from person to person, there are those who relate happiness to pleasure, pleasure, enjoyment, without any pain, but it is necessary to recognize the finiteness and limitation of these values and understand that life Full requires balance, give the necessary virtues, in Greek the arethé, Aristotle did not refuse pleasures, however he warned that this type of life aims only at the immediate and it is necessary to look at what remains.
Happiness is self-sufficient, that is, it is not desirable because of something else, and it is desirable in itself, so throughout life, we must shift our gaze from the outside to the inside and look within ourselves at those attachments and attachments to things temporary pleasures that are only temporal pleasures.
It was from the analysis of virtues and the practical exercise of ethics, Aristotle concluded that happiness is an activity, which is why it cannot be found potentially in man, it is not considered a virtue, although it does not occur without it, there is this potentiality in U.S.
Prudence and happiness
08
Nov
Breaking the rules or getting out of the box, there are
even books encouraging throwing everything away, is different from what the Greeks thought, of course a life that is going wrong needs to be analyzed.
I used the word happiness, because the word used by the Greeks is “Good life”, which in its current connotation means eating, drinking, spending and sleeping, but it was not the conception of Aristotle and other ancient philosophers.
In Nicomachean Ethics, the philosopher demonstrates that to achieve the “good life” we must take into account our instinct, sensitivity and intelligence and, through the conjunction of these three elements, cultivate our best side, because, for example, instinct can be a trait of personality that does not lead to balance, this is where the idea of prudence comes in.
In book governs science, and prudence (phónesis) governs ethics, however the Greeks believed in an absolute science, capable of knowing the deepest structure of Being.
Such a core is eternal, immutable, absolute, and the ethics that is a consequence of this is practical science.
In it, prudence governs temperance, which is what will govern our instincts, it is what determines the good exercise of temperance, the wise person in ethical decisions is the one capable of finding the middle ground (ne quid nimis: nothing in excess), that is one of the practices.
It contains virtue (arethé) and in the soul there are three types of functions: irrational (nutrition, growth, etc.), motivational (generating actions) and rational (linked to our cognitive capacity that makes us capable of achieving true).
Just to give a practical example, whoever controls personal finances could include a description field in inputs and outputs, an explanation of the reason for spending or obtaining the resource.
For Aristotle, virtue is something that occurs in the soul, that is, our interiority, so he divides the virtues into ethical (courage, generosity, friendship, justice, etc.) and dianoetic (wisdom, temperance, intelligence, etc.).
So we can change a saying and now say that “the habit makes the monk”, now not with outer clothing, but with inner clothing, virtues create “virtuous circles” in us.
Prudence biblical, moral or expendable virtue
07
Nov
In times of war, violence and anger, a virtue
to remember is prudence.
As a philosophical meaning, prudence is seen by Aristotle as intellectual virtues, divided into 5 classes: science, wisdom, intelligence, techniques and prudence, so it can be seen as an ascetic morality, but it has historical and philosophical meaning , thus better dividing morality.
As a biblical virtue, prudence means the ability to judge between malicious and virtuous actions, not only in a general sense, but with reference to appropriate actions in a given time and place, it helps to discern what is good, fair and the means to achieve them.
As a habit, from a philosophical and moral point of view, is considered as knowledge that is acquired through habit, knowledge in general is for Aristotle indicates something that is not possessed simply by custom or conditioning, but rather as a disposition by which something or someone is well or badly disposed, either in relation to themselves, or in relation to something else (ARISTOTLE, Met. I, v. 20, 1022, b, 10-12).
We acquire these through study, demonstration, training and argumentation, so that we obtain a complete notion of a given field, master it masterfully and begin to have stable qualities of the subject that are difficult to lose (TOMÁS DE AQUINO, S.T., Iª. IIae q. 51 to 2 co.).
So it is not simply a matter of taste or will, but of how we understand intellectually and how we process habits, so prudence is a virtue acquired through understanding, practice (habit) and through stable conditions of the subject.
A return to peace and “good dispositions of the soul” cannot be obtained without the practice of these habits, if they are socially valued and without the subject and society remembering them as virtues that must be socially inserted to return to stable conditions of Society.
ARISTÓTELES. (2002). Metafísica: ensaio introdutório. Greek text with translation and commentary by Giovanni Reale, Transl. Marcelo Perine. Brazil. São Paulo: Loyola,. 696 p.
TOMÁS DE AQUINO.(2001-2006) Suma teológica. Brazil, São Paulo: Loyola, 9 v.
Wear in Ukraine and humanitarian crisis in Gaza
06
Nov
While the war enters a stage of attrition in 
Eastern Europe, European governments already want some type of peace agreement and the stage is of attrition for Russian and Ukrainian forces, in the Gaza Strip the land advance of Israeli troops worsens the humanitarian crisis .
The UN, the Arab countries and several Western countries are trying to forge some kind of agreement that could lead to a ceasefire and allow for more effective humanitarian aid, the situation is a humanitarian crisis, there is a lack of food, medicine and water, the situation in hospitals is also precarious, and Palestinians report bombing in nearby areas.
The death toll in the Gaza strip has been close to 10,000 since October 7th, and therefore tomorrow will complete one month, Israel says it has now entered a second phase and there is no desire for any proposal to cease fire, but the pressure West Bank grows, while Hamas seeks Arab allies, in addition to traditional West Bank groups and Hezbollah’s base in southern Lebanon.
All over the world there are demonstrations by Palestinians, one held in Portugal was attended by the president of Portugal, Marcelo was questioned by a pro-Palestinian group or gave his position with the phrase: “Against terrorism, but in favor of a Palestinian State ”, because pro-Palestinian groups do not see Hamas as “terrorist”.
The pope called the leader of Mahmoud Abbas who spoke about the urgency of creating humanitarian corridors, and in return the rabbis scheduled an audience with the pope, who only gave his speech as he was not feeling well.
According to the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni: “The Pope expressed regret at what is happening and recalled the position of the Holy See, hoping that we can reach a two-state solution and a special status for Jerusalem.”
The fact that Europe has entered a path of peace, even due to the exhaustion and immense effort it makes to support Ukraine, also in the Gaza Strip international pressure is strong and the only problem is Israel’s irreducibility.
This morning (06/11) it was published that the Pope yesterday spoke with the President of Iran, Ibrahim Raisi about the crisis in the Gaza Strip, yesterday 5/11 after the Angelus prayer (at noon in Rome).
Escalation of conflicts, the thought of peace
30
Oct
It is incredible that polarization takes over even
the discourses of peace, such as the question of the Other and the meaning of what “terror” means, whereas anti-Semitic discourse is emptied and so is the idea of “Nazi” forces, polarization has reached a global scale and can grow.
The war between Ukraine and Russia is also getting worse, with new long-range American military equipment and the arrival of winter makes it dramatic and could escalate from now on.
Praise and defense of Hamas have placed the UN itself in a position of polarity, there is also a discourse that tries to mischaracterize the killing of civilians and innocents as that which is carried out by the Other, so there is no space for dialogue and peace, everything can have a reverse narrative.
Humanitarian aid faces difficulties both from those who want to assist the population and from the governments themselves that make it difficult for civilians to cross and open borders. The land war in Gaza will only worsen humanitarian conditions.
Turkey’s position in favor of Hamas could also disturb the region and escalate the war. This position is very complicated because Turkey is part of NATO and has been important in its position on the passage of grains. Let us remember that in the Bosphorus Strait, the Passing through Istanbul, the city with territory in Europe and the Middle East, is strategic.
In war, it is civilians who lose, and the limits of civility are almost always exceeded on all sides, there are no agreements that can establish clear limits that are respected.
A true philosophy of peace must condemn the conflicting sides, each side’s misguided attempt to establish an acceptable narrative, polarization does not allow.
Which forces will be able to sue for peace? What will happen in a growing escalation of war, with Iran involved? and if China and eastern countries get involved, there will already be issues of tension between the countries.
The hope is that a stifled outcry from those who truly desire peace will come, the forces that are of true humanism could recover hope for a less dangerous world.
What is Love after all
27
Oct
Although Hannah Arendt’s work is not definitive
regarding love, the advisor Karl Jaspers himself expressed this, developed and appropriated some fundamental categories in his doctoral thesis “Love in Saint Augustine”.
According to author George McKenna, in a review of her dissertation, Arendt tried to include a revision in her “The Human Condition”, but it is not very clear in the book (of the Arendt), which is excellent.
If we can also express an expression of this love in ancient Greek literature, such as agape love, the one that differs from eros and philia in this literature, from a Christian point of view the best development made is in fact that of Saint Augustine.
First because he separated this concept from good x evil Manichaeism, a dualism still present in almost all Western philosophy due to idealism and puritanism, then because he was in fact raptured upon discovering divine love, he wrote: “Late I loved you, O beauty so ancient and so young! Too late I loved you! Behold, you lived within me and I was looking for you outside!” (Confessions of Saint Augustine).
Then man must love his neighbor as God’s creation: […] man loves the world as God’s creation; in the world the creature loves the world just as God loves it. This is the realization of a self-denial in which everyone, including yourself, simultaneously reclaims your God-given importance. This achievement is love for others (ARENDT, 1996, p. 93).
Man can love his neighbor as a creation by returning to his origin: “It is only where I can be certain of my own being that I can love my neighbor in his true being, which is in his createdness.” (ARENDT, 1996, p. 95)
In this type of love, man loves the divine essence that exists in himself, in others, in the world, man “loves God in them” (ARENDT, 1996, 95).
The biblical reading also summarizes the law and the Christian prophets as follows (Mt 22, 38-40): “This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is similar to this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. All the Law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Love contains all the virtues: it does not become conceited, it knows how to see where the true signs of happiness, balance and hope are found.
ARENDT, Hannah. (1996) Love and Saint Augustine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ukraine defends itself and Israel attacks
23
Oct
The two biggest war fronts in the world that
threaten world peace, which could enter an even worse cycle, can be summarized as follows: Ukraine defends itself by responding to the only strong Russian advance in the town of Adviivka (photo) and bombing Russian military tactical airfields , while Israel attacks the Gaza strip and opens new fronts against Hezbollah and Syria.
American involvement is already total and unquestionable, which creates a global polarization, in which it could call Iran into the war in the Middle East, the sewing of peace treaties with the Arabs that was being made could fall apart and make the region the epicenter of a war.
Humanitarian forces finally managed to enter southern Gaza to send aid to Palestinian victims, Egypt and Israel finally agreed to open the border crossing at Raffah, which allows for both food and medical aid, but without any hint of peace.
Joe Biden’s flight to Israel helped this agreement, a delay after the explosion of a hospital in Gaza and the sending of more weapons makes its involvement in the war even more dangerous, in Europe there are fears of acts of terrorism, while Palestine, which is not Hamas, becomes the weak and victimized side of the war.
An escalation of the war in the Middle East is inevitable for now and a possible direct entry of Iran into the war, Hezbollah already at war with Israel is an ally and receives help from Iran, could give a dramatic turn to the conflict in the Middle East.
The world situation is getting worse, and despite apparent peace in the East, China and North Korea have conflicting interests with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
The security council, which tried two peace motions for the Middle East, appears divided and unable to identify short-term solutions for this war.
Israel’s first disputes
19
Oct
So Abram, who was a Chaldean, from the city of
Ur in the south of Mesopotamia, under divine inspiration under the river Euphrates and goes to Haran, and then goes down to Canaan, passing through Sodom, where he separates from his nephew Lot, and leaving from there they should not look back, Lot’s wife looks and becomes a pillar of salt.
They arrive in Canaan and there were already inhabitants there (the Canaanites), there was a divine promise to give him a son, but with the consent of his wife Sarah (the original name Sarai was changed by God), Abram fathers the son Ishmael from the slave Hagar. , but later Sarah will also have her son Isaac.
God asks him for his son as a sacrifice, but when he is ready to do so, an angel appears to him and asks him to sacrifice a lamb instead, and then promises him infinite descendants and becomes called Abraham.
The site of this sacrifice is today a mosque, but there is an agreement between Muslims, Christians and Jews to be able to visit the place, today called Dome of the Rock (photo).
The family issue was important at the time, after all Abram was supposed to be the patriarch of the people chosen by God, so he wanted a woman from his lineage and not a Canaanite, he found Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, sister of Laban, this one from a branch of the family who remained in Haran.
New drama, Rebeca has difficulty having children, but ends up having twins, Esau and Jacob, this one is born later and would lose his right to birthright, if it weren’t for a bad trick with his mother to prepare a supper to the liking of Isaac who was almost blind, and dressing his son in furs because his brother born minutes earlier, therefore older, was hairier, and Isaac blesses Jacob.
But Jacob knows that he needs God’s blessing, so going to meet his brother, one night he fights with an angel to obtain divine blessing, after that he will be called Israel, the suffix el in the bible means God, so he who fought with God, in fact, with a year Gabriel, “fortress of God” or Michael, which means “no one like God”, leader of the “armies”.
Jacob will have as his sons those who will give their name to the twelve tribes of Israel (see previous topic) and Joseph, sold as a slave to the Egyptians, having gifts of revelation, reveals to the Egyptian king what his dreams about “fat cows and lean cows” meant. ”, that a time of scarcity would come and receives a role from Pharaoh precisely to take care of the kingdom’s dispensations.
The brothers who sold him then leave Canaan and go to Egypt, where Joseph, after expressing his discontent (a scream was heard throughout the palace), welcomes the brothers, so Israel no longer has the lands and other peoples take their place. .
However, the next pharaoh, apparently Sethi, is not a friend of the Jews and wants all newborn babies to be killed, but Moses’ mother, Jochebed, throws him into a basket in the Nile River and he is welcomed by a princess and she takes him to reign in her care.
Moses is trained as a nobleman, but he wants to free his people who live as slaves, and in a certain mystical event, called the “burning bush”, God reveals his destiny and asks him to command his people back to Canaan, after several battles the kingdom of Israel is revived, but divided with Judah to the South, judges are appointed, rulers who were called by God.
This is the only true theocratic period of the Bible, the judges were appointed by divine inspiration, some were simple people, like Gideon (woodcutter) and Deborah, there were 14 judges, but the people later asked for kings “like other peoples” and they depended on the prophets
Religious and historical origins of Israel and Palestine
17
Oct
Although Noah is not a recorded figure in
history, his sons Ham and Shem are recorded as they are the origin of the Hamite and Semitic peoples, the latter stand out for being Hebrews and Arabs and thus share both cultural and religious origins.
Abraham, who was a Chaldean, a people who lived south of the Euphrates River, was the son of, in the lineage of Shem, comes from his son Arphaxad, who fathered Shelah, who fathered Heber, who fathered Peleg, who fathered Reu, who fathered Serug , who fathered Nahor, who fathered Terah, father of Abram (only later will he be called Abraham due to his descendants).
Abram’s father and brother die in Chaldea, and his nephew Lot, who will travel to Canaan, meanwhile going up the Euphrates River and then down through the north of the Middle East, before separating, dividing the lands, leaving Lot with the most fertile to the west and Abram with the southern lands.
Lot’s descendants became people known as Ammonites, due to the god Amon, and who are children of Lot’s incest with his youngest daughter. Lot looks and turns into salt.
To the east to the Mediterranean lies Abraham, now called that by God, after having his Son Isaac (promised by God) with his wife Sarah, and Ishmael with Hagar, his slave.
While Isaac will be the “son of promise” and through him the twelve tribes of Israel will be born, the Quran can be read: “In the Quran; “God gave gifts to all Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot favor above the nations”, so Ishmael is not passed over.
From Isaac the twins Esau and Jacob were born, Esau is born first, but through a disguise, Jacob dresses in animal skins, helped by his mother Rebekah, as his brother was hairier and his father Isaac was almost blind, he notices the voice different, but blesses the son, in Hebrew tradition the eldest son, the firstborn, had priority in leading the family.
Jacob will fight with an angel to obtain divine blessing, before a confrontation with his brother, and in the biblical narrative it is there that he receives the name Israel, which means “he who fought with God” (every suffix el in Hebrew means God), Gabriel (God’s fortress) and Michael (no one like God) are two possible hypotheses of Jacob’s struggle, now Israel.
The children of Israel will form the 12 tribes: from Helena: from Joseph (who was sold to the Egyptians by his brothers) will be his grandchildren Benjamin and Manasseh, from Leah (first wife): Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Levi (who were priests and had no lands), from the slave Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali, and from the slave Zilpah: Gad and Asser.
In fact, there would be thirteen tribes,
but the tribes of Benjamin and Manasseh, sons of Joseph, formed one tribe.
True commitment to the common good
06
Oct
Bad managers and dictators also promise to
work for the excluded and the common good, what happens is that their true personal interests remain hidden.
No one openly says they are going to do evil, except declared psychopaths who are already at a level of mental illness that can no longer disguise their desires.
Political and social analyzes hide interests of violence, hatred and war against opponents, there is no shortage of justifications, but any initiative of exclusion is already an indication that no common good will be well managed by these managers.
They begin with small actions that initially confuse people with good faith and who actually want the common good for all, a peaceful and balanced life for everyone, but little by little the true personal desires for personal possession of goods are revealed.
Corruption also starts like this, small unrestrained thefts lead to large ones when there is no impunity, parents who correct and educate without children know this, it is necessary to always be attentive to actions and what each small gesture leads to, educators also know this.
As a biblical reading says, an owner of a vineyard rented it and traveled, after a certain time he ordered the employees to collect the rent (Mt 21:33) they beat him and sent him back, he sent others and they also caught him and returned with nothing and finally sent his son, so the tenants thought let’s kill him and keep the vineyard, and Jesus remembers himself at the end of the parable: the stone that the masons rejected became the cornerstone.
This is how good is established, with those that the evil people rejected, oppressed and after much suffering it is possible to establish peace and the common good.
Resilience and the development of good is greater than great evil, although avoiding them also means avoiding injustice, social imbalances and mainly innocent deaths.
