Arquivo para a ‘Information ethics’ Categoria
Food security and escalation of war
The end of the grain agreement prevents shipments of grains produced in Ukraine, in particular: wheat, corn and barley, with this wheat has already risen 8.5% on international exchanges and corn 3.5%, as this bombing in Odessa which is still a free port of Ukraine, which is at the western tip of Ukraine on the Black Sea.
Ukraine has received constant attacks on its ports and warehouses in Odessa, in response it carries out bombings on weapons and supply warehouses in Crimea and the Kersh bridge in the strait of the same name that connects Crimea to Russia was hit again. (in the photo the cathedral of Odessa hit this Sunday)
On the northern front there are no major advances in the counteroffensive and Russian propaganda says that its forces have advanced, while the Ukrainian forces admit only a small and slow advance, far below expectations, while waiting for more weapons and ammunition.
The number of Russian soldiers and forces has increased, but it is in the air battle that it has the greatest power, and the end result is that on all fronts the war escalates.
Hungary, Austria and this week Bulgaria have sent weapons to Ukraine and Russia’s tension with Poland is at an all-time high through Belarus, which shares a border with Poland.
The Brics held their meeting without the presence of Russia, which is a relief for the group, but this does not mean a break with the group, China is increasingly a Russian ally, Brazil and South Africa are hesitating on the subject, while India tries to reinforce its calls for peace.
A loss in world grain distribution will hit Latin America and much of Africa hard, whose leaders have also unsuccessfully tried to put pressure on Putin.
Russia and China have returned to military exercises in the Sea of Japan, as a result of which South Korea and Japan are becoming increasingly close to Western forces and NATO.
The sale of Joseph, son of Jacob
The story of Esau and Jacob continues in the next generation, among the children of Jacob, now Ishmael after he fought with the angel, Joseph was the most loved, which generated envy in the brothers who planned to kill him but later decided to sell him to an Egyptian caravan to a caravan leader named Potiphar, but Joseph in Egypt becomes a prisoner because Potiphar’s wife was fond of him and trapped him for refusing to betray her teachings.
In prison he manages to unravel the dreams of a prisoner who was chief cupbearer and says he will be released and becomes cupbearer in the Pharaoh’s palace who also has strange dreams, and then the cupbearer remembers Joseph and he unravels the dream of the Pharaoh that was to store food (in the photo as was the map of this period).
Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt due to the shortage of food and they encounter Joseph, who recognizes them and sends them to prison, but ends up forgiving them and provides the wheat they need and says that everything happened so that he could help them
In a work of 4 volumes, the famous writer Thomas Mann (author of The Magic Mountain) wrote the story of Joseph, son of Jacob who is sold by his brothers, out of envy, as a slave to the Egyptians for 20 pieces of silver, the historical question of coins is important because they would only appear later, however gold and silver were already used in the barter business.
Thomas Mann’s work was written mainly to fight the Hitlerism that was growing in his country, it was not just about fighting against anti-Semitism, but mainly he perceived a growing authoritarian discourse present in Germany at his time.
Also the Brazilian Oscar Pilagallo in his book “The Adventure of Money” cites Thomas Mann and also Faust by Goethe in his work, and with this he tells the story of José.
In the context we have developed, the evolution of the noosphere, the importance of Thomas Mann’s text is that he manages to understand the Babylonian influence on Jewish tales, as well as after the Exile in Egypt they will also suffer influences, and later on from the Greeks and Romans.
The lesson we can learn from Joseph of Egypt is that God took a greater good out of an evil and redeemed Joseph’s brothers despite the crime they committed, the biblical story is not for those who think of revenge or hate, it is pure love the humanity.
The lesson of Esau and Jacob
There is a book by brazilian writer Machado de Assis about two brothers, also called Esau and Jacob, one of whom was a monarchist and the other a republican, and who made their mother suffer because of the dispute between the two, the story narrated by Machado de Assis’s alter-ego, Counselor Aires, it deals with the struggle of the twin brothers Pedro and Paulo, in endless conflicts and reconciliations from their mother’s womb until the beginning of adulthood, and also their love for the young Flora Batista.
In the biblical narrative Esau is older and it also says that Jacob is born moments later according to the biblical interpretation “clinging to his sister’s heel”, by a strategy of deceiving his father (he dresses in furs because his brother had more hair) and despite the father Isaac recognizing the voice ends up deceived and blesses the son, in Jewish tradition the eldest is the patriarch who must follow the father in charge of the Hebrew people.
But Jacob will spend many years running from his brother Esau for having usurped him and when he goes to meet his brother he fights “a whole night with an angel” who, at the end of the fight, wounds him in the nerve of the thigh and he starts to limp after that, but at the end of the fight he gets what he wanted to “be blessed” despite what he had done (Genesis 32:26).
After the fight, the name Jacob will be renamed to Israel by the angel, which means the one who fought with God and the place of the fight that exists is called Penuel, near the ford of Jabbok (passage where the river is shallow), one of the tributaries of the river Jordan (photo).
The figure of Jacob has no historical proof, but the twelve tribes that are born from his descent, the famous twelve tribes of Israel, whose best known and cited in history and biblical narrative are to the north: Asser, Naphtali and Eastern Manasseh, in the center Manasseh, Dah, Zebulon and Ephraim, to the south: Judah, Reuben and Moab (from the desert), of the children of Israel still have Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), Benjamin and Levi, who were priests did not have territorial inheritance.
They formed a United Kingdom with different tasks, the official historiography registers it as the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, since the descendants of David will come from the tribe of Judah, and registers it as in the period of 930 BC. to 730 B.C. when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrians under King Shalmaneser V, who levied heavy taxes on the Israelites.
The lesson of Esau and Jacob can be read both for the current world polarization, and for “brother” peoples who fight for pieces of land and power.
The Semitic Origins of the West
Our culture and society is often referred to as Judeo-Christian, but if we look deeper into history, Judeo-Christian culture descends from Semitic, and thus both Arabs and Jews descend from Semites, as does much of North Africa.
At the root of three great religions is Abraham: Jews, Arabs and Christians, here is his pilgrimage from Babylon of the Chaldeans, the Biblical narrative places him in Ur of the Chaldeans, is the neogenesis of these three great peoples, of which only a few eastern peoples where these religions already penetrated and also some originary peoples where there is still their initial religiosity.
Abraham goes through two great civilizing crises the Babylonian fall and after his pilgrimage to ancient Assyria arriving at the city of Aleppo, which under the rubble of the war and the earthquake still exists in Syria today, and then from to the Hebron valley, where he spent by a second civilizing crisis in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where there were orgies and decadence.
He leaves there and goes towards Egypt, and his son Isaac will also remain a nomad, the fight between his sons Esau and Jacob is famous, Machado de Assis has a book with this name and we could say that the polarization of humanity is older than we think.
From Jacob will be established the lineage of the 12 tribes from his sons, and from the lineage of Judah will come David, while from the lineage of this one will come Joseph son of another Jacob, and of Joseph be born Jesus.
Understanding this Abrahamic descent, with all the struggles and contradictions that have taken place in history, is fundamental for us to understand both Christian, Islamic and Jewish culture, an inter-religious and multicultural dialogue is possible if we understand that the history of a single God, just as a distant historical past unites these peoples.
Religious fundamentalism prevents this dialogue, the evangelist Matthew who was an enemy tax collector of the Jews, refers to his own conversion like this (Mt 9,10): “While Jesus was at the table, in the house of Matthew, many collectors came of taxes and sinners and sat at the table with Jesus and his disciples” and Jesus will say “it is the sick who need doctors” and completes the teaching by saying “I want mercy and not sacrifices”.
How much division, hatred and violence in the name of God, this is not religion, it is just fanaticism.
Mercenaries, Intense Combat and the Threat of Peace
The war in Eastern Europe remains a center of concern for world peace, after some advances by the Ukrainian army, Russia again advanced in the east in combat described as “fierce” and slow advances by the Ukrainians in the south, but there are threats around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia that still worry.
The debates around the Wagner group, their real objectives and the dangers for both the Russians and the West follow, since their methods and interests are ruthless and cruel, and thinking that they could have access to the nuclear arsenal makes the fact even more dangerous. .
The pope sends a bishop for talks with the Russian Orthodox Church, which can also be a mediator, since it has access to Putin and the religious dialogue between the churches can favor a future peace agreement.
The involvement of NATO and its European allies grows with each new step in the war, and now Russian Chancellor Lavrov has gone on to say that Zelensky is a puppet, which intensifies the confrontation with Europe and raises the level of tension.
Until the beginning of the European autumn (spring here in the south of the hemisphere) the war should remain intense, but with little advances from side to side, the problem with autumn there and the proximity of winter is that it becomes more strategic due to the climate, the dependency on energy and a growing difficulty in moving on the ground, until then a peace strategy is important.
The world is waiting for some truce, but the scenario is increasingly complex, since the West, through NATO, is increasingly involved in the conflict, while Russian contempt and cruelty towards Ukraine grows with each combat since the loss of life intensifies the climate of animosity and the economic situation deteriorates.
The world and people of common sense are waiting for peace, for a negotiated solution and the resumption of peaceful life in the region, which would also improve the human condition in the world.
Between rhetoric and prayer
Until the beginning of the last century, the logical-idealist discourse prevailed, which is still part of a good part of the contemporary narrative, but a good part of it is now shattered by contradictory narratives and psychopolitical or ideological cohesion.
The Greeks from the opposition to the Sophists, in particular Aristotle divided the speeches into 4 types: poetic, rhetorical, dialectical and analytical.
The poetic is related to the possibilities of the imagination, dreams of possibilities and is neither unreal nor delirious, being utopian in the best sense of the word.
The rhetorician deals with the world of dialogue, uses modes of persuasion, but is supposed to be founded on common beliefs, imaginary and dystopian beliefs of our time, cannot be confused with it, can be eloquent, but not rhetorical.
The dialectician is also the one who deals with the probable, defining errors and truths with greater or lesser probability according to the demand of reason, but submitting beliefs to the test through tests and attempts to overcome objections, seeking the truth among errors and errors. between truths.
Finally, the analytic deals with certainties and certain demonstrations, starting from premises and demonstrating the veracity of the conclusions and in an apodictic way the truth, the dialectical debate that supposes Hegel and idealism is not apodictic, it is opposed more as a belief than as true.
A few words, coming from the heart and feeling, as poetics demand, from tolerant and respectful rhetoric, from Greek dialectics that flee from casuistry and dogmatics, and finally from a true apodictic foundation, those who have categorical assertions about right and wrong, honest and dishonest, far from sophistic and empty speech.
If you speak, speak with clarity and empathy, if you pray, speak with the heart and with few words and if you think, look at the positive, generous and healthy.
Pure rhetoric is not speech, neither dialogue nor prayer is just personal proselytizing.
Phenomenology and the other
The Other is not a contemporary category, however how it is realized from the Husserlian phenomenology is something entirely new, not by chance Heidegger, Husserl’s student and disciple thought ipseity thought the rooting of otherness in “ipseity” itself (Selbstheit) (which differentiates one being from another, refusing to think the “self” (Selbst) according to the categories of substance and “identity” (Identität), thus his ontology of the Other is entirely new (within philosophy) .
If we want to deal with identity, a category proper to a period of individualism and alleged finite totalities, we can say that in a more current modern anthropology, the “theory” of identity must be seen as giving the Other the “similar” aspect as a “human being”. ”, but defined as “diverse” and “unequal” in the set of interethnic, intercultural or interreligious relations.
It is this contact between different cultures, religions and even ideological identity positions, that the civilizational process is at stake, there is no lack of “influencers” and groups that encourage one type of culture in repulsion to another, treating the unequal and the different as “enemy ” and this does not even mean that they do not exist, in a war for example, but the negation of the Other.
There is no lack of philosophers who have dealt with the subject, we highlight Husserl’s phenomenology and its influences: Heidegger, Edith Stein, I highlight Paul Ricoeur (The self as an other) and Emmanuel Lévinas (Ethics and infinity) and Hans-Georg Gadamer (Truth and Method).
But also Habermas (The philosophical discourse of Modernity and The inclusion of the Other) and Byung-Chul Han (The expulsion of the other: Society, perception and communication today) which are very good for analyzing communication and society today, but without a clear view of Being as Being as in Heideger’s ontology.
Recognizing the Other as having dignity and deserving respect, even if in positions different from ours, is the remedy for today’s lack of empathy.
Hope for Peace and Tactical Weapons
In the midst of international attempts to broker the war in Ukraine, several African countries led by South Africa through its president, visited Ukraine and Russia at the end of last week, the results are not hopeful, but each attempt at peace is a new impetus and international public opinion for a negotiated and diplomatic peace is growing.
In addition to the president of South Africa Ramaphosa, there were also the presidents of Senegal Macky Sall, of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema and of Camores Azali Assoumani, in addition to high Congolese, Ugandan and Egyptian representatives.
In Ukraine, in addition to conversations with President Zelensky, they visited the cemetery where hundreds of civilians from the city of Bucha are, one of the biggest massacres promoted by the Russian invasion, and there they deposited flowers.
At the end of the week, they visited Putin and heard the traditional rhetoric that Russia had no other way out for its security, and that the negotiation must include the territories conquered in the war.
The main concern of African countries is the delivery of grains from both Ukraine and Russia and that an international crisis can affect food security, especially in the poorest countries, which includes Africa.
Russia has sent “tactical” weapons to Belarus, its traditional ally in this war, stating that the objective is not to use them, but has the “tactical” objective of defending the borders including that of its Ally.
Sending fighter jets and tanks to war is one more fuel for Ukraine, and has already changed the nuclear scenario, countries that opted for disarmament and “green” policies abandon this perspective, an example is Germany, which increased for the first time since the second world war, its military budget.
But the internal propaganda of the State, which dominates practically all means of communication, is that with nuclear weapons Russia is stronger and will be able to use them if necessary.
The conflict has already crossed all borders, there are few countries that have not positioned themselves, however, the formation of a bloc that wants peace is fundamental for a mediated exit.
War and humanitarian actions
The explosion of the dam in the region of Nova Kakhovka, region of Kherson, aroused a stronger humanitarian feeling due to the disaster that is also environmental and that affects all residents of that region, including the Crimea that is Russian domain.
Despite being a huge and dangerous challenge, Ukraine is the victim of bombing almost every day, many humanitarian organizations help people who live there or who are returning (a large number decided to take the risk), according to the NGO Zoa, help from various NGOs reached around 5.5 million people.
One of the destroyed regions in the north, which borders Russia and Belarus is Cherniguive or Chernigov, there the NGO Zoa helps rebuild life and gives assistance to people, this is a way to encourage people to continue living there (photo ZOA credits).
Iceland has severed relations with Russia, Putin vows to retaliate.
Certainly, life in Ukraine will never be the same again, and generations will remember this horror as they remember the Holodomor (1932-1933) in the Stalinist period, one of the reasons that separate peoples who are ethnically close.
The war enters a period of possibility to escalate to other countries and explode into a new world catastrophe of a global war, Russia has already moved “tactical” nuclear weapons to Belarus, a clear threat to the countries that help Ukraine.
Attempts to establish peace or a ceasefire are increasingly desperate and with little chance of success, but they continue to happen, at this moment they are heroic.
The painful and dangerous stage represented by the Ukrainian counter-offensive and the Russian threats, represent the limits of an even more cruel and dangerous total war, many countries are already taking a stand for a possible intervention and support for one of the sides in this insane war.
The appeal must be made to common sense, true humanitarian values and the danger of an unprecedented civilizational crisis.
The war beyond territorial limits
With very limited attempts at peace, the war in Eastern Europe threatens to go beyond the borders, which makes the limits dangerous, both the attempt to invade Russian territory and destabilize Moldova,which now considers being a member country of NATO (its constitution prevents it).
Russia already has weapons and troops in Transnistria, a narrow strip in northern Moldova, while Soviet groups with support from Ukraine begin to launch attacks inside Russian territory.
While Russia’s land and sea access to Moldova is limited, the government of Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of using “saboteurs” disguised as civilians to stoke unrest amid a period of political instability, but Russia would gain access to southern Ukraine, leaving it more besieged and fragile.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive so far seems not to have taken effect, the Donesk region that would be a possible target has not proved fragile, with Russia defending its positions.
In terms of international diplomacy, an ideological alignment begins to grow, the so-called third way, which China and Brazil would also be part of, are increasingly closer to the Russian discourse of “conquered” territories and the discourse of peace is weakened .
Europe will hold a new meeting to discuss Ukraine’s entry into the Eurozone, it seems more plausible than entry into NATO, since in its statute no country at war can enter, it would be a serious exception and Russia would understand a declaration of war open.
Open because the sending of fighter jets and weapons to Ukraine is already a declared support, the countries, however, allege that it is for the “defense” of the territory, and for this reason the entry into territory is not well regarded by the NATO countries, it was even a condition for sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
The week will be decisive with the discussion of the countries of the Eurozone, and the counter-offensive of Ukraine, for the time being many attacks on Kiev, some of which hit children and a clinic.
The signs of peace are increasingly difficult and less effective, what happens is a strong alignment at all levels, from the economic to the political, each side tries to strengthen itself.