Arquivo para a ‘Método e Verdade Científica’ Categoria
Covid-19 and future care
29
Aug
Covid 19 leaves some lessons, one of them is not to underestimate viruses, they
can have a greater mutation capacity than expected and can complicate immunity results, in the field of social policy, governments and administrative bodies need to respect life and sometimes you have to sacrifice efficiency and performance for the greater good.
Aspects of social life, there is still a lot to learn and even the results in a near end of covid, are still to be evaluated: anxieties, depressions and irritations are aspects that should not be underestimated and also need to be seen as public health.
In the field of viruses, there is now a debate about an immunity deficit” caused by the period of social isolation, in all age groups, but especially in children, this has favored diseases such as hepatitis and other viruses more intensely.
Last week we said studies that indicate a possibility of pandemic “evolution” for bacteria and fungi, I looked for some reports and studies about it and found that there is indeed a possibility.
According to a French study, in which one of the co-authors is a French doctor François Angouvalnt, the fact that some people did not catch so many viruses in the months of the pandemic was a relief on average from the tragedies of Covid-19 peaks, but it left the immune systems without training to face common pathologies and created population groups more vulnerable to some viruses and bacteria that are normally treated and resolved as simple cases.
The study followed some evolutions of these diseases since 2020 and observed the evolution in the population of Paris and caused apprehension a greater vulnerability.
Particularly in Brazil, the number of deaths from covid is around 70 daily deaths and falling, while the number of infections below 10 thousand, everything indicates an end of the pandemic by the end of the year, but with a new wave of cold in the country. south and southeast care must be maintained.
Power and violence
24
Aug
Historically, peaceful peoples or peoples with little defense 
structure were dominated by imperialist peoples, often justified by social values or noble causes, but the practice in the end is domination, developed by Max Weber.
In recent history, the ideas of the “sovereign” by Hobbes and the “prince” by Machiavelli started the idea of the State even in the period when there were kings (in England and other countries there are still), and later they were reworked by Kant and Hegel, where the concepts of city-state and citizenship from classical antiquity have been recovered and updated, but this is the idea of modern power.
The idea of democracy in the American sense of the word was developed by Alexis de Tocqueville, which is at the same time a compliment to the American model, but has gaps in interpretation that allow for a critical analysis.
The idea that all power emanates from the people, despite being an ideal model in the broadest sense of the word, is really the final project of idealism, but Sloterdijk notes that the model of “human domestication” has failed, there are two wars in the so-called “advanced” countries. ” and one lurking.
The most recent analyses, which deal with the “de facto” power present in forms of domination and ideological control of populations (ideology here in a broad sense) depart from Michel Foucault’s analysis that there are disparate, heterogeneous and constantly changing forms of how this power is exercised, so it is everywhere and not in an institution or in someone, where it develops the concepts of biopower and micropower.
Byung Chul Han, disciple and in line with Peter Sloterdijk, develops the most advanced form that we have today, which is psychopower, not only through the control of news and fake news, but especially through the relationships that develop socially where there is no reciprocity, what what Chul Han calls “symmetry”.
He says there is no symmetry in any form of power or in communication (so all communication is a form of domination and power), there is only symmetry where there is “respect”. and so the most “violent” form of politics today is to disrespect the adversary in various ways.
This is everyday violence, that it advances to its cruelest form which is war is nothing but a consequence, so violence begins in the actions of psychic violence in everyday life.
As Chul-Han establishes: “power is an asymmetrical relationship. It grounds a hierarchical relationship” (HAN, 2019, p. 18) and it is the basis of all social and political violence, a power that is truly democratic must re-elaborate the symmetry or reciprocity between citizens and the state.
Han, Byung Chul. (2019) No enxame (In the swarm). Brazil, Petrópolis: Ed. Vozes.
Falling pandemic, there could be another
22
Aug
The pandemic continues to fall, slowly due to both the vaccination
rate and the relaxation of protocol measures, in Brazil 144 deaths and 15 thousand infections were recorded, it is the lowest rate since May.
The question is whether new pandemics can arise and what precautions to take for prevention, which is much better than letting it happen and then sounding the alarm.
In China some serious viruses are monitored, in general they come from animals to humans, that of the shrew, a small rodent is one of them, a study released on August 4th detected the Langya henipavirus (LayV) that caused infections in 35 people, among 2018 and 2021 in Shandong and Henan provinces causes symptoms such as fever, fatigue, anorexia, myalgia and nausea.
However, the forecast in the medium and long term is that there will be an “evolutionary” process for fungi and bacteria, this is because pesticides and medicines for bacteria cause an evolution in organisms, and in the case of fungi there are not many studies and the use of defensive is increasingly intensive.
In the United States, a rare bacterium called Burlkolderia pseudomallei has been found, which can make some people extremely sick, especially patients with diabetes and kidney problems, doctors are on alert, but there are still no reported cases.
The fungus alert was made by a report by National Geographic, which says that we know little about these organisms and they are very resistant to treatments and with this, in the event of a pandemic, it could get out of control.
Studies for prevention must also have funding, they are the basis for avoiding pandemics along with the immediate disclosure of cases that can be chronic.
The origin and crisis of humanism
17
Aug
The two wars and the current tension Russia x Ukraine and
China x Taiwan, which are nothing but the tension now between two types of colonial systems, capitalist imperialism and ideological imperialism, which is not just Marxist or communist, because this requires a discussion on the topic.
His proposal, according to Sloterdijk himself, were well understood by the participants, however in the reaction of the philosophers there was a “fascist” content in them, which is the genetic selection of humanity, or the induction of this change.
I also had this reaction in a first reading, in my case the criticism of Heidegger’s “Letters on Humanism”, one of the central themes that it addresses, in addition to the questioning it makes of the conception of humanism, its great contribution is in understanding the ontic relationship ontological, inverting Heidegger’s precedence of the ontological over the ontic.
In practice it means a revision of the clearing motif, as the incorporation of its natural history over the social one (Sloterdijk, 1999, p. 61), means that there is a natural dimension on the ontological.
Personally, I prefer not to submit one dimension to another, I say that they cooperate, something similar to what Henri Bergson wrote in his “Creative Evolution” (1907), but adhering to the mystical, and it is clear that this depends on a cosmovision with some religious background.
Sloterdijk’s review of Plato’s “Politics” (Sloterdijk, 1999, p. 47-56) develops the origins of humanism in Antiquity, in his view, linked to the exercise of an inhibition, that of the habit of reading capable of pacifying, to tame, to develop patience, in opposition to the frenetic amusements of the “uninhibited homo inhumanus”.
The Platonic metaphor supposes that these different natures are found in Being, that is, they are ontological, and as raw material to form the Greek citizen (the politician), there is the artifice of separating them in order to have the desired configuration for their function. in the polis.
It must be remembered that the Greeks also already spoke of areté, the exercise of virtue, to use Sloterdijk’s term “a life of exercises”, but the German philosopher’s view is that this project fails, and in our analysis that includes the mystic , means that there is an abandonment of areté.
Thus, I am not making a blind defense of Sloterdijk here, I only note that his criticism of humanism is to this “peacemaking” project of man, hence why the “rules of the human park”, his suggestion of ontic nature, do not necessarily mean manipulation. genetics.
Behind this question is the question whether man is good or bad, as the Enlightenment contractualists did when defining the role of the state, so Sloterdijk’s question proceeds.
People who changed the course of history
03
Aug
For centuries in the Iranian plain the Semitic and Akkadian
peoples dominated and established their civilization there, the Medes and Persians settled later and until the period between 500 BC. and 448 BC. the Persians established a domain and started conflicts with the Greeks, the so-called Medical Wars.
The city-states of Greece came together and managed to impose their cultural and society model on the peoples and started a new cultural process called Classical Antiquity, the Greek polis, art and the civilizing model would be established, including a cultural return in a later period. called renaissance.
These empires disappeared without leaving any traces and only historical records, the marks of cruelty, decadence and impiety of the warlike forces of these empires disappeared.
In times of civilizational crisis, it is good that peoples who had not only a great military force, but also a great cultural appeal, managed to change the course of history and strengthen the civilizing process in a broader democratic and cultural direction.
Great empires such as the Persians, the Roman, the Mongol empire (picture) and more recently the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires also went into crisis and succumbed, unfortunately not without wars and with great loss of civilian life and a critical analysis of wars is always important. .
Part of this story, forces that mobilize peace and dialogue took humanity from even greater scourges that could occur and if we cannot avoid wars, we can maximize efforts so that civilian human lives are spared.
History also teaches that peoples that were not empires and even numerous can and should influence the course of history from a civilizational experience, like the Greek polis and the world today lacks models that can unite humanity in a solidary effort for peace. .
Covid 19: Origins and possible future
01
Aug
A recent study, published by the journal Science, with researchers
from 18 countries, reveals that the origin of the Covid 19 virus was even in the Wuhan meat market that sells game meat and types unsuitable for human consumption: such as foxes, bats and dogs.
The studies had been published online as prepints (provisional publications on sharing sites) in February and have now had workshop publication in the journal Science (science.org).
One of the researchers publishing the study, Kristian Andersen, clarified to the Associated Press news agency that they have not refuted the lab leak theory, but “I think what’s important here is that there are possible and plausible scenarios and it’s really important to understand that there’s no means equally likely” depending on the mapping of the initial cases of the virus.
Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom reiterated that the pandemic “is far from over”, but stressed that the current situation is “very different from a year ago” with important lessons such as vaccinating the right groups and that this assessment “this is not theoretical, this is real” pointing to several countries where the number of hospitalizations is increasing.
The current data from Covid shows that it is still far from the end, in Brazil it has a moving average of cases below 40 thousand and the number of deaths still above 200, with a slight increase of 10% compared to the previous week.
In China, the inhabitants of Shanghai who are under a long and hard stage of Lockdown are already irritated and are tired of the limitations imposed by the authorities, in Wuhan, place of origin, new 4 cases triggered a new lockdown and China follows the zero cases policy. criticized.
In the West, the policy is confusing and varies from country to country, it can be said that there is no standard protocol and when there is, it is rarely observed by the population and supervised, the testing mechanism is particular and inefficient.
International Day of Friendship
30
Jul
The date of International Friendship Day was established by the
UN to remember solidarity between peoples, respect for diversity and I make a special repost of content from this blog in this regard:
The philosopher Plato defined friendship as “the reciprocal predisposition that makes
two beings equally jealous of each other’s happiness”, Augustine of Hippo affirmed that “being a friend merges us in the friendship of being; friends are one soul” and Aristotle seems to merge the two thoughts: “friendship is a soul with two bodies”.
It was Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics dedicated two books to the study of philia and friendship, who defined friendship in three types: for interest, that for pleasure, for interest and true friendship, the first is easy to identify because it is the pursuit of mutual pleasure, the second because they are useful to each other, and the third, it is possible between good men because they desire good for its own sake and do not place pleasure or interest above friendship.
In chapter IXI the Peripatetic philosopher states:
“Perhaps we can say that there is nothing strange about breaking a friendship based on interest or pleasure when our friends no longer possess the attributes of being useful and pleasant; in fact we were friends with those attributes, and when they disappear it is reasonable not to continue in love. ” (Aristotle, IX, 3, 1165b) .
In the chapter “The partner and the neighbor” of the book “History and Truth” by Paul Ricoeur he will talk about the difference between these relationships, he talks about charity: “Charity doesn’t need to be where it appears; it is also hidden in the humble and abstract post office, the social security; it is often the hidden part of the social”, Paul Ricoeur, Le socius et le Prochain (1954).
We are reminded by the philosopher that just as institutions can only have corporate relationships, they can also have interpersonal relationships, of affection and solidarity and that make them less cold and less bureaucratic, where one sees not a client or a service more, but a neighbor in which one may be interested.
It is not by chance that it is a chapter of History and Truth, because the truth is only established between true and close friends, and if they are partners, it will only be to be closer.
The Twinkl website referenced this post in function of this date, thanks for the reminder.
Vanity and true treasures
29
Jul
For many the world, history and even personal happiness develops
around wealth, false treasures and some public recognition, in fact, everything is vanity and a large part of human energies are consumed in it, without finding true joy, not that euphoria, frenzy or catharsis, but that of gaudio and inner peace.
Socially, it means collaborating so that all the good around us spreads and everyone can be happy not with big undertakings, big parties or even other fleeting joys, all this is gathering false treasures.
There is a joy in the true perennials, that as a biblical verse says “where moth and rust corrode and where thieves break through and steal” (Mt 6,19), but those that exist in the bonds between good people, as Aristotle defined for the kind of true friendship.
Accumulating true values, true friendships and true goods that are not those that only material wealth confers, means more than having a virtuous life, it is a path that leads to inner peace and a balanced happiness that is beyond what happens and for this reason it tastes like eternity.
In times of wars, hatreds and false polarizations (these are not poles between what is eternally true and false, but temporal rivalries), they experience only the taste of a fleeting, narcotic happiness and a fleeting and short-lived intoxication.
It is better to cultivate values and feelings that are durable, and they need love and dedication to spiritual asceticism, than to cling to the passenger who will later demand a more difficult and painful kind of renunciation precisely because it doesn’t taste like eternal.
Wise men, saints and great philosophers sought this type of gaudio (a more balanced and lasting happiness) but it is impossible to achieve it with temporal attachments: vanity, greed, oppression and feelings of low morality because they cannot have durability precisely for what they represent: its limitation in a time lapse.
In a society of performance, activism and low or little ability to perceive, live and contemplate what is really beautiful and eternal, only those who go beyond vanity and temporal pleasure can achieve this kind of joy, he precious jewels of eternal life.
Friendship and espirituality
22
Jul
Idealist philosophy places amgio and friendship in an ideal philosophical relationship, Aristotle nevertheless warns: “the friend is made quickly, while friendship [is a fruit that matures slowly”, the same can be said of spirituality, recognizing that we have a part spiritual and that it is part human, requires an exercise in spirituality.
It was Sloterdijk, one of the great thinkers of Germany today, who warned that we live in an “exercise society”, but warns that it is de-spiritualized.
High spirituality, before reaching the divine, must go through previous stages in the relationship with the Other, the one who is not a mirror, who does not have the same values as us and this relationship can evolve or obstruct, being more difficult when there is an obstruction to maintain a relationship of respect and cordiality, as friendship and love are more distant.
It is possible to love those who obstruct everything, yes, it is possible first to maintain respect, then separate what are values and real exercises in spirituality and what is just interest.
At this point, friendship has a very close relationship with the spiritual, it can be said that there is, in addition to friendship, reciprocity, a continuous flow of relationship between good people, what Aristotle defined as true friendship, for this you need good men.
There is no just society without just men, there are no friends without friendship exercises, and only on the basis of true reciprocity can friendship reach the spiritual level.
Only with good men can society be saved, says a curious biblical passage about Sodom (Gn 18,20-32) in which Abraham asks God if with a small number of just men society would be saved, and he reduces the number because he knows that there are few.
For those who believe the biblical verse, the teacher explains this question (Lk 1:5-8): “If one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine has come on a trip and I have nothing to offer him,’ and if the other replies from within, ‘Don’t bother me! I have already locked the door, and my children and I are already in bed; I cannot get up to give you the loaves’; 8I tell you that even if the other does not get up to give them because he is your friend, he will get up at least because of his impertinence and give him whatever he needs.”
If one wants to achieve reciprocity, he must first take steps in respect and friendship, and the highest spirituality is to be able to love and respect enemies..
The idealistic concepts of friendship
21
Jul
We post that it is an exercise in rhetoric, but like any philosophy
there is a seminal origin of a certain thought, Nietzsche starts from Platonic metaphysics stating that the game between friends of philosophy had a vice of conception that would be the will of truth, sometimes it was precisely she that there is a critique of the sophists relativizes it.
Based on this principle, Nietzsche will state that the philosopher must practice a certain “art of mistrust”, his main instrument being the hammer (Niettzsche in “Beyond Good and Evil”).
Deleuze states that Foucault would have declared that “Heidegger always fascinated him, but that he could only understand him through Nietzsche, with Nietzsche (and not the other way around)” (Deleuze, 1986, p. 120-121) and even though “surely , alongside Heidegger, but in a totally different way, the one who most profoundly renewed the image of thought” (Deleuze, 1990, p. 130-131).
Returning to the initial question, which is true friendship, after all if it is it and nothing else that allows for a broad relationship between the various concepts of friends in philosophy, being itself by definition (philo-friend) sophia (wisdom).
This is how Deleuze and Guattari develop the question of friendship, considering the different thinkers, the friend is for him, being more textual, it is a “trait of conceptual character” that has to do with “psychosocial characters” (Deleuze, Guattari, 1991, p. .68)
As we said, it is an emptying of the concept of friend, transformed into an object of subjective reflection, for this reason we say that they are idealist concepts, even when approaching clearly non-idealist authors such as Heidegger and Nietzsche.
We return to the Aristotelian concept that differentiates friendship for pleasure or for utility from true friendship and therefore the question of truth is essential, and even Plato considered it, although it divides the world of ideas (eidos for the Greeks) and the sensible world.
Also the concept of neighbor (one who is within a broad affection of friendship) and the partner (one to whom we associate ourselves for a certain happiness), concepts of Paul Ricoeur are essential points in our view for the reflection on friendship.
DELEUZE, Gilles. Pourparlers Paris: Minuit, 1990.
DELEUZE, Gilles; GUATTARI, Félix. Qu’est-ce que la philosophie? Paris: Minuit, 1991.
