Arquivo para February, 2024
Ethics and resistance
15
Feb
Hegelian idealist formalism establishes an
ethics, since it sees a fatality in man’s finitude, in the words of many thinkers his worldliness, however the categories used in phenomenology, where the thing in itself turns, there is the essence of Being.
It was Emmanuel Levinas who opened this essence to the relationship with the Other, and calls it an ethical resistance, declaring it as an epiphany, in the philosophical sense of apparition, which is an opening to exteriority to the infinite being, where this resistance can be manifest.
Thus, different from the idea of the openness of Being or idealistic transcendence, the relationship between the subject and the object, its exteriority is that which the inner Being manifests itself before the infinite, its openness to the Other requires an examination of conscience: we love or hate, we forgive Either we resent what is different, I favor ethics and moral behavior, or we relativize it.
Brazilian professor Brüseke clarifies: “It is curious how frequently concerns or even fears are being raised that mysticism weakens social morality” (Brüseke, 2000).
Thus, Levinas’s transcendence is a true opening of the Being to the outside world and life in a broad and totalitarian way (of course not in the authoritarian sense of the word), it can give the Being a true asceticism, a reunion with itself in the face of a metanoia, a complete change of mindset.
Open to life does not mean open to pleasures and momentary circumstances, but to find a path to our “ascension”, a daily growth even with obstacles and setbacks, the falsehood of “easy” paths is that they do not perform the “exercise” of true asceticism, they just get around it with palliatives (read Byung Chul-Han’s Palliative Society).
Resistance, a category also used by Edgar Morin for the contemporary world, is more than opposing “evil”, or an inner resilience, it is a resistance of hope, of believing that an alternative path is possible, that war cannot it is a way out, and that we will have a future.
Philosophy and science are not opposed to the spiritual growth of humanity, to a certain extent they can even be healthy complements to a balanced faith and a science that is in fact humanized, it is not about dominating nature but about cooperating with it.
It must start from personal attitudes and decisions, put into reflection and lived socially.
Brüseke, F. (2000) A ética da resistência. Cadernos de pesquisa interdisciplinar em Ciências Humanas. V. 1, n. 8, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Human fragility in the face of Infinity
14
Feb
One of the important works to understand the
linguistic shift from the point of view of ontology is the work of Emmanuel Levinas, highlighting here a work that addresses the entire issue of the impossibility of objectifying the Other and human limitation in the face of weaknesses such as vices, ethical difficulties and war.
Levinas draws part of his experience from what he experienced in the Second World War, where he was held prisoner by the Nazi regime, in addition to having his parents and brothers executed, he saw the atrocities of the so-called “enlightened reason” which proved to be violent and totalitarian, these experiences are in tension in his thinking, and are important in a context of threat of a new world war.
Ontology has its role within metaphysics according to the author, but not its primacy as that of first philosophy, the transcendence of the scope of “self” and “being”, since this movement has been unveiled (the categories of reality) veiling is a new veiling) returning the movement to the self, to the identical, to being and its preservation, not to the recognition of the Other.
In contrast to Heidegger, for whom the relationship between being and others is subordinated to a relationship with being in general and nothing interferes with the emergence of the self, Levinas understands that the self is not due to being, but to the Other, and thus this relationship It is fundamental as in Paul Ricoeur.
The author proposes in Totality and Infinity a new choice for understanding being in which exteriority is not sacrificed, thus the relationship with the Other and with the exterior “world” is a reflection and path to interiority, in which it finds a relationship with the all and infinite.
This relationship between the self and the face of the Other that presents ethical resistance, for the author, is through its epiphany, through its “appearance” (a fundamental category in phenomenology), that the exteriority of infinite being can manifest itself as resistance.
His thinking is more complex, but we can understand that the weakness and limitation of the self, if kept in tension with exteriority and with the Other, reveals the infinite and our relationship with it, which cannot be other than the recognition of its “ transcendence”.
Levinas, E. (1969) Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority, London: Kluwer Academic Pub.
True asceticism
13
Feb
There are no clear definitions, neither in
psychology, nor in sociology or morals, of what constitutes true balanced joy, or it deviates towards euphoria which involves maintaining joy at high levels, which is not possible all the time, or its compensation, which is to decrease to nostalgic and low levels that cannot be more than contentment.
Also in philosophy he spoke about joy and euphoria, derived from the Greek (euphoria) which means to easily sustain what is carried (phoros), but the term appears in modern terms in 1875 to refer to the contentment experienced by morphine addicts, being also characteristic of what is called bipolar disorder.
Everything depends on the desire for human elevation to a stage where being higher is sustainable (charged – self + phoros), so an ascent, an ascesis, can be assumed.
Peter Sloterdijk conceptualized current society as having a despiritualized asceticism, of course its spirituality does not refer to a cult or defined belief, but he questions that this climb today is without spiritual support, without a true asceticism.
The metaphor that Sloterdijk uses of the spheres, once again with explicit allusions to Heidegger, referring to the constructions of the intimate and immunological spheres, is that of the house (Haus or Gehäuse), it is not only a place that offers protection, but also constitutes a psychic, spiritual and intellectual sphere for this “ascesis”.
There is no climb without effort, and often without sacrifices, and there is no climb if it is not going to the top, so asceticism is not an exercise or training, but a practical life of ascending.
Therefore, joy without effort for life, for daily bread, for human and not just material progress is false asceticism, it has no support, it collapses after “exercise” and if it can be compared to climbing a mountain, you must remember to support it at the top when descending.
Speeches, apotheoses and vertigo are almost endless pursuits these days, catchphrases do not produce life, they do not give people joy and lasting peace, possession of false wisdom, false joy and elevation, because they collapse the next day in the face of reality.
Promises of earthly paradise, enrichment and consumer goods are nothing more than euphoria, false asceticism, the possession of a good does not necessarily mean happiness and inner peace, which all men desire, even more so these days, a little bit of lasting peace and joy is only possible with true asceticism, without giving up the goods of life and mutual respect.
Joy will pass and an Ash Wednesday will come and then let us face the difficulties with courage and determination, a true ascetic knows every step they must take.
Russian and Israeli strategy
12
Feb
On the one hand, a power on the left, which
does not negotiate with opponents and does not give up power, on the other, a Western power where war can help keep right-wing forces in coalition in power.
Wars are political and we cannot see them only from the perspective of dictators and genocides, even though any war is based on the illegitimate killing of civilians and even within the parameters of international agreements on war, they are exceeded.
Any narrative that exists hides hatred and revenge against opponents, anger and violence as a foundation, using discourses of virility, ideologies of single thinking and even humanistic appeals that are outdated after the first battle.
The critical analysis is that is there will be no setbacks, in a recent speech Putin declared that there is no possibility of defeat in Ukraine, that is, he would use catastrophic nuclear weapons or resources close to this, but mitigates this by saying that there is no interest in Poland and Latvia.
Despite having elections coming up, the only Russian opponent that Putin respects, others are already in prison or disappear in prison or dead, there is no possibility of any change in power.
In Israel, President Netanyahu threatens to send troops to Rafah, a refugee camp on the border with Egypt, which has had a peace treaty with Israel for 45 years. American President Biden also asked that no troops be sent there, but the proximity of the Israeli elections demands a nod to the more radical right in Israel.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel said civilians in Rafah must be protected as they have nowhere to go: “Some 1.3 million civilians are trapped, living on the streets or in shelters. They need to be protected. They have no safe place to go,” he said according to the international press.
The logic of war is that it favors dictators and does not allow any more humane and democratic principle to be respected, it is the absence of serenity and tolerance towards opponents.
Healing minds and hearts
09
Feb
It is increasingly common to appeal to material
goods, as we close in on ourselves and have a false idea about what happiness is, wounded souls and hearts that seek happiness where it is not found, it may be a temporary consolation, but it is not happiness, happiness balanced.
Another book by Seneca that is quite fundamental to his thinking is about the tranquility of the soul, modern man lives in exteriority, mistakenly called objectivity or materiality, because things (beings) are part of ontological aspects and must be thought of and cultivated appropriately in interiority. , which is not subjectivity, but soul.
Said the Roman philosopher, who we posted yesterday about Wrath, now about the soul:
“If man had the opportunity to look inside himself, how he would torture himself, he would confess the truth and say: “Everything I have done up to now, I would prefer if it had not been done; When I think about everything I said, I envy the dumb; everything I desired, the curse of my enemies; everything I feared. O righteous gods! Better not to have wanted to. I made many enemies, and hatred replaced friendship (if there is friendship between evil people), and I’m not even friends with myself.
Although written at the beginning of the Christian era, the author Of the tranquility of the soul, reflects the difficulty it is for the common man and also for the wise man to maintain his serenity, faced with a spectacle of injustice and baseness (see how old this is), which he witnesses every day, is precisely the counterpoint to Anger, hatred and confrontation.
The text begins with an imaginary letter written by Sereno (of course the name is on purpose): “I will tell you what is happening to me, and you will find a name for this illness”, and at the end he states: “Sometimes, my soul rises with the magnitude of thought, becomes greedy for words and aspires to heights. So the speech is no longer mine [emphasis added]. Forgetting about the norms and rigorous criteria, I stand up and speak with a mouth that is no longer mine.”
From then on, he will reflect on how to overcome obstacles that prevent peace.
Although the discourse is moralistic and ethical, and it is no less important for this reason, the elevation that Seneca sought cannot find any other place than in a spiritual asceticism, it is also found in other cultures, Buddhism is an elevation on the path of virtues, Ghandi used the peace as a political exercise to lead India, and in the case of Christianity it is the “cures” of Jesus.
The Biblical text says, when they see the healing of a deaf-mute (Mc 7,37): “He does all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak”, and he also cured “unclean” lepers.
Sêneca. (2009) Da Tranquilidade da Alma (wordpress.com) (portuguese). transl. Lucia Sá Rebello e Ellen Itanajara Neves Vranas. Brazil, Porto Alegre: LP&M Pocket.
About Wrath and Hope
08
Feb
The ancient Roman philosopher Seneca 
(4 BC – 65 AD) wrote a beautiful essay On Wrath which, although it is in three books, can be divided into two parts, it is addressed to his older brother Gallio, the first part deals with a theoretical issue ( I-II.17) and talks about the horrors of Wrath and its definitions, the second part gives tips on how to calm people, both children and adults, using real cases as examples.
Although the texts are very interesting and intelligent, there is an essential gap that cannot be achieved through spiritual asceticism, the hope that the context will be changed by actions that go beyond the personal, social or group level, raising the level of spiritual health of a person. group.
According to the philosopher, a great man should never become angry and, when it is not possible to avoid anger, he should try to calm down as soon as possible, his famous phrase is:
“No man becomes more courageous through anger, except one who, without anger, would not have been courageous: anger, therefore, does not come to help courage, but to take its place” (I.13).
However, in social life there are situations in which good and fair men are subject to the power of authoritarian, presumptuous and arrogant men who humiliate, exploit and mistreat humble people.
To this the Stoic responds with another sentence; “Let nothing be allowed to you while you are angry. For what reason? Because he will want everything to be allowed.” (III.12), said in a modern way, if we lose our calm when pointing out a mistake, we can lose our reason in reacting to the error.
Hope is fundamental when an entire social, political or even religious situation becomes difficult and points to a path that seems to be without that of destruction, error and fear, it is not about being in conformity, we wrote in the previous post about the disposition which precedes the intention, but the intention to calm propagate peace and avoid anger becomes both hope and the possibility of viable course correction, anger does not, initiates or expands the confrontation.
It is necessary to believe that the union of forces that desire positive change has a light that is superior to the set of human forces, because they can improve the “disposition”, the climate in favor of sensible and constructive attitudes and raise the moral standard in a virtuous circle .
There is an inner Being
07
Feb
The philosopher Hannah Arendt had already
developed the theme of Vita Contemplativa, and the Korean-German essayist Byung Chul-Han expands on this theme in his book with the same name, but we will only point out the new features there, including what he takes from Heidegger that It’s the disposition.
In Being and Time, Heidegger works on the verb stimmen, using the conjugation stimmung (which is translated as disposition) and also uses Gestiment-Sein (to be willing), but which in German is something like being in tune, being in tune with something and This modifies the concept of intention.
Literally disposition, a state of mind precedes any intentionality referred to objects: “Disposition has already opened up, however, being-in-the-world as a whole, and makes primarily possible a direction towards [something]” (Heidegger apud Han, 2023, p. 66).
Thus, the relationship with the external world, with objects, with beings and with everything that comes from outside the Being, means that we are disposed, says the text: “Disposition opens up to us the space only in which we confront ourselves with a entity. It reveals the Being” (Han, idem).
This vision transforms what we are and what we think, in spiritual terms, what the soul is disposed to and what it is directed towards from interiority, says the text: “The contemplative dimension that inhabits it transforms it into a correspondence. It corresponds to what “addresses us as the voice [Stimme] of being”, by allowing itself to be defined by it” (Han, 2023, p. 67).
Thus thinking becomes something other than logical articulation or narrative discourse: “Thinking means “opening our ears”; that is, listen and listen carefully. Speaking presupposes listening and responding. “Philosophia is the truly consummate correspondence that speaks attentively to the call of the being of beings. The correspondent hears the voice of the call […]” (Han, 2023, pgs. 67-68).
All of this seems excessively philosophical and in fact it is, but it means, as the author states, that something defined, and we have many pre-arranged definitions, is something that is condensed in our mind and our thoughts “in the pre-reflective scope”, I mean inside us.
So it is what we have inside, in our interiority that helps or limits us, says the author quoting Heidegger again: “If the fundamental disposition is left out, then everything is a forced cluster of concepts and shells of words” (Heiddeger apud Han, p. 68).
Thus, it is not the outside and what we take outside of ourselves that defines us, but what we have inside and that is why interiority is fundamental for any analysis.
HAN, Byung-Chul. (2023) Vita contemplativa: ou sobre a inatividade. Trad. Lucas Machado. Brazil, Petrópolis, RJ: Vozes.
Hypocrisy and power
06
Feb
In the analysis of political and ideological currents,
the notion and problem of hypocrisy is neglected, so it is possible to defend democracy by defending autocratic attitudes, by combating corruption, to justify elements of active and passive corruption, in fact, the active one which is the fact of offering illegal compensation (and it is not said what is illegal) and passive is when a public official receives undue compensation (when possible) from third parties.
The term hypocrisy in ancient Greek (hypocritás) is similar to the current one, it is when a social actor intentionally acts in a simulated way, in acts or words, that hide how he thinks or how he actually acts, the rule today is to say the opposite to confuse public opinion.
As a term used by contemporary authors, I remember Machiavelli, as critics of political reason, and Foucault, who sees it as a central element of power relations, although his analysis moves to the psychological field.
Byung Chul-Han’s psychopolitics moves to the media field, the author believes that the power of digital media facilitates this type of relationship, although he does not directly call it hypocrisy, but gives an interesting recipe in his book “What is power”, “The modern loss of faith, which does not only concern God and the beyond, but reality itself, makes human life radically transitory”, so there is nothing perennial, since everything changes.
The basis of modern hypocrisy is to induce man to believe in a life of ease, what Byung Chul-Han calls an excess of positivity, pain and sacrifice have been abolished, “We forget that pain purifies. The culture of enjoyment lacks the possibility of catharsis. Thus, we suffocate it with the residues [Schlacken] of positivity, which accumulate beneath the surface of the tanning culture.”
This makes man happier, the answer is the opposite of what society promises, depression, bipolarity and boredom are contemporary diseases, “Depression is the illness of a society that suffers under an excess of positivity”.
Men and women, freed from this society of performance, exercise, and despiritualized asceticism, without suspicious and persecutory attitudes, become more affable: “Ordinary men and women, given the opportunity for a happy life, will become more gentle and less persecutory and inclined to view others with suspicion.”
It is possible to reestablish mutual trust, healthy relationships, empathy and fraternity, making society healthier and less conflictual.
Han, Byung-Chul. (2018) What is power?. NY; Wiley.
Hopes for peace
05
Feb
The Russian elections take place on March 15th
and 17th, but Putin’s likely political opponent, former deputy Boris Nadejdin, had his candidacy rejected this Friday, February 2nd by the vice-president of the electoral commission Nikolai Bulaiev, who said reasons for irregularity and which will point out other technical problems.
This procedure is routine in Russian elections, and sometimes opponents disappear or are arrested for some reason or minor infraction, dictators control the state machine to forge a democracy that does not exist in practice and nationalist governments also grow.
One of the reasons is that some people on the list were considered dead, Nadejdin joked:
“You and I are the most alive of the living. If anyone imagines that they see dead souls on my subscription lists, that’s not a question for me, maybe they should look for the church, or an exorcist”, according to news on Telegram, a fair election could change the outlook for the war in Ukraine.
Peace in the Middle East is also possible, Israel wants the release of all hostages and Hamas wants an end to the war, reiterating this Saturday (03/02) that the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip are prerequisites for hostage release agreement.
New attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen were carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom this weekend, and the organization, a group of multiple militias, is believed to be armed and financed by Iran, which denies the accusations.
According to the American Department of Defense, there are several militias financed by Iran, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, after two Americans were killed in the interception of a boat carrying weapons to rebels in Yemen, the American Department of Defense released a photo (above) .
There are always circumstances and situations that can end a war, it is necessary no limit condemning the power of tyrants and warmongering governments so that the world moves towards peace.
Power and respect
02
Feb
Byung Chul-Han in his book The Swarm, clarifies
that only respect has symmetry, that is, it can make the relationship one of mutual respect and recognition of what is good for everyone.
This is one of the greatest values of social action, solidarity with those who for some reason made a mistake or had a deviation in their behavioral action, being allowed to return to social life and the hope of a new life.
It is necessary to experience something new, to resume a respectful relationship with the Other, and to social reintegration. This does not mean tolerating what is unacceptable, whether morally or socially, but having a new life experience of resocialization and reorganization of life. guys.
Power, when exercised only to repress and combat what is socially and morally reprehensible, should not be absent, it would be an omission and disorganization, but every human being and every person can and should be allowed their resocialization and social reinsertion.
Social life has deteriorated not because people make mistakes, this is typical of social and human life, but because resuming a respectful relationship, being patient in listening to the Other and allowing them to change is giving them hope and conditions to have a new experience. and respect.
The culture of exclusion, hatred and lack of forgiveness leads to a hostile society, the end of fair social relations and the path that provides the possibility for greater equity and justice for all. Exclusion thickens the broth of marginality, the culture of disrespect and gives rise to all types of polarization and confrontation.
A society without a return to a balanced social life, fair in all senses, including moral and economic, makes the development of a culture of peace and fraternity possible.
There is no way back, just imposing rules and concepts, often dubious and without an adequate practical reason (the Greek phronesis), becomes an ideological direction that is as hostile as what it condemns: authoritarianism and ignorance.
There is a lack of common sense, practical reason in all areas of society, from political to religious, the practice of distrust, discredit and disrespect for different thoughts, makes the field of authoritarianism increasingly present and the field of democracy and equality distant.
The practice of daily attitudes of good, of patient listening is the path for those who truly desire a more fraternal and supportive world, the practice of aggression and hatred does not lead to a real possibility of returning to the path of war and confrontation.
Those who say they follow Love and solidarity need to get out of words and into actions.
