Is National Sovereignty A Dead Cat?
With the establishment and operation, after World War Two, of reputable international organisations, and the sporadic formation of temporary coalitions of concerned nations to offer safety to oppressed peoples here and there, the traditional independence and political autonomy of sovereign nation-states has been severely eroded. Is there a place for national sovereignty?
Three Great Inventions That Changed the WorldI was once asked to list three great inventions that changed the world. Considering the many inventions that I’ve learned about over the years, I find the most influential to have been printing with moveable type. By far, the most useful was the humanist concept of man’s pursuit of excellence. Lastly, the most harmful inventions were…
Anthropological Definition of Culture: What Is Culture?This Article is about the definition of “culture” according to Anthropology. Here you will find non-traditional interpretations of “culture” which is useful for people who live in multicultural societies.
Making the Unconscious Conscious – What Goes Down Must Come UpThe most powerful truth of all regarding our thinking, and therefore our feeling, and therefore our acting, is what goes down into the unconscious must come up again. Whatever we repress beckons as potential. Whatever we nullify lies for expansion. Whatever we deny lies coded deeply within us. None of this we can run away from. But there is no need to be afraid of the unconscious, despite the strange and uncharacteristic nuances of identity that we will be confronted with.
The Pillars of Islam and the Muslim Golden AgeWhat are the basic ideas of Islam and what were the contributions of the Muslim Golden Age? The basic ideas behind the religion of Islam are fivefold. These five things are more than mere concepts. For the Muslim, they are obligatory. They are conveniently named…
Aquinas’ Proof of GodWas Aquinas’ proof of God sufficient? What was written by Aquinas on faith and reason is well-known. Aquinas sought to reconcile faith and reason. I recently re-read his treatise again, with an eye to discover what arguments he used to prove the existence of God? I subsequently asked myself if his arguments and five proofs of God are convincing or not. Thomas Aquinas, in his famed work…
The Classical Humanist and Christian WorldviewsI was recently asked to explain the difference between the Christian and Classical Humanist worldviews. For the sake of brevity, the difference between the Christian and Classical Humanist worldviews is best understood by looking at the source of wisdom, moral authority and knowledge of right and wrong for each. Fundamentally, these two separate sources explain the major differences in the simplest terms. When one understands…
The Beginning of ChristianityWhat sparked the beginning of Christianity and how did Christianity develop out of first century Judaism? Christianity developed quite naturally out of first century Judaism based on two key factors. Firstly, Christianity finds its roots and basis in Judaism, and more specifically, in the…
Pliny the Younger on ChristiansIn his infamous letter “Pliny to the Emperor Trajan”, Pliny the Younger perfectly articulated the prejudice and intolerance that most of his contemporaries held toward the early Christians and Christianity. The opening paragraph of his letter is telling. He admits that he doesn’t have much knowledge of Christians or of…
The Olmecs: An Enigma Wrapped Up In A MysteryWhen it comes to the ancient civilizations in the Americas, well the Amerindians like the Anasazi at Mesa Verde come to mind; even more so the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Mayans. But perhaps the most interesting of all, a culture that normally registers on the peripheral vision of our knowledge of all things Mesoamerican, is that of the Olmecs. Olmec society, civilization and culture is famous for several things: their mysterious origins and demise; their obsession with jade; their cult of the Were-Jaguar; and last, but not least, those monumental ‘African’ stone head carvings.
Thinning the HerdI recently ran into an old friend who began his career as a paramedic and over time evolved into a manager of a city ambulance unit. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time so we sat down at a local watering hole to catch up on our lives. I’ve always found the work of paramedics and firefighters fascinating.
What Is Modernity?Modernity has been defined as the ability to move in step with changing times. Human beings can be classified into traditional or conservative, modern, traditional with modern outlook and truly modern. Modernity involves reconciliation of past, present and future and can be attained only by application of mind. By merely following a trend or fashion or indulging in wishful thinking one does not become truly modern.
