This is basic material for this course. What is this course about? Yes, it's about education, about becoming autodidactic (self teaching), but that implies it's also about thinking. This series is about becoming aware of the structure of argument all around us. Brett begins to mention the Trivium: grammar, logic and rhetoric. (The Quadrivium, which follows from the Trivium, is Mathematics – really Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music – so of course I'm going to be interested in becoming a teacher of music -specifically the piano- as part of the whole basis of being an “educated” person. Hint, blind as I may be, I'd really like meeting someone who would trade knowledge of Astronomy for knowledge of Music.)
2011-7-24:
#103 Discovering Doublespeak: (Part 2) The
Cacophemism
The opposite of a euphemism is basically a bunch of revolting noise. It's just as affective at distorting rational discourse as the eupemism. Most cacophemisms are ad hominem attacks; intentionally harsh language used to destroy the argument, or perhaps attacks on groups of people, a kind of casual casting of blame in some attempt to get someone to agree with you, which it usually doesn't.
2011-7-27: #104 Discovering Doublespeak: (Part 3) Legalese v. Curiosity
Core material! The emphasis in this episode is jargon, used in conversations with others to impress and confuse them. Proceeding from there, the discussion gets into basic legal ideas. Listen to this one a few times for greater effect.
2011-8-6: #105 Two-Year Anniversary Unplugged Mom Roundtable [no longer available]
As it turns out, I am one who has made it so far though all his podcasts. This is a relatively long episode -over 2 hrs- that is basically a discussion of course related issues.
2011-10-19: #106 A Young Person's Guide to Politics (Appendix A) Ron Paul
A watershed: this episode is singularly impressive in that one of the characters, Stephanie Murphy, makes it really clear why E. C. Riegel was correct in his assessment of the value of political activism; it is both a waste of time and of one's resources, including one's emotional resources, therefore it is worthless as a basis for working toward a solution. Ethical problems with trying to make the government into something that it is not, are reviewed.
This is likewise the case when people (from whatever political persuasion) empower a government with the primary right to create money (and destroy it too) whether that be by the Constitution or through some guaranteed monopoly (the Federal Reserve system). Rather than working where we are, and confronting the prospect that each of us is entitled to make our own means to trade with everyone else (money) and leaving the government, as far as possible, out of our daily business, we are habituated to using the crutch or useless promises of government and it gets us nowhere.
The depersonalization of violence is one of government's current byproducts; politics is an outlet for something else, for adults who have not resolved aggression done to themselves to carry it out against others, whether invented enemies of monopolists or otherwise. Many aspects of the frankness of politics are expressed, especially concerning taking money from future generations, through taxes extracted by FORCE, to purchase benefits packages, etc. for unionized state workers (including or especially including teachers). They also describe the whole lawmaking process in gory details.
Two prominent political perspectives are addressed: Liberalism is characterized as giving off the impression that you are about saving the world as long as you don't have to personally lift a finger. Conservatism (not characterized) is a fantasy attempting to preserve what has long since been lost or stolen, again by not having to lift a finger. They characterize this side as self-serving in any case. The panel discuss politics and personal identity as issues.
Homework:
Wes Bertrand- Complete Liberty
Bertrand started creating and posting podcasts before April 2008. The first ten are missing so the podcasts assembled on his website begin with episode 11. (I am slowly reviewing these as is my habit, from episode 11 forward. Frankly, these are excellent as sources for more detail on the path through the philosophy of liberty.)
Stefan Molyneux- Freedomain Radio
Molyneux is probably the longest posting podcaster of the bunch, with well over 2,100 podcasts to date. Stefan's significance as a teacher / presenter is in the all too neglected field of philosophy.
2011-11-18:
#107 Free Talk Radio College
Discussion [no longer available]
Mark Edge, Stephanie Murphy and Brett discuss college. It's amazing how much of this discussion relies on euphemisms; stereotypes about how the country used to function better in the past, when it really didn't, etc.
2011-11-18: #108 (Supplemental): Free Radical Radio with John Kurtz
Homework:
Dr. Stanley Monteith- Liberty Radio
2011-12-1: #109 Homeschool Oversight and Regulation?
Laurette Lynn and Brett (and later Dr. Kunzman) engage in a spirited discussion on various issues from child abuse, arguments from authority, social conditioning, to home schooling. Brett draws a comparison between government intervention and starting a fire based on the inevitable overreach or unintended consequences of government action. Laurette confuses the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence regarding “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as a basis for defining criminality but I would adamantly agree that it is each state's responsibility to define what exactly constitutes child abuse, regulation of education, etc. There is likewise going to be a similar perspective regarding (the or an) VEN; they must be based on what each locality decides within certain universally understood and simple principles.
Homework:
Robert Kunzman- Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling
2011-12-10: #110 School Sucks At the Movies (#1) – The Cartel
This is certainly a must if you are interested in teachers' unions, charter schools and vouchers. The ultimate debate certainly concerns who is entitled to money extracted from the public by FORCE. It has nothing to do with the welfare or education of children whatsoever. Brett reviews all the fantasies about government. You'll notice how weird some of this gets.
Homework:
Bob Bowdon- The Cartel
2011-11-10: #111 (School News #7): Community Outraged By Teacher Who Tells Kids the Truth
This episode was about some second grade teacher (in New York) telling her class there was no Santa Claus. As far as I know, Santa is a comparatively recent invention of commercial interests intent on turning a religious holiday (putting it redundantly) into a profit making occasion, derived from some nice guy who gave gifts to little children back in the middle ages named St. Nicholas, whose feast day is December 6th not Christmas, and that 200, 300 years ago, the “spirit of Christmas” had more to do with Jesus Christ than Santa Claus. No matter. My kids pretty much decided that Santa wasn't real before they were old enough to go to school. Had I been a parent of a child in that teacher's class, I would have applauded.
I personally despise commercialized Christmas, along with Black Friday, etc. but no matter, people are complacent about a lot of patent illusions, most of which have to do with governments. Just call me Scrooge. Bah! Humbug! On second thought, no, Scrooge was basically an accountant in league with usurers.
No really, why do adults start out dealing deceptively with their own children? Maybe they're just passing along their own deceptions. People usually need some deception to live by else they would soon wake up to the gravity of their personal situations. Tell us lies, tell us sweet pretty lies, instead of the cold hard truth. That's where most people are, which makes them “sheep for the slaughter,” of course.
Brett mentions Zeitgeist, the “spirit of the times,” a movie that was funded by some rich guy as a solution to our problems, as he said in the movie a dictatorship like nature itself. As I said earlier, Zeitgeist is NOT the direction people interested in liberty, or the ideas of E. C. Riegel would like to be going, as their solution has nothing whatsoever to do with liberty and amounts to another empowerment of government to keep doing things for us and giving us things, just like Santa Claus.
This episode closes with some brilliant satire.
2011-12-31: #113 Punished By Elves?
For those who want to know, this episode begins with Reading Time With Pickle by Regina Spektor. You can read the whole thing here.or look it up on YouTube, you'll find it there.
Brett gets into some future plans, some conversations with family members, kind of a follow up of the last episode. He plays an “elf on the shelf” ad. This is a further elaboration on the weird directions illusions can take. How is this “spy on the shelf” any different from what the would-be world leaders, and those who plan on working for or with them, have in mind? This episode gets into some core material, dealing with the role of illusions vs. the facts of life as they currently exist.
Homework:
Alfie Kohn- Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes
2011-12-31:#114 Discovering Doublespeak! (Part Four) - Greenspan's Gobbedygook
Dr. Who vs. Alan Greenspan, fantasy vs. well yes, reality. We know, some of us who have bothered to read E. C. Riegel, that interest rates are basically an unlawful fantasy practised by the shisters who run our current money system, based on the proven fallacy that one cannot extract from what was never created in the first place, the entire “earning money from money” fallacy, etc. in a name, usury, without inevitably destroying the host economy. So, when you're caught having to explain yourself and you have something to hide, as all bankers do, the best thing to do is to use the most confounded language you possibly can to obscure your iniquities from the credulous public. So this episode is largely about parsing gobbledygook, training to catch deceptions, etc.
2012-1-4:
#115 School Sucks At the Movies (#2) - Charlie Bartlett
This is a group discussion about the movie. I decided to see it, it made many good points. The Charlie Bartlett character even plays a Steinway as a prop. I felt however that when the climax of the movie comes and Charlie is confronted by the principal, his fallback assertion that he is after all only a kid is a real cop out because obviously with action bears responsibility, whether awareness is foremost or needs to be demonstrated in the fact of the action. Charlie's activities directly lead to the principal's personal losses and he can't have not been aware of this fact.
This is a group discussion about the movie. I decided to see it, it made many good points. The Charlie Bartlett character even plays a Steinway as a prop. I felt however that when the climax of the movie comes and Charlie is confronted by the principal, his fallback assertion that he is after all only a kid is a real cop out because obviously with action bears responsibility, whether awareness is foremost or needs to be demonstrated in the fact of the action. Charlie's activities directly lead to the principal's personal losses and he can't have not been aware of this fact.
2012-1-7:
#116 (Keys Installment #7): Dale J. Stephens and the Uncollege
Movement
This episode considers basic facts concerning college in a discussion with Dale J. Stephens. There are some problems with the audio here, headphones help. More uncritically held and unnoticed assumptions are challenged. It may be noticed by some that (the or an) VEN would have the most benefit to and interest among those who decide to choose this route for their education.
Homework:
Dale J. Stephens- http://www.uncollege.org
2012-1-15: #117 (Supplemental): Brett On Porc Therapy With Stephanie Murphy
There is a lot of contact information in this episode. If you've wondered whether there is commerce associated with the liberty movement, here it is.
INTERMISSION
No comments:
Post a Comment