Athena

To be or not to be? I am amused by the religious notion of god and love as this also goes with wanting to maintain the separation of ego, rather them ...

Yes, the Adam Smith quote comes from that time in history when international laws were not well established. A positive effect of piracy was uniting m...

This would possibly require a notion of neutrinos holding a record of our existence because it seems to assume there is an "I' that can be aware. If t...

That sounds reasonable to me and that would make us with one with the universe minus our egos that keep us separate.

I agree with you but stopping with an agreement kills the thread. It kind of depends on how we understand the law. Not all laws are written and it cou...

China is arresting people who say things China's leadership does not want to be said. So a government does not have to protect freedom of speech, or d...

I spoke of how a society can be organized. Individuals do not have power when it is Prussian military bureaucracy organizing the society. We fought tw...

I saw a show last night that makes me think I should concede to you and say any ideas of rights and duties are man-made. We can realize them and live ...

I have empathy for anyone who wants us to read a book so it can be discussed. Complex concepts are not easily put in simple posts and it can be futile...

"Reciprocity" is a good word. Above is the mention of the word "virtues" and in the past, we thought "virtues" is a synonym for "strength". If we perf...

I will quote from an explanation of Confucius. "A character disciplined by ren (love) is the ideal in morality and goal of education. How do we attain...

:grimace: What you said is true and is why I make my arguments! The Greeks held that the purpose of birds is to fly, horses run, and humans think, rig...

Good then become a police officer or a guard in a prison. The military is also an option.

Individual power and authority is like a grain of sand, society is the beach and waves. The US is no longer the democracy it once was. In 1958 the Nat...

I think the US is in a culture war. Trump and Biden are very different leaders and the nation is almost evenly divided on which leader the people want...

I find it hard to find the right words to explain how that works, but you made the point I am trying to make. "Reciprocity" is a good word. In reading...

I am not aware of what I think until you ask the question. In the process of trying to answer your questions, I figure out answers. This time my think...

Not exactly. When I speak of that shift in power, I speak of reliance on policy. Like Prussian military order. Prussian military order is a few establ...

Culture is something that is learned. The US educated for democracy and transmitted a culture until the 1958 National Defense Education Act. With the ...

How about logos or universal law?

As you stated we must eat or we die, but the right to eat demands the right action, or we go hungry. I am working with some homeless people who are dr...

Whoo I am glad you answered question. You all are much more fun to play with than the folks in a political forum who do none of the thinking you all d...

:grimace: That depends on the leader. Following some leaders can be very destructive. Some of us think bad leadership in the US has lead to many avoid...

I must speak to this. There are no rights without duties. The US culture has fallen into a complete disaster because people now believe we have rights...

I struggled with issues involving self-interest and then I realized even the apple tree that gives freely of its apples has needs. I decided there is ...

Beautiful! I love your expression of thought! In general this forum is so different from a political forum where people bash heads and no thinks about...

That is a wise conclusion. :grin: Democracy is an imitation of the gods who argued among themselves just as humans do. Each god and goddess is a conce...

You write so beautifully I didn't think I would find anything to argue. However, there are people who would disagree with the above statement. Among s...

Beautifully worded. :clap: I have a huge preference for dumping the Bible and using science to understand our nature and I am delighted that you seem ...

That would be more knowledge of what? Holy books are so simple. Until the 20 century the only education most people had was from the holy book and tha...

Hum interesting. How can there be nature laws without natural rights? Are you saying Jefferson's word's wrong? Of course we have a big problem because...

That sounds like reasonable explanations. The Wikipedia explanation is more in line with the one I am familiar with. Isn't that belief a judgment of a...

Good question. Kahlil Gibran said we do good when we feel good, and we do bad when we feel bad. Now does it make sense to try to make someone good by ...

You said so well and so concisely, I don't think there is anything I can add to it.

Nice consideration. Our history is surely one of ignorance. I have much hope for humanity because of how information can change what we think and do.

The story of the ants was very interesting. It was fun thinking about what I would do. I think I would use fire, but it would also be fun to see what ...

What is sin?

That was a very good argument, but why does anyone need to be saved? Saved from what? "If Jesus truly walked this earth, then he was the most morally ...

Animals are territorial and they have to fight to claim their territory and keep it. I would say this is in our nature. It is a survival need. But wha...

Perhaps I should read the book before responding, or may be I can just question you about what the book says. How is an uneducated person 8000 years a...

You skipped my Greek example of our rights being well understood in ancient times. Perhaps not Rome, but surely by Greeks. Think back to that ancient ...

I think science is full of materialistic explanations of our human nature and it most certainly is testable and empirical. Take for example what we kn...

What makes a right right and a wrong wrong? Democracy is not blind obedience to law, but the constant search of right reason.

Even before kings sisters buried their brothers. This is an argument that we do have rights that a king can not take away. It is a right, because it i...

That is a fascinating statement! I must look into that. Do you have any more to say about it?

Let me begin with "I love you". It is so wonderful to find someone who really knows the value of education and that it isn't only about military and i...

Do you think? but that isn't what is causing the rioting in our cities is it? Those rioters are anarchist that should be controlled with the National ...

Awe you speak of the American dream where the only thing government provides is a police force to protect private property. You know, bash people's he...

Your opening statement is excellent and I look forward to reading the rest of your post. The truth of what you said makes me so mad! :rage: The US has...

Okay you have 50 labors. Now how do you turn this labor into shelter for everyone?