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Socratic Vegetarianism

Posted on Jan 20th, 2009 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
Today I learned that Socrates was in favor of vegetarianism.  In Book II of Plato's Republic, he posits the structure and customs of an ideal society.

At one point, he describes the vegetarian diet of the people to Glaucon, and states:
"...with such a diet they may be expected to live in peace and health to a good old age, and bequeath a similar diet to their children after them."

Glaucon is skeptical that people would want to life a life as simple as Socrates suggests, and pushes for the inclusion of more luxuries in the societal model, including meat-eating.

Socrates: And there will be animals of many other kinds, if people eat them?
Glaucon:  Certainly.

S: And living in this way we shall have much greater need of physicians than before?
G: Much greater.

S: And the country which was enough to support the original inhabitants will be too small now, and not enough?
G: Quite true.

S: Then a slice of our neighbours' land will be wanted by us for pasture and tillage, and they will want a slice of ours, if, like ourselves, they exceed the limit of necessity, and give themselves up to the unlimited accumulation of wealth?
G: That, Socrates, will be inevitable.

S: And so we shall go to war, Glaucon. Shall we not?
G: Most certainly.



*btw: Plato's Republic can be read online at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
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Tagged with: plato, vegetarianism, meat, war

Clinging to the "People Don't Change" Story.

Posted on Jan 15th, 2009 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el 
"A study suggests that when people are encouraged to believe their
behavior is predetermined-- by genes or by environment-- they may
be more likely to cheat."

This explains why so many people are so invested in the negative--
and fixed-- worldview that other people don't change.

If _other people_ don't change then surely _you_ can't, either,
right?
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Tagged with: thoughts, change, psychology, behavior, determinism

My 5th Grade Perfect World

Posted on Dec 27th, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
Recently came across a composition I wrote in 5th grade:

My Perfect World

It would be a better place to live in if the world was not divided into states, countries, counties, etc. Then the world would be like one huge team working together instead of small teams working apart.

And on another page:

The World would be a better place if people didn't have giant houses made of many trees and cover a big area. It would be a help to us and small animals, it would help everyone giving us more oxygen to breathe. It would help the small animals like rabbits and mice a place to hide from enemies.

Hee.
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Tagged with: dream, childhood, world, peace

O on LS

Posted on Dec 23rd, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
Barack Obama, being interviewed by the LA Times:

"One of the luxuries of going to Harvard Law School is it means you can take risks in your life. You can try to do things to improve society and still land on your feet … I come from a lot of worlds and I have had the unique opportunity to move through different circles. I have worked and lived in poor black communities and I can translate some of their concerns into words that the larger society can embrace."

Many professionals do not understand how much freedom to take risks they actually have.

But more than that, I love his remark about living in different worlds and moving between different circles.  It is the antithesis of the reality subscribed to by characters in Tom Wolff novels-- and many now-jobless Wall Street types-- who still believe that "there are no second Acts in American lives."

Nothing could be further from the truth.  We lead many, many lives-- in succession, and all at once.  A way of living to be sought out and celebrated.
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Tagged with: life, living, opportunity, reinvention

Indoctrinating Hierarchy

Posted on Dec 23rd, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
Today I read an essay with a tone a bit more radical than my own thoughts on law school.  But certain sections spoke to me; and inspired fantasies of someday setting up my own law school (possibly overseas) geared towards students who want to practice in California (where going to an ABA-approved-- aka conventional-- law school is not required for taking the bar).

[Pedagogy and] grading as practiced teaches the inevitability and also the justice

of hierarchy, a hierarchy that is at  once false and unnecessary. 

 

It is unnecessary because it is largely irrelevant to what students will do as 

lawyers. Most of the process of differentiating students into bad, better and good 

could simply be dispensed with without the slightest detriment to the quality of 

legal services. It is false, first, because insomuch as it does involve the measuring 

of the real and useful skills of potential lawyers, the differences between students 

could be “leveled up” at minimal cost, whereas the actual practice of legal 

education systematically accentuates differences in real capacities. If law schools 

invested some of the time and money they now put into Socratic classes in 

developing systematic skills training, and committed themselves to giving 

constant, detailed feedback on student progress in learning those skills, they could 

graduate the vast majority of all the law students in the country at the level of 

technical proficiency now achieved by a small minority in each institution.  

 

Law schools convey their factual message to each student about his or  

her place in the ranking of students along with the implicit corollary that 

place is individually earned, and therefore deserved. The system tells you that you 

learned as much as you were capable of learning, and that if you feel incompetent 

or that you could have become better at what you do, it is your own fault. 

Opposition is sour grapes. Students internalize this message about themselves and 

about the world, and so prepare themselves for all the hierarchies to follow. 


...A second incapacitating device is the teaching of doctrine in isolation from 

practice skills. Students who have no practice skills tend to exaggerate how 

difficult it is to acquire them. There is a distinct lawyers’ mystique of the 

irrelevance of the “theoretical” material learned in school, and of the crucial 

importance of abilities that cannot be known or developed until one is out in the 

“real world” and “in the trenches”. Students have little alternative to getting 

training in this dimension of things after law school. It therefore seems hopelessly 

impractical to think about setting up your own law firm, and only a little less 

impractical to go to a small or political or unconventional firm rather than to one 

of those that offer the standard package of postgraduate education. Law schools 

are wholly responsible for this situation, They could quite easily revamp their 

curricula so that any student who wanted it would have a meaningful choice 

between independence and servility. 


 


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Tagged with: law, law school, dreams, hierarchy, ideology

A New Mindset for Rebuilding Our Economy

Posted on Dec 20th, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el 
President-elect Barack Obama has announced his intention to restart the
American economy with hundreds of billions in new spending on
transportation, public works and energy.

But what worked during the Great Depression may not work quite
as well today.

Restarting economic growth this time around will require a new social
and economic framework that is in line with the new idea-driven
economy.

The trouble is: We remain trapped in the mental models of the old
industrial economy.

The way out of the current crisis involves creating the social and
economic conditions within which the new system can evolve. 

The first step must be to reduce demand for the core products
and lifestyle of the old order.

Source


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Tagged with: economy

Thoughts on Gifts

Posted on Nov 1st, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
A beautiful entry.
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Tagged with: gift, giving, holidays

Does the Free Market Corrode Moral Character?

Posted on Oct 12th, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
A conversation series by the Templeton Foundation.  Check it out.

In brief, the answers by respondents:

To the contrary
It depends
Yes, but...
No.
Of course it does.
No! And, well, yes.
Certainly. Or does it?
Yes, too often.
No, on balance.
We'd rather not know.
Not at all.
It all depends.
No.

Also, where else are you ever going to find responses by Garry Kasparov, Bernard-Henri Lévy and uh, Rick Santorum, all in one place?
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Tagged with: big question, morality, religion, free market, economy, society

I Walk By You Everyday, I Always Look Away

Posted on Oct 11th, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el
This is beautiful.  And a real challenge.  To watch is to recover some humanity.

Tropfest NY 2008 winner, "Mankind Is No Island" by Jason van Gend



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Tagged with: youtube, homeless, love

Siona & the Invaders

Posted on Aug 30th, 2008 by L'el : Intentional Agent L'el 
The other day, Siona had a dream that the Russians had invaded Gaiam.  

I'm not sure that there was more to it than that, but this is how I imagine
such a thing would go down:

RUSSIANS: WE ARE HERE TO TAKE OVER YOUR COMPANY.
HAND IT OVER NOW!!!

Siona: Okay.

RUSSIANS: RESISTANCE IS-- -WHA? Okay?!?!?

Siona: Okay. You can have it-- if you want it.

R: We can?

S: Absolutely. But, Russia? First we need to sit down and talk about
what's best for you. Actually, why don't you lie down on the carpet?
Close your eyes and tell me what it feels like, in your body, to be
an invader. Mmmmm. I see. Now think of a time when you felt
invaded. What does that feel like in your body? --Oh you poor
thing, you've been through so much, haven't you?-- Okay now
let go of that image and return to your body consciousness in the
present: safe in this room, breathing one breath at a time.
What does it feel like for your body to be at peace,
in synergy with the universe?

R: [Big sigh, releasing tensions and arms stockpiles it didn't even
know it had]

S: Now why don't you go home and settle into this new consciousness.
Allow yourself let go of the thought- the storyline in your head-- that
leaving now is failure, or returning empty handed. This opportunity
wasn't the right fit for you-- it was holding you back. The sooner you
leave, the sooner you can discover and pour your energy into creating
the right opportunity for you. Who knows? Maybe invasion will be the
right thing at another time-- or maybe it will take a different form.
Musical, perhaps? Like the British Invasion? Anyway, look inward to
your strengths and work from there. You're going to do *amazing* 
things, I just know it.

R: [Tears in eyes]. Thank you Siona, thank you. I came here to destroy,
but I'm going back to create so much more. I owe you so much.
I don't want to be presumptuous, but... would it be okay if I named
my firstborn child after you? Or maybe all my children?  Or if you prefer
ritual sacrifices in your name, that's cool too.  It would be an honor!!!
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Tagged with: siona, humor
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