Paulo Tavares: Common Rights « MARA-STREAM.ORG “Global history enters nature; global nature enters history: this is something utterly new in philosophy” – Michel Serres Humans as Nature: geological forces In an article published in Nature in 2002, Nobel winner chemist Paul J. In 1990, with the publication of The Natural Contract, Michel Serres was already anticipating the consequences of this new socio-geological order we have created. Nature as Human: legal rights Michel Serres philosophical speculations gained a real dimension in 2008, when Ecuador adopted a new constitution in which nature is granted inalienable rights[4]. But the answer given to this political-legal flaw identified by the philosopher at the core of human rights legislation through the Rights of Nature destabilizes the current common sense. Paulo Tavares, Dec. 2010 | first published in italian here: [1] Paul Cruzen and Eugene F. Comments are closed.
Ecstacy Changes Everything The present moment is really an opening, so it has no duration–you are in the now when time ceases to exist. Perhaps the best way to gain such an experience is to realize that the word present is linked to the word presence. When the present moment becomes filled with a presence that is all-absorbing, completely at peace, and totally satisfying, you are in the now. Presence isn’t an experience. Presence is felt whenever awareness is open enough. The situation at hand doesn’t have to bear any responsibility. Ecstasy changes everything. In the mind’s scrapbook, you can insert a picture of perfect bliss, and that becomes like the first taste of ice cream, an unattainable goal you keep running after, only to find that ecstasy remains out of reach. The secret of ecstasy is that you have to throw it away once you’ve found it. Adapted from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2004).
Pakistan and the US: A too-close embrace? - Features It is of little surprise that in the weeks following the killing of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader, in a Pakistani military garrison town, the Pakistani relationship with the United States has been described using various analogies of romantic dysfunction: as an abusive relationship, as one partner cheating on another, and as a failing marriage where the partners stay together for the sake of the children. The children, in this case, being various distinct (but linked) violent, armed groups that are waging war on both parties, separately and at times in concert. But if the relationship between these states really is a romantic entanglement gone wrong, then the latest batch of US embassy cables to be leaked by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks is like having access to the email and text message exchanges between the two, revealing the many faces of the partnership. First, however, the facts. The faces of co-operation The latest batch of cables further corroborates those claims.
Philosophical Quotes Ethics and Morality: Who Cares? Ethics and Morality: Who Cares? Does any of this really matter? Why be concerned with moral theories and distinctions between different types of moral theories? Why bother with some of the difficult questions which are raised in metaethics? Everyone is brought up with some sort of moral system, and it usually works out fairly well - isn't that enough? The point is that the "conventional" or "customary" morality which people are brought up with is something those people too rarely think about very carefully. However, once a person does begin to reflect upon a moral system and look more closely at its premises and inferences, then we are now in the realm of ethics. That is why it is important for people to be able to reason about their moral beliefs and moral positions.
Mitigating the Risks of Artificial Superintelligence Ben Goertzel and Michael Anissimov April 20, 2011 “Existential risk” refers to the risk that the human race as a whole might be annihilated. In other words: human extinction risk, or species-level genocide. This is an important concept because, as terrible at it would be if 90% of the human race were annihilated, wiping out 100% is a whole different matter. Existential risk is not a fully well defined notion, because as transhumanist technologies advance, the border between human and nonhuman becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish. Michael Anissimov ranks among the voices most prominent and effective in discussing the issue of existential risk, along with other issues related to the Singularity and the future of humanity and technology. The following quote summarizes some of Michael’s high-level views on existential risk: I cannot emphasize this enough. Existential risk creates a 'loafer problem' -- we always expect someone else to handle it. Ben: Michael: 1. 2. 3. Ben: Hmmm…. Michael:
Become a Quantum Activist Dr. Amit Goswami, Ph.D. Quantum Activism is about changing ourselves and creating a better world in accordance with the new paradigm articulated by Quantum Physics: consciousness creates reality. The goal of a quantum activist is to express Good, Beauty, Truth, Justice, and Love in their life and to intend those qualities for all of humanity. This article is based upon the teachings of Dr. All of the quotes below are from either Dr. Quantum Activism Quotes “We have problems galore in our society and culture. “We have created the problems of our world; we have to recreate the world of solutions… Conventional activism separates, us (those doing right) versus them (those doing wrong). “Quantum activism focuses both on individual and collective change. “Start with yourself. “We need to change first. “Even if only a small fraction of us become inspired to change, the change will come for all.” Right Thinking and Right Living Right living is to be empowered by the right thinking. An Invitation
On Cognitive Liberty Part I, Boire On Cognitive Liberty (Part I) By Richard Glen Boire, Esq. Thoughts are free and are subject to no rule. — Paracelsus1 As we frantically race into the third millennium, with microprocessors becoming faster, cheaper, and smaller, with surveillance cameras proliferating in public spaces, with the human genome program about to issue its first “working draft” of the human DNA sequence, and with an out-of-control Frankensteinian machine named the War on Drugs, all awhirl in the ocean of modern day culture, it is imperative that we, as a society, expressly acknowledge the fundamental human right to cognitive liberty and immediately begin to define its contours. Encroachments on cognitive liberty can take various forms. Calibrating Cognitive Liberty Part of elucidating a theory of cognitive liberty is simply recognizing when free cognition is being infringed. Consciousness is so complex and multifaceted that it may never be understood. Mind control, like most everything else, comes in degrees. Notes