Phun With Philosophy

 Tucson Weather Today

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I have lately been delving into the complexities of ontology.

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences.

Clearly, to accept the above definition, there must be agreement as to what an entity is or is believed to be, and what existence is or is believed to be.

An entity is something that exists by itself, although it need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.

Existence has been variously defined by sources. In common usage, it is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. Others define it as everything that is, or simply everything

Foolishness . . .semantic nonsense. Meaningless screechings as of sightless bats darting aloft in frenzied flurries of instinctual feeding flight.

What high concepts exist within the microscopic ken of those amoebic denizen residing within the relative expanse of an ancient dried-up splotch of condor droppings on a flat rock in the Andes, and how insignificant must they have seemed to a gathering of Neanderthals crouched around a fortunate campfire.

What is to come of such fine philosophies of human egotism when individual memories inevitably fade into eternal night?

What indeed?

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WORD FOR TODAY

dissemination
noun
To disseminate, in terms of the field of communication, means to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Yul Brynner

Born July 11, 1920
Died Oct. 10, 1985

Russian stage and film actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times onstage. He is also remembered as Rameses II in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille blockbuster The Ten Commandments, General Bounine in Anastasia and Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven. Brynner was noted for his distinctive voice and for his shaven head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for his initial role in The King and I. He was also a photographer and the author of two books.

ALSO


Leon Spinks

Born July 11, 1953
Age: 58 years old

Former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world. While still an amateur, he also became a member of the United States Marine Corps. Spinks defeated 36-year-old Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight championship in what was regarded as one of the bigger upsets in boxing...

ALSO


E.B. White

 Born July 11, 1899
Died Oct. 01, 1985

Elwyn Brooks White, usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. He was a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine and a co-author of the widely used English language style guide, The Elements of Style, which is commonly known as "Strunk & White." He also wrote famous books for children, including Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little.

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There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.
--Friedrich Nietzsche

Being A Published Author

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Tucson Weather Today

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Conventional publishing or self-publishing:

Why?

Why not?

If and when I ever finish this dad-blamed novel, I will most probably be too old and senile (and cantankerously unpleasant) to go through all the myriad machinations and foolish fol-de-rol of submitting it first to a series of author's agents, or failing that, mailing it off to the corporate owned publishing houses, all in the vain hope that someone (some editor) will read it and like it sufficiently to convince the bosses to have it printed and marketed to the general public. Which, after acceptance of the manuscript, will take a matter of years before its appearance in retail bookstores. Where it will probably sit gathering dust.

But I am not too old to take advantage of the self-publishing industry, such as the Print On Demand process. It will cost me an initial outlay of cash, but the end result will probably be the same, but coming into fruition within a single year instead of many. And I will have a printed book that I can hold in my hand and pass out to family members, friends, an others of those who might care about such things.

Something to think about.

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I have been reading some of the words of the late...

William F. Buckley, Jr.

Here is an excerpt from something he wrote for National Review, circa 1955 --

A: It is the job of centralized government (in peacetime) to protect its citizens’ lives, liberty and property. All other activities of government tend to diminish freedom and hamper progress. The growth of government(the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly. In this great social conflict of the era, we are, without reservations, on the libertarian side.

D: The largest cultural menace in America is the conformity of the intellectual cliques which, in education as well as the arts, are out to impose upon the nation their modish fads and fallacies, and have nearly succeeded in doing so. In this cultural issue, we are, without reservations, on the side of excellence (rather than “newness”) and of honest intellectual combat (rather than conformity).
--William F. Buckley, Jr.
From: National Review Mission Statement

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Word Of The Day:

ontology The philosophical study of existence and the nature of being.

That says it all... right?

No, it does not... not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin... If you'd like to delve into ontology to a greater degree, you might start with what Wikipedia has to say about it. But I wouldn't advise it, unless you are retired and have a wealth of free time on your hands. Wiki will undoubtedly confuse the reader and invite further research into philosophical questions that will only serve to further confuse and eventually drive men (and women) mad.

One might as well ask:

What is the meaning of life.

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"A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one."
--Poor Richard's Almanac