I am not sure if it would be appropriate to start a Plato Debate... Your implied account of the soul in Plato is very simplistic. Firstly, it's impossible to really declare that Plato had a "philosophy of the soul." It's impossible to declare that he had any particular beliefs or could have provided a definition of "spiritually rich." That's the beauty of the dialogue form. The Republic has to be read in conjunction with the Protagoras and Symposium.
Yes, everyone. I believe loving other people is what the Bible commands Christians to do, and that love is the most important commandment God gave us. I admit that I am often not successful fulfilling this command, but I try my hardest.
not within the current capitalistic framework. That capitalism provided social prosperity for so many was due to two factors: the culmination of the exploitation of cheap energy and resources buried over millions of years, and the advance and acceptance of science. I do not deny that it was the best system to reap whatever there was and distribute it to advance (sometimes) technology, science, and productivity in the 20th century when such resources were plentiful, but its' utility quickly decreases as the poor set of incentives collides with the reality of the end of cheap fossil fuels, and new alternative models of distributing technology. If Christians really want to work to reduce poverty, they shouldn't be working 9 to 5s on jobs that exploit ignorance (ex: credit cards and most financial services), and generate poverty (ex: the financial casino that thrives on robo foreclosures and betting on the world burning, "keeping up the Joneses" retailing/marketing, and resource extraction companies that leave nothing for future generations), and should instead embrace models that relate to their work doing good for people. What's the point if you make $10,000,000 buying out a public company, then firing half of the workers, then donating $1,000,000 to charity? I see a lot more promise in open-source models of technology in terms of reduction of poverty (if they were aligned in the right way, which they slowly are) then I ever would see in applying spiritual principles to a system that is slowly breaking under itself. contribute to scientific research, both in terms of knowledge (http://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca/) and money---or even better bitcoins eventually---(https://www.microryza.com/). build an open-source app that allows for the location of clean water wells, or find those projects on Github that will create social impact, and see if you can't contribute or learn to contribute. https://github.com/sanity/tahrir We're slowly getting past the point where you have to beat people into submitting to others with a monetary leash in order for them to harness technology, science, and logistics for the betterment of all. And the world will be a better place because of it. We live in a wondrous time where one or two people can change the world, have significant impact, without significant amounts of money, and without the need to generate money or have that be a leash... a world where it is possible to be Jonas Salk, and still live quite well. an abomination? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...s-and-google-love-salman-khan/article1315626/
True I am keeping this fairly simple to avoid a lengthy discussion / exposition on Plato. I am also not so much talking about a soul in particular as the dichotomy between physical and material which in Western thought is based a lot on Plato.
The problem in Western society today is that much of our culture seems to be based on the teachings of Dana Plato.
From one of today's leaders of conservative thought. Limbaugh Accuses Pope Francis Of 'Pure Marxism' Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh last week called Pope Francis' economic views laid out in his Vatican mission statement "pure marxism." "I have been numerous times to the Vatican. It wouldn't exist without tons of money," Limbaugh said in a show titled "It's Sad How Wrong Pope Francis Is (Unless It's a Deliberate Mistranslation By Leftists)." "But regardless, what this is, somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him. This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the Pope."
Hahahaha. Pope versus Limbaugh. I'll put my money on the Pope. But seriously, Limbaugh has *always* been anti-Christian in his messaging.
I honestly don't know anybody who still takes Rush seruiously. Even my parents, who are the most conservative people I know, don't listen to him.
Good point. I really don't know how smart talented folks, who at least initially, had many options opt for a life devoted to such schemes. As an example how can a moral person of whatever religion or ethical system devote their lives to a private for profit prison system based on lobbying for more incarceration to generate more profits; who have been show to forecast that their company should plan to build more prisons in counties with higher incidences of 4th graders who read two levels behind, since that is the beginning of the road to incarceration. Under the logic of capitalism as currently practiced by Koch brother types they could target those counties for corporate political spending to defeat school bond projects or for taking over the school boards to further increase corporate profits.
Pope strikes again! Pope Francis Reportedly Leaving Vatican at Night to Minister to Homeless of Rome Anonymously A knowledgeable source in Rome told The Huffington Post that "Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women." Krajewski earlier said, “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening’, there’s the constant risk that he will come with me," and he merely smiled and ducked the question when reporters asked him point-blank whether the Pope accompanied him into the city.
Pope Francis, The People’s Pope He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing. The first non-European pope in 1,200 years is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/
