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Post by Tamrin on May 12, 2013 19:53:39 GMT 10
This could take the subject of Political Science to a much higher level. Are the premises on which different political persuasions are based scientifically true? Perhaps where the premises are explicitly presented as scientific truths. However, political premises are more often expressions of value rather than statements of fact.
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Post by Tamrin on May 12, 2013 19:59:23 GMT 10
For starters, beyond an assertion of being self-evident, are all people really created equal? The last masonic degree I have taken (last month) required an emphatic "Yes!" to the question, "Are all men equal in the sight of God?"
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Post by Tamrin on May 12, 2013 20:11:29 GMT 10
The author draws a link between the politics of E.P. supporters and those of E.P. opponents. The supporters are said to be chiefly right-wing and opponents left-wing. This is an over-simplification. I grant the right-wing tendency of supporters but opponents may well be, and I suggest more often are, swayed by the objective facts (or lack thereof), per se, rather than by their political implications.
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Post by Tamrin on May 14, 2013 18:42:47 GMT 10
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Post by Solomon on May 16, 2013 9:21:27 GMT 10
Why is Evolutionary Psychology discussed here? The premise of massive or extensive, innate hardwiring of the psyche, in what passes for Evolutionary Psychology, is the antithesis of the main theme of this forum. That of the adept, the self-made man in the context of equality. Witness the featured quotes on the home page: Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character
Samuel “Hudibras” Butler
Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor
Alexis Carrel
What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul
Joseph Addison
Your work is carved out of agony as a statue is carved out of marble
Louise Bogan
Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain
Santiago Ramón y Cajal Witness too, the forum banner, which has been present since the launch nearly five years ago. It features three images: The first depicts material being chosen from the quarry (hence the forum’s name); the second shows the stone as a mason in the rough, sculpting himself as a living stone; the third reveals the ashlar, now perfect, being raised with fanfare to form part of the building. Thus, the object of the forum is identical with that of Freemasonry, “... namely, the cultivation and improvement of the human mind...” (1 st Sectional Lecture, Introductory Address), and our being told (1 st WTs): The mind, like the stone, is, in its natural state, rough and unshapen, but, as the C., in the hands of the sculptor, transforms the shapeless mass into a thing of beauty, so education soon discovers the latent qualities of the mind, and by cultivating the ideas and polishing rude thought, transforms the ignorant savage into the civilised and enlightened being, capable of appreciating, and of performing his duty to God and man. “Self-Made Man” by Bobbie Carlyle Accordingly, threads such as that of “Plastic People of the Universe” were featured. Then along came an Evolutionary Psychologist challenging this premise by asserting we are instead hardwired to behave in certain ways and that, contrary to our core masonic philosophy, we are not all equal but that some differences are innate, especially those to do with race and gender. This was an opportunity to advance the forum’s main, masonic theme by illustrating the fallacy of that converse position. Judging from the number of "views" or "hits," this thread has generated considerable interest and I am happy for it to be used as a resource for those interested in debunking this pernicious pseudoscience
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Post by Solomon on May 16, 2013 9:52:18 GMT 10
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Post by Smithee on May 16, 2013 17:57:48 GMT 10
The subject of Evolutionary Psychology is discussed or alluded to under a number of scattered threads, including those listed below: Good stuff.
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Post by Smithee on May 16, 2013 18:09:15 GMT 10
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Post by Smithee on May 16, 2013 18:16:28 GMT 10
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Post by Smithee on May 16, 2013 18:21:52 GMT 10
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