Simon's Blog

Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary who is considered among the most influential characters of Anarchism. His reputation made him one of the most famous ideologists in Europe. He was expelled from France for opposing the Russian Empire's occupation of Poland. He was arrested in Dresden for his participation in the Czech rebellion and was finally exiled to Siberia in 1857. He is well liked and appreciated by Peter Kropotkin and Noam Chomsky.   Bakunin's political beliefs rejected every hierarchical system in every form and shape. He wrote that in God and the State, "liberty of man consists solely of that he obeys the laws of nature not because they have been imposed on him by any form, human or divine, collective or individual." He rejected the notion of any privileged position, since the social and economic inequality implied by class systems were incompatible with individual freedom. He insiste...

As part of the Mbuti pygmy people, Ota Benga lived in the Congo Free State. As he was out hunting for animals, his tribe was attacked by King Leopold II of Belgium to exploit the supply of rubber in Congo. Benga's wife and his two children were murdered. Benga was later captured and was sold to an American businessman Samuel Phillips Verner who had traveled to Africa to capture pygmies for the World Fair. Verner then took Benga to the Bronx Zoo where William Hornaday, director of the zoo, recruited Benga to help maintain the animal habitats. However, when he saw that people took more notice of Benga than the animals, he created an exhibition to feature Benga. Benga was placed in the Monkey House exhibit and was encouraged to shoot his bow and arrow at various targets. Signed on the  Monkey House African Pygmy, "Ota Benga."Age, 23. Height, 4 feet 11 inches. Weight, 103 pounds.  Brought from the  Congo Fr...

Peter Kropotkin was a  Russian revolutionary, anarchist, and activist. A n advocate for a decentralized society based on self-governing communities and worker-run enterprises.  He was very skeptical of capitalism and believed it to create poverty,  scarcity, and wealth for the  privileged. He believed that surplus value was itself the problem, holding that a society would still be unjust if the workers of an industry kept their surplus to themselves, rather than redistributing it for the common good. His observations of cooperative tendencies in indigenous peoples led him to conclude that not all human societies were based on competition. He concluded that most pre-industrial and pre-authoritarian societies actively defend against the accumulation of private property by distributing a person's possessions to the community when they died. In his 1892 book,” The Conquest of Bread,” Kropotkin proposed a system of ec...

In the 5th century BCE, sophists were teachers who specialized in the use of philosophy and rhetoric to entertain, to impress, and to persuade their audiences. Socrates however promoted an alternative method of teaching, which came to be called the Socratic method. The Socratic method is a form of dialogue based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying assumptions. The Socratic method searches for commonly held truths that shape beliefs and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency.  It is also an approach to understand, to construct meaning, and not necessarily to "win an argument. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method  

  Chang Song ( เพลงช้าง )     Elephant Song (English)     ช้าง ช้าง ช้าง ช้าง   น้องเคยเห็นช้างหรือเปล่า   ช้างมันตัวโตไม่เบา   จมูกยาวๆ เรียกว่างวง มีเขี้ยวใต้งวงเรียกว่างา มีหูมีตาหางยาว   ช้าง ช้าง ช้าง ช้าง   น้องเคยเห็นช้างหรือเปล่า   ช้างมันตัวโตไม่เบา   จมูกยาวๆ เรียกว่างวง มีเขี้ยวใต้งวงเรียกว่างา มีหูมีตาหางยาว       Elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant  Have you ever seen an elephant or not? It is extremely big With a long nose called a trunk It has fangs beneath the trunk called tusks It has ears, eyes and a long tail     Elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant  Have you ever seen an elephant or not? It is extremely big With a long nose called a trunk It has fangs beneath the trunk called tusks It has ears, eyes, and a long tail     Chang Elephant Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yoLXBiLkPA    

The original idea for the Occupy Wall Street movement was created during a phone call between Kalle Lasn and Micah White, founders of Adbusters. They used an email list on Google Groups to create OccupyWallSt.org. The movement became an international crusade about economic inequality and lack of "real democracy" around the world. The first protest was Occupy Wall Street in New York City in September 2011. By early October, the movement had ballooned to over 951 cities across 82 countries.   Occupy Wall Street used the slogan "We are the 99%,” which Cornel West described as a "democratic awakening.” Writer Naomi Wolf said, “the protestors had clear desires to end what they saw as the corrupting effect of money on politics.” Meanwhile, the 1% did not pay much attention to Occupy Wall Street. Economist Thomas Piketty, who authored two books on inequality, Capital in the 21st Century (2013) and Capital and ...

Every culture act in ways that can be seen as weird and unfamiliar. If you ever travel to Thailand, you will notice unfamiliar behaviors as well. Thais are relaxed, welcoming, and immersed in ancient beliefs and customs. They greet each other with a gesture known as the wai and varies depending on someone’s status and social standing. When communicating with each other, Thais use words that indicates a person’s age. They use pee ( พี่ )  for someone older and nung ( น้อง )  for someone younger.    Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles.” They are quite friendly but rarely display negative emotions. This doesn’t mean they aren’t displayed in private, or that the emotions aren’t there, simply that a person does not want to lose face by showing their feelings in public. A common phrase shared by many Thais is “mai bpen rai,” ( ไม่เป็นไร )  which translates to “it’s ok.” They often agree to things even if they have no intention of fol...

In Plato’s “Analogy of the Sun” he implies that “Goodness” is the ultimate truth. He defines Goodness as a form existing outside of space and time. Plato uses a metaphor by emphasizes that the Sun shines, and it’s the reason why we see things so clearly. He then states that “Goodness” does the same things by illuminating the truths, making it possible for us see through the illusions and see actual reality. To clarify, Plato says that the true nature of reality cannot be comprehended by our senses. He suggests that we use “Goodness” rather than our sensory organs to understand the truth about ourselves and the Universe.   Socrates argues that our senses only lead us to opinions. He states that knowledge is only found in the region where truth brightly shines. So, since truth is the highest ideal, only the illuminated can be said to possess real knowledge. Socrates continues to explain that it’s through Goodness that we know the truth. Hence “Goodness” is mo...

We are in a moment in history where we need something to replace our stumbling religious institutions. Something that can replace the churches involvement but retain the spiritual “wow” moments. In today’s world, many of us are seeking a force greater than ourselves that we can rely upon to keep us sane and content. Of course, it can be myths, religion, or something fundamental in establishing lasting and purposeful connections. In a nutshell, it’s essential that we bring back the most basic activities, beliefs, and rituals that used to sustain us before they were corrupted by the church, capitalism, and greed. Although there are many ways to fundamentally change direction and embrace spirituality, I am making the case that one of those structures might just be Stoicism. In stoicism, the focus is on personal well-being necessary for living an ethical and happy life. The Stoics identified this path as living in harmony with nature. They are known for teaching that "virtue...