#Enlightenment Thinkers

[world-v-you-blog]

The Tapestry of History, 14 – The Rise of the West, 9 – Enlightenment, 1

Though the Enlightenment, as a diverse intellectual and social movement, has no definite end, the devolution of the French Revolution into the Terror in the 1790s, corresponding, as it roughly does, with the end of the eighteenth century and the rise of opposed movements, such as Romanticism, can serve as a convenient marker of the end of the Enlightenment, conceived as an historical…

[luiscagreen]

Calamities Can Bring Growth And Enlightenment

[outtheoiseaux]

All I’m saying is that marble hornets wouldn’t have been nearly as long if Jay had been on estrogen! I’m just saying! Do I think jay’s a woman? No, but do I think jay’s a total chick? Maybe.

That classic hoody-hat-color-match-same-gd-outfit-every-day is maybe the most transfem thing I’ve ever seen

[aibidil]

On “Civilization” from The Dawn of Everything

One problem is that we’ve come to assume that ‘civilization’ refers, in origin, simply to the habit of living in cities. Cities, in turn, were thought to imply states. But as we’ve seen, that is not the case historically, or even etymologically. The word ‘civilization’ derives from Latin civilis, which actually refers to those qualities of political wisdom and mutual aid that permit societies to organize themselves through voluntary coalition. In other words, it originally meant the type of qualities exhibited by Andean ayllu associations or Basque villages, rather than Inca courtiers or Shang dynasts. If mutual aid, social co-operation, civic activism, hospitality or simply caring for others are the kind of things that really go to make civilizations, then this true history of civilization is only just starting to be written.

As we’ve been showing throughout this book, in all parts of the world small communities formed civilizations in that true sense of extended moral communities. Without permanent kings, bureaucrats or standing armies they fostered the growth of mathematical and calendrical knowledge. In some regions they pioneered metallurgy, the cultivation of olives, vines and date palms, or the invention of leavened bread and wheat beer; in others they domesticated maize and learned to extract poisons, medicines and mind-altering substances from plants. Civilizations, in this true sense, developed the major textile technologies applied to fabrics and basketry, the potter’s wheel, stone industries and beadwork, the sail and maritime navigation, and so on.

A moment’s reflection shows that women, their work, their concerns and innovations are at the core of this more accurate understanding of civilization. As we saw in earlier chapters, tracing the place of women in societies without writing often means using clues left, quite literally, in the fabric of material culture, such as painted ceramics that mimic both textile designs and female bodies in their forms and elaborate decorative structures. To take just two examples, it’s hard to believe that the kind of complex mathematical knowledge displayed in early Mesopotamian cuneiform documents or in the layout of Peru’s Chavín temples sprang fully formed from the mind of a male scribe or sculptor, like Athena from the head of Zeus. Far more likely, these represent knowledge accumulated in earlier times through concrete practices such as the solid geometry and applied calculus of weaving or beadwork. What until now has passed for ‘civilization’ might in fact be nothing more than a gendered appropriation – by men, etching their claims in stone – of some earlier system of knowledge that had women at its centre.

—The Dawn of Everything, Graeber and Wengrow

[wdye-k]

jiang cheng: tortures and kills several demonic cultivators

me, a jc apologist: torture isnt that bad,,,

cesare beccaria:

[tmarshconnors]

“I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”

John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism. (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873.)

Proponent of Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill was a leading advocate of utilitarianism, a moral philosophy originally developed by Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Mill expanded on Bentham's ideas, emphasizing qualitative differences in pleasures.

Author of "On Liberty": Mill's seminal work "On Liberty" (1859) is a cornerstone of liberal political philosophy. In it, he argues for the importance of individual freedom and autonomy, asserting that society should only restrict individual actions if they harm others, encapsulating this idea in what is known as the Harm Principle.

Advocate for Women's Rights: Mill was an early and passionate advocate for gender equality. In his book "The Subjection of Women" (1869), he argued for the legal and social equality of women, making a strong case against the oppression and disenfranchisement of women in Victorian society.

Influence on Political Economy: As a political economist, Mill made significant contributions to economic theory. His "Principles of Political Economy" (1848) was a comprehensive survey of economic thought and policy, covering topics such as supply and demand, labour, and the role of government in the economy. It was a standard textbook for decades.

Early Education and Intellectual Development: Mill had an extraordinary early education, rigorously guided by his father, James Mill. By the age of three, he was reading Greek, and by eight, he was proficient in Latin. His intensive and broad education laid the groundwork for his later intellectual achievements, making him one of the most learned individuals of his time.

[cryptojuice]

take this with a grain of extremely drunk but at this point I'm my journey? now? I'm like literally the idealest person in the world and I think everyone else has something wrong with them

[mindfulgraffiti]

In any given negative situation, if you take a step back and take a moment for yourself to rewire your emotional reaction to a particular event, you most likely will find that not all situations need a reaction. With time, some reflection and practise, you will slowly realise that your time, energy and resources can be put to better use. This will help to upgrade your frequency to direct better experiences to you✨🙌🏻 #MindfulGraffiti #FrequencyReminder #ReactLess #InnerExperiences #Tweaking #Minds #Meditate #Writer #Author #Thinkers #Mindset #Mindfulness #ThoughtYoga #EnergyHealing #Instamindfulness #Enlightenment #Motivation #Gratitude #PurposefulLiving #CreateYourOwnHappiness #PositiveEnergy #GoodVibes #MindBodyAndSoul #FoodForThought #SelfCare #SelfHelp #SelfCareDaily #WordPorn #MindPorn #QuoteOfTheDay https://www.instagram.com/p/CpCXCWsM6-z/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hey-scully-itsme]

somehow while I wasn’t looking i’ve become the kind of person who feels the need to review plato’s republic and timaeus while rereading nicomachean ethics and while this isn’t really a complaint it also is bc it makes me feel insufferably pretentious and also these books take FOREVER to read

[dandelionjack]

i never want to sit in a class on freud ever again i never want to hear you talking about daddy issues nobody needs a fucking retelling of oedipus literally everyone who came to this course knows these terms and ideas please spare my ears i’ll start swinging

[hamletthedane]

How did people describe the taste of cilantro before modern soap was invented? Or did the cilantro-tastes-like-soap gene not exist then? (Writing a Socrates x Plato fluff fic)

im sorry youre writing what now

[literaryvein-reblogs]

words for when your characters ______

Agree

accede, acceptance, accord, acknowledgment, acquiescence, align, avowal, bear, cohere, compromise, consent, contract, draft, enlist, give in/give up, go along/go along with, grant, negotiate, unanimous, yield

Deny

abjure, abuse, affront, attack, backstab, bad-mouth, belie, blacken, blemish, confront, curse, darn, defamation, defile, demur, denigrate, detract, dig, disclaim, discountenance, disgrace, disown, disparagement, downplay, explode, flout, fulminate, gainsay, gird, invective, jeer, lament, lecture, malign, minimize, mouth, needle, oppose, protest, put down, put-down, rebuff, refute, remonstrate, renunciation, run down, satirize, scold, show up, sit-in, slander, smear, snap, snub, squeal, sully, swearing, taunt, tirade, turn, underestimate, vituperation, write off, yammer

Explain

account for, admit, apprise, cite, clarify, come clean, concede, confirm, corroborate, defense, demonstrate, dilate, elucidate, enlighten, evidence, expand, explicate, gloss, illustrate, itemize, let on, palliate, plea, prove, recite, simplify, speak out/speak up, spell out, translator, warrant

Fabricate

aspersion, belie, disprove, profane

Inform

acknowledge, address, advertise, allow, allusion, apprise, bare, betrayal, blab, breathe, briefing, broadcast, chronicle, clue, come out with, confession, convey, debunk, define, detail, dictate, divulge, expose, feature, furnish, give, gossip, hint, intimate, issue, lecture, newscaster, orate, out of the closet, pass, post, proclaim, promulgate, publication, publish, release, reveal, show up, speak, spill, squeal, talk, tip, uncover, unveil, weatherperson, whisper

Instruct

bar, educate, prescribe

Persuade

advance, argument, bend, budge, carry, coerce, convince, discourage, draw, drum up, elicit, entice, forward, goad, hammer away/hammer into, induce, influence, invite, lobby, motivate, negotiation, pitch, prevail upon/prevail on, prompt, reason, spur, sway, urge, win/win over

Promise

assurance, avow, commitment, ensure, go back/go back on, oath, portend, vouch, warrant, word

Suggest

advice, advocate, ask, come up with, connote, drum into, exhort, fish for, get at, guide, imply, insinuate, moralize, move, nomination, pontificate, preach, propose, recommend, urge

Praise

accent, acclamation, accredit, adulation, apotheosis, applause, benediction, bless, champion, citation, commend, compliment, congratulations, credit, dedicate, deify, elevate, endorse, eulogize, exalt, extol, flatter, flattery, glorify, homage, laud, lionize, obsequy, plaudits, puff, salute, thanks, tribute, worship

Warn

admonish, alert, caution, caveat, defy, enjoin, exhortation, foreboding, foretell, page, remind, warning

NOTE

The above are concepts classified according to subject and usage. It not only helps writers and thinkers to organize their ideas but leads them from those very ideas to the words that can best express them.

It was, in part, created to turn an idea into a specific word. By linking together the main entries that share similar concepts, the index makes possible creative semantic connections between words in our language, stimulating thought and broadening vocabulary.

Source ⚜ Writing Basics & Refreshers ⚜ On Vocabulary

[heylinfanclub]

Wonder if more flat earthers come from places without mountains (edge of the world believers) or with mountains (the icy ring of the disk believers)

Cause it’s obvious they only ‘believe what they can see/measure THEMSELVES PERSONALLY’.

So like. I Woonnderrrr. Which sight makes one more ‘that’s the end’.

[ancientroyalblood]

Expanding Horizons: Nourishing the Mind Through Philosophy and the like.

📚✨ Welcome to Expanding Horizons ✨📚 In a world brimming with distractions, finding solace and wisdom within the pages of great philosophical works is a journey worth embarking upon. Here at Expanding Horizons, we invite you to join us on this intellectual odyssey, where the echoes of the world’s greatest thinkers come to life through the spoken word. What is Expanding Horizons? Expanding…

[mariacallous]

For the first time since World War II, one of Prague’s most historic synagogues has held a Jewish worship service.

Kol Nidre, the introductory service of Yom Kippur, took place in the Klausen Synagogue on Friday night, ending a hiatus that lasted more than 80 years and encompassed both the murder and suppression of Czech Jewry.

Originally erected in 1573 and rebuilt after a fire in 1694, the Klausen Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Prague’s Jewish Quarter and once served as a central hub of Jewish life. It’s known as the home of several prominent rabbis and thinkers, from Judah Loew — a 16th-century Talmudic scholar also known as the Maharal of Prague — to Baruch Jeitteles, a scholar associated with the Jewish Enlightenment movement of the 18th and 19th centuries.

But for more than 80 years after the Holocaust decimated Czech Jews, the Klausen Synagogue held no services.

That was until Friday evening, when about 200 people poured in for a service led by Rabbi David Maxa, who represents Czechia’s community of Progressive or Reform Jews. That community was joined by guests and Jewish tourists from around the world for Yom Kippur, according to Maxa. He saw the moment as a sign of Jewish life resurging in Prague.

“It’s quite remarkable that there is a Yom Kippur service in five historic synagogues in Prague,” Maxa told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Under German occupation in World War II, the Klausen Synagogue was used as a storage facility. Although the Nazis and their collaborators killed about 263,000 Jews who lived in the former Czechoslovak Republic, they took an interest in collecting Jewish art and artifacts that they deemed valuable enough to preserve. The Jewish Museum in Prague was allowed to continue storing those objects, and the synagogue became part of the museum’s depository.

After the war, there were not enough survivors to refill services in the synagogues of Prague. The country became a Soviet satellite in 1948, starting a long era in which Jews were often persecuted and surveilled for following any religious practices. The last Soviet census of 1989 registered only 2,700 Jews living in Czech lands.

“During Communist times, it was very difficult to relate to Jewish identity,” said Maxa. “People who visited any kind of synagogue were followed by the secret police, and only after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 did it become possible for people to visit synagogues without the feeling of being followed and put on a list.”

After the end of communism, some synagogues returned to use by the few Jews who still identified as such. Two of the six synagogues that still stand in the Jewish Quarter now are in regular use as houses of worship.

But the Klausen Synagogue, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1982, remained part of the Jewish Museum, hosting exhibitions about Jewish festivals, early Hebrew manuscripts and Jewish customs and traditions.

Museum director Pavla Niklová said returning the synagogue to use for Yom Kippur happened almost by accident. Maxa was asking if she knew about a space large enough to host his growing congregation, Ec Chajim, for the holiest day in the Jewish calendar — its own space, which opened four years ago about a 20-minute walk away, could not accommodate the crowds expected for Yom Kippur.

Since the museum had just taken down its exhibition in the Klausen Synagogue after 28 years, she had an answer. The clean, empty space was ready to be refilled with Jewish life.

Visiting the synagogue just before Yom Kippur, Niklová said she was awed to see the building returned to its original purpose. She hopes that it will continue to be used for large services.

“I felt like the synagogue started breathing again,” she told JTA. “I believe it was a good move to take down the old exhibit, and now we can start anew.”

For many in Prague’s Jewish community, which is largely secular, Yom Kippur is the single most important service of the year. Even Jewish families that suppressed religious practices under Communism often passed on the memory of Yom Kippur, said Maxa.

Maxa founded Prague’s Progressive Jewish community in 2019, responding to a growing number of people who sought to explore their Jewish roots. The community currently has 200 members and adds about five more every month.

“Often, I meet people who simply want to learn about the culture, tradition and religion of their grandparents,” said Maxa. “They say, my grandmother and grandfather were Shoah survivors — can I come and learn more about Judaism? We offer a wide range of activities, including of course regular services, but also educational courses to help these people reconnect with the tradition.”

Maxa, who himself grew up in Prague with little connection to his Jewish roots, wants to revive some of the rituals that threaded through Prague’s pre-war Jewish world — including a tradition of organ accompaniment in the city’s synagogues. On Friday, Jewish organist Ralph Selig performed during his service.

Like many of his congregants, Maxa’s family history intertwines with the losses of the last century. His father came from Prague and survived the Holocaust. He does not know if his father visited the Klausen Synagogue, but he knows it was a familiar part of his world.

“It means a lot for me that the tradition was not exterminated, and that this is coming back, even to a place where no services were held since World War II,” he said.

[shrimpleasthat77]

Don’t mess with us Orokabu fans 🦅🦅🦅💥💥💥 there’s 3 of us 💥💥🦅🦅🦅🦅💥💥💥‼️‼️

At this point I don't think anyone would even come for me for my takes, there are like 5 people in the fandom