Ruling classes should not be established or be permanent. Regardless of a person’s family line or wealth, there are people of good character and those who have poor character. Enough intelligence can be gleaned from common people to do the job of governing. This makes it important to educate the population properly. The most important area is that of ethics. A good government may be set up and good laws made and yet motives always come into play when the laws are applied. A despotic government is one that is all about the ruler while a country of freemen is all about the people. A despot will apply laws to suit his advantage while a freeman will sacrifice his wants for the good of his fellow citizens. They can both initially have the same good laws. This behavior is characteristic of all rules and authority. To survive in the long term, a country must limit the scope of authority with good laws. At the same time they must raise a population that has a good grasp on what is just toward others and what behavior is expected out of individuals.

This brings us back to the two parts of the soul. We have passions and rational principles. Our passions would like to lead but in order to go further than an unreasoning animal, rational principles must be obeyed. This leadership of principles over passion is something that is common in nature too. Growing crops, gardening and business require organization with certain principles of planting, watering and tending. In order to enjoy the taste of good fruit, good principles are followed. The rational area of our soul also has two divisions. One is practical and the other is that of the pursuit of enjoyment. They both require thought but of course we always like enjoyment better. A citizenry will participate in business and leisure; war and peace. We don’t always enjoy preparation and organization and yet these must come before any lasting enjoyment can occur. Music and Art also follow this principle. A person needs to learn scales and shadowing before a good product occurs. There is practice involved before the enjoyment. Even while enjoying their art, a person must take time to develop and organize ways to present it. The practical side can be painful, but for the artist and others to enjoy the product, practicalities have to be endured.

There is a saying that all work and no play makes for a dull life. This is true, therefore our lives shouldn’t just focus on preparation and organization. The goal of practicalities is to bring leisure and enjoyment. Leisure is subject to practicalities yet it is still the endgame. I have read this described as the masculine and feminine side to things. The masculine leads and protects while the feminine obeys and brings enjoyment. Whatever words are used to describe it, a good leader will keep his focus on the endgame. He will go to war and prepare for peace, enforce laws to stop injustices and yet make sure freedom is preserved. Those who lack courage and temperance will become the servants of others. That’s why everyone in a country should be taught how to endure hardship and to have self respect so they can earn leisure. In order to be a good authority one has to know how to obey. Cultivating an understanding of these principles allows a country to chose practically any citizen to lead and be good statesman.

It starts with a passion that can’t be explained

A letter to a friend:

I read you were questioning evolution verses creation. Here is my perspective from examining the subject closely since I was in high school. I used to go on blogs and debate people also, but find that most of the time people lack a base to really give opinion on the matter. It isn’t that they are stupid, but just haven’t thought the matter through and have mistaken notions. This is a quick summary of my own conclusions

In forensic science, we look at a crime scene and collect data to form conclusions. Even with all the tools we have now, a cold case is very difficult to solve. We still require a trial for the accused because there is no way to make certain conclusions about past events. Even an eyewitness’s testimony can become sketchy over time. And we are only talking about ten years or so. Genuine science can only study things that can be currently observed. The scientific method eliminates all other possibilities through experimentation to make a conclusion true. The variables increase as time goes by. Science about current events that we actually observe and record is sound science.

When it comes to origins and creation, a person has to leave the realm of science and enter into philosophy. Although those who have theories of origins claim to have science behind them, there can be little actual science in what they present. The question becomes which one has the most potential as a possibility. That makes it more of an enjoyable contemplation with no worries. Let’s look at a few of my contemplation.

I haven’t been able to ascribe to the evolution philosophy because there are far too many loose ends and things that don’t make sense. Darwin based his conclusions on the simple cells he observed and said static electricity shocked them to bring them to life. Now we have learned cells are far from simple. They contain fascinating factories that transport and convert the right amounts of nutrients and raw materials to the right places. When it comes to reproduction, the process is complex and precise. It is silly now with what we know, to think that it could have happened by chance. We observe scientifically, when nature is left alone, things will decay. There is some kind of force that keeps live things organized. A random electrical shock bringing life belongs in Frankenstein movies. I have an electrical background and it always follows the path of least resistance. We observe that mutations bring deficiencies that don’t improve species either.

Many things presented as science today are really done to secure grants so the people doing the studies can make further money. Proving evolution generates money like saving the planet does. The stories are sensationalized so not only scientists get grants but advertisers get money for all the hits. The Neanderthal over the years has evolved from a missing link to just normal people who lived alongside modern man. There are races and individuals today that have different cranial and skeletal structures living among us. Tracing genetics back takes computer modeling that isn’t all that accurate since there are variables they leave out. But once in a while stories pop up. Most of them are a waste of time scientifically but interesting philosophically.

You have to move out of philosophy to study the characteristics of a being that would have organized it all. Philosophy can form conclusions about origins from experiences but religion goes further to say what that being is like. An Atheist makes the claim that there is no being. But that isn’t even a sound philosophy since we see that chemicals work in certain ways and don’t create. When cornered on how their philosophical arguments are un-based, most Atheists I encounter will become agnostic and say it would have to be an indifferent being or they go to space theories where life came from a meteor. The conclusion is the same; they usually end up agreeing that life came from a designer. The philosophy about single cells reproducing themselves into beings is still kind of lame. I think people become atheistic just to oppose those who are dogmatic about biblical creationism and rightly so.

You have to study religion to believe Biblical creationism. Describing how someone who lives outside of time created things that are in our dimension would be a hard task. The seven days, the fall of Adam and similar things would have began outside of the dimension of time we live in. Religiously, I believe that God created the earth, yet philosophically, I don’t think the literal description of how it happened is perfect and the actual events are beyond human description. Moses or whoever came up with it did their best.

I think all theories of origins belong in a philosophy class and should be eliminated from science textbooks. As I look through Organic Chemistry College textbooks, these theories are a distraction from the actual subject matter. When we debate philosophies, it pulls people out of the superficial and into good human contemplation. I am all for having classes in school for it. There should be objective studies on religions too. But confusing origin philosophies with science dilutes science and takes time away from science that can be better applied to help solve energy supply, diseases and hunger.

The ultimate goal for our actions on the earth is happiness. But happiness has more to it than mere pleasure. It must also be based in nobility. There is a saying from my generation,”If it feels good, do it.” but that is a slippery slope. Looking at pleasures in a way that gives us tunnel vision, with no consideration for how it may affect our our overall well-being is a detriment to our lives. This view must also be applied in a broad sense to a culture. And a culture begins with how we educate our children.

Aristotle quoted an actor who said it was best to be the first on on stage because the crowd’s first exposure is the one that they love best regardless of the skill. When teaching our children, it is best not to expose them to debauchery and crudeness because we don’t want it to become a part of their inner foundation. Once they have nobility and goodness established their lives, the crude things in life can be entertaining, yet not a part of their character. The shock factor comes into play. When the morality we hold dear is challenged, there is a certain thrill involved. It takes more to shock a person of poor character. To be entertaining and dramatic to a someone, the greater the contrast, the greater the thrill. In this sense, a person with good character has potential to enjoy life better as long as he doesn’t become judgmental or upset his foundation.

There are extremes to everything and we still don’t want a culture to become desensitized by its entertainment. There is a certain dynamic concerning people and a culture where they need to go out to explore and yet keep their base solid. In art and music, a person with a strong foundation will have quality in their creative endeavors. Creativity and logic need each other to work properly. With common core education today there is a focus on creative reasoning and some of the logical rules aren’t hammered in to the extent some people would like. Morality, math and writing must start with rigid rules and repetitions and yet they come to life when creativity is added. The point where we think we have the rules down is really what is up for debate at times. In everything, we have to occasionally sharpen the saw and go back to the basics before heading out on the next adventure.

This is the poem that says it all 

Love is a gift for someone in need

Since the soul is important, we need to keep it in a good environment. To begin with, to interact on the earth, a body is needed. Virtue in context, is the best use of a thing. The virtue of the body is to be alive and well as long as possible to house the soul. Although a person can be happy despite physical discomfort, the ideal is to be healthy so everything can be enjoyed at it’s fullest. This body has needs and therefore has appetites to fill these needs. If we don’t control them, virtue is affected and appetites, in the name of bringing enjoyment, can cause damage to the body. To little of an appetite can also starve a person. The goal is to temper them so our body can have a long painless life. Our soul can then enjoy each experience all the more.

After the appetites, we have passions and then after that is our reasoning faculties. Each of these areas build on each other and the boundaries are obscure. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate exactly where one stops and the other begins. Our passions contain our ambitions. In order to get what we want at times we have to temper appetites. This is true especially in sports. The virtue of our passions is to give our soul enjoyment. They have to be tempered with patience. Passions vary so people shouldn’t judge others if they don’t have like passions. Reasoning faculties exist to help us keep the body healthy and to direct our passions. There are various areas it pulls on to make decisions. Some things we learn along the way and put into memory to use later and other things we figure out on the spot. This is only a vague summary as numerous books have been written on the subject.

When involved in politics, the same patterns are followed. The citizen’s physical safety is the foundation. As physical needs are met, people become free to use their faculties for things other than survival. The physical actions that are out of bounds and cause harm to citizens must be tempered with law and enforcement. In the same way an individual doesn’t want to become a slave to another person’s pressing needs, a republic shouldn’t stifle it’s citizen’s passions in order to appease a group. The virtue of the form of friendship we call government is to keep those who participate as citizens safe and in order. This is so each citizen can be free to pursue their own passions. There is a certain satisfaction when one exercises each area of his soul and body. Exercise only comes with resistance. As each person overcomes their own obstacles, they make the best use of their faculties and have the satisfaction that comes with things working at their peak performance. A secure environment is necessary for this but removing obstacles should be done by individuals.

Aristotle quoted an actor that said he wanted to be on the stage first since people always love the first person the most. This applies to our passions and how we raise children too. That will be our next subject. See you in a few!

Give a crushing blow to his face 

There are two realms that are apparent to all of us. The material realm consists of the things our senses pick up while the spiritual is the area where our being exists. Our emotions, passions and drive originates from this area. The Ancient Greeks considered the spirit realm a realm of absolutes, a place where things are pure and eternal. Christians have a similar belief. By looking at the subject of happiness, we see these principles at work. We call the place of a person’s being, a soul. The ultimate function of a soul, or the best use of it is happiness.

The reason this makes sense is that we observe how good circumstances are helpful but they aren’t absolutely necessary for happiness. Sometimes a person is forced by circumstances to make the best of what they have. Someone who works at being happy within their soul by enjoying what is within reach, will enjoy life much more than a person who is completely dependent on circumstances. We can say that circumstances are variable while virtue is absolute. It is ideal for a person to have good circumstances coupled with happiness within their soul. But since we see that having what one wants all the time doesn’t necessarily bring happiness, addressing the soul is more important.

The way that souls are connected is what we call the spiritual realm, but we all have individual souls. Love, the pleasure we get from another person and happiness, the pleasure we get out of life are both best when based in the soul. This makes it so the unsure realm of circumstances cannot affect them. When we look at politics, it isn’t the circumstances of a nation that makes them great, but what kind of heart the people have collectively. That is why it is important to teach those who are young how to defend the weak and to stand up for what is right. Our ultimate goal is happiness and when people are settled within their souls, they are better at looking at things objectively and making good choices. This is the goal of virtue and grace; possessing virtue and a way to make the best of whatever comes our way.

We package our feelings as gifts wrapped in words