vociferous \voh-SIF-uhr-uhs\, adjective:
Making a loud outcry; clamorous; noisy.
benefaction \BEN-uh-fak-shuhn; ben-uh-FAK-shuhn\, noun:
1. The act of conferring a benefit.
2. A benefit conferred; especially, a charitable donation.
plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\, adjective:
1. Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary
authority.
2. Fully attended by all qualified members.
We all have standards by which we live. Some of us are more scrupulous than others, but I believe that for the most part we all strive for the same things.
We all have goals. Some of our goals are more defined than others and still others while we may not understand them or be capable of relating to them, are goals nonetheless.
Some goals may be realistic and some goals may not be realisitic, and just because one set of goals are realistic for one person does not mean that the same goals would be realistic for you or for me.
Consider yourselves lucky, some in this world are not as fortunate as us. There was a time not too long ago when the world had a good hard look into the scruples of third world countries where the people needed saving and wanted help but their own government and the mercenaries within their ranks would do anything to prevent the assistance which we would offer.
No I am not talking about Kuwait, Irag, or Afghanistan, although these are very good examples in and of themselves. I refer to the peoples of Somalia. If you do not remember this conflict go out and rent "Blackhawk Down", they murdered our soldiers and dragged their naked bodies through the streets as a reminder to the would be citizens (or prisoners) of their country that they were in control and not even the mighty United States Military could help them in their time of need.
Another failed campaign for the United States. What did we ultimately do by going to the aid of Somalia? Absolutely nothing. But those who fought us while we did our humanitarian bit are the ones that ultimatly pay for their deeds.
This is an extreme example of character, on less extreme venues who hasn't heard of the phrase "He who lives by the sword ...dies by the sword.!?" Likewise the school bully. The unrepentant thief. The rapist and the murderer.
All of these examples bring me to the Quote of the week. It is quite simple and easy to remember while being words we all should live for.
"A Man's Character Is His Fate!" -Heraclitus
Heraclitus - A Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, Heraclitus criticizes his predecessors and contemporaries for their failure to see the unity in experience. He claims to announce an everlasting Word (Logos) according to which all things are one, in some sense. Opposites are necessary for life, but they are unified in a system of balanced exchanges. The world itself consists of a law-like interchange of elements, symbolized by fire. Thus the world is not to be identified with any particular substance, but rather with an ongoing process governed by a law of change. The underlying law of nature also manifests itself as a moral law for human beings. Heraclitus is the first Western philosopher to go beyond physical theory in search of metaphysical foundations and moral applications.
Heraclitus lived in Ephesus, an important city on the Ionian coast of Asia Minor, not far from Miletus, the birthplace of philosophy. We know nothing about his life other than what can be gleaned from his own statements, for all ancient biographies of him consist of nothing more than inferences or imaginary constructions based on his sayings. Although Plato thought he wrote after Parmenides, it is more likely he wrote before Parmenides. For he criticizes by name important thinkers and writers with whom he disagrees, and he does not mention Parmenides. On the other hand, Parmenides in his poem arguably echoes the words of Heraclitus.Heraclitus criticizes the mythographers Homer and Hesiod, as well as the philosophers Pythagoras and Xenophanes and the historian Hecataeus. All of these figures flourished in the 6th century BCE or earlier, suggesting a date for Heraclitus in the late 6th century. Although he does not speak in detail of his political views in the extant fragments, Heraclitus seems to reflect an aristocratic disdain for the masses and favor the rule of a few wise men, for instance when he recommends that his fellow-citizens hang themselves because they have banished their most prominent leader.
Heraclitus goes beyond the natural philosophy of the other Ionian philosophers to make profound criticisms and develop far-reaching implications of those criticisms. He suggests the first metaphysical foundation for philosophical speculation, anticipating process philosophy. And he makes human values a central concern of philosophy for the first time. His aphoristic manner of expression and his manner of propounding general truths through concrete examples remained unique.
Heraclitus's paradoxical exposition may have spurred Parmenides' rejection of Ionian philosophy. Empedocles and some medical writers echoed Heraclitean themes of alteration and ongoing process, while Democritus imitated his ethical observations. Influenced by the teachings of the Heraclitean Cratylus, Plato saw the sensible world as exemplifying a Heraclitean flux. Plato and Aristotle both criticized Heraclitus for a radical theory that led to a denial of the Law of Non-Contradiction. The Stoics adopted Heraclitus's physical principles as the basis for their theories.
sources: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/h/heraclit.htm (Daniel W. Graham
Email: daniel_graham@byu.edu Department of Philosophy Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602) - (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.)
That is my word on the subject. Words and quotes for Wednesday, January 25, 2006, with a litlle history and insight on Heraclitus, the greek philosopher.
