At the moment alighted upon a Bret Weinstein & his lecture the 4th frontier;*
Discovering Humanity's Future**.
This came about when searching for some latest information about james Flynn's^^ Intelligence
(I.Q.) work which gives NEW REASONS for the near-myth that through their animal type culture
humans are obviously more INTELLIGENT that older previous humans. Not their (pure) achievements
of course like writing or speaking or CRITICISM but rather the "blunt" model-making technical stuff
like making rockets/ automobiles/ computers/ medicines et al (oh and CO2 & trillions of tons of that
with heat/ tribal fighting like War & its associated fracturing of peace-loving-cultures/ Cancers too (!),
caused by Bottled & food wrapped PLASTIC, where just been reported that clothes machine washin
is causing billions of FIBRES to be released into the WASTE WATER..etc)
And it has got us all within 12 Years of a "red line", an Environmental one where the "do-ers" or politicians/economists/ civil leaders & Governmt appointees are afraid to act in case their cultures become more impoverished. All the while scientists and others look on while this earth dangerously heats up.
But there are some scholars and teachers who know just how close we all are to some mass suicidal mistake. Yet EVEN now few here talk of past philosophers who like Socrates faced similar CRITICAL meltdown - but in Socrates' case we ought to know that while he & his associate objectivists looked on they were aware of other young upstart's academic failings to forge a NEW & BETTER CULTURE..
For this is what PLATO & Aristotle and the "Peripatetics" thought they were doing with their new-spec writing and recording tools....tools LOOKING NOT THEN TOO DISSIMILAR to our computers of today !
And Then EVEN SIMILAR "breakdowns in civil society" WERE IN EVIDENCE...(that's right, SIMILAR to our very own "civil breakdown" of work, stress & family or rational-secure-job-life).
But you should know that this was inevitable, "environmentally speaking". Why ?
Well, the ONE of the chief culprits in this CULTURE CHANGE SAGA was Plato of course
- I have spent hours and weeks outlining why he is to be blamed for this^, this "terrible"
open blunder allied with a mistaken "naked ambition" for a NEW CULTURAL IDEA &
subsequent Environment which COULD NOT WORK (for long enough). I refer you to the fact
that Plato & his "merry male gang" showed almost a HATRED to females & slaves..excluding
them from their social culture & their educational system, by racist or sexist Discrimination.
Think of a Supreme-court-Judges example & you may get the idea (!)….
Anyway, learn to CRITICISE one's own philosophy while also CRITICALLY reviewing whether today's academic Philosophers could EVER have enough TIME to rationalise SOME NEW & HELPFUL, Civilised way to get from the point A Environment to a better (point B) Environment...
All the while thinking how easy that could be if only people & students would WORK & WORK at the standards set....mimic-ing their scientific counterparts only in their CULTURE MAKING THE MISTAKES BUT UNABLE TO LEARN & DO ANYTHING ABOUT THESE MISTAKES.
* (see The 6th Extinction (& frontier) ; An Unnatural History (Elisabeth Kolbert)
Kolbert is a Science & ENVIRONMENT writer..& therefore also an environmental philosopher.
Note I have taken the liberty to include her directly here, which could be my mistake.
But 12 YEARS is really a PERILOUSLY Short time to reduce our world wide fossil fuel use
by what, 80-90% ? To DO IT WILL REQUIRE TRAINING & Education, & I think that it CAN
be done.
Chinese & Indian SCIENCE students-the majority- TO BE EDUCATED IN THE WEST, utilising
temp housing & troop barracks. Learning wind farm/solar power. Cost to paydown Western
DEBT to those countries etc. Replacing like-for-like Oldest COAL+OIL Power Stations West+
Eastern countries.
Western countries to implement immediate FAMILY SIZE hold, say TWO Children max per
western family(such families getting free Quality Health/Welfare/Education/etc with reduced
or zero Income tax for working Parent^). Similar schemes for Eastern countries..
Suggest too that western countries consider laws for startin such families at minimum
age, around 25 or more years (lower age of one partner ?).
Colleges in western countries to be for SCIENCE STUDENTS ONLY (this freeing up
social science space for the foreign Asian science students). Psychology/Philosophy/
Environmental/Language students All to be taught by Distance (home courses) learning.
All the above will require some extra costs, $100B here & there.
One-by-one all the Western&Asian&Russian&African Fossil Power Stations can be removed
&/or replaced by Wind/Solar/Hydro. Possible U.N. Moratorium on acceptable RISK with
const of standard modern nuclear Stations where suited.
Etcetera...By the way, it has been envisaged for some time now that young people should
get & receive a LIFETIME SALARY so to speak.
This Then MAY Have the "go ahead" for those SMALL FAMILY children when THESE new
young adults get old enough - and they would & could use SOME of this direct govmt funding
in their ONLINE course studies as above. Science students too, with increase/decrease
in line with their college dorm expense. Note there will be time avaiable to SET & PLAN this out
for when the SMALL FAMILY CHILDREN DO reach their collage entrance age (approx. 18 yrs).
^ incentive so they Stick-to-contract in having Small Family Size Only.
** stick the name in "YouTube" search, et al
^^ A MORAL Philosopher (we ought to ascertain why...)
Source(s):
Critical & rational (= objective) Philosophy.
Defending an Emerging New Environment