Ben Stein's remarks From CBS Sunday Morning

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One may also take a Hegelian view that all objects - including consciousness - are phenomenal in origin. Hegel posited this view in response to the problematic of infinite regression I mentioned prior [how can one delineate between knowable {phenomenal} and unknowable {noumenal} forms of knowledge without knowing both?]. The view espoused prior necessarily amounts to describing the nature of criteria of objects prior to knowing them, and apparently never having an ability to do so.

Essentially, the purpose of most Philosophies are to obtain Absolute Knowledge - or, in plainer terms, the ultimate nature of reality. However, this presents the paradox I have mentioned: How can we examine our ability to discover the Absolute, without first having a knowledge of the criterion which identify it? Simply, we cannot - we could only form such criterion if we already had the knowledge we seek to obtain.

Hegel would claim that the criterion for evaluating any object are not supplied externally, but internally; thus, in evaluating any object consciousness inevitably alters the object to conform to its knowledge - therefore, all objects become objects-for-the-subject. Through a series of dialectical movements [making objects conform to the knowledge of consciousness, then examining what it knows about this new object] consciousness comes to the realization that all objects and itself are one in the same [because every object is conformed to the internally supplied knowledge of consciousness].

In this light, Hegel would say, Absolute Knowledge is found in a self-reflective consciousness - only by way of constant dialectical movements does consciousness realize all objects are phenomenological, contained within itself.

Deep! Strictly speaking, this Hegelian scheme is fundamentally Cartesian (René Descartes). Hegel explored this Cartesian origin in his work Lectures on the History of Philosophy.

 

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Ben Stein's remarks From CBS Sunday Morning:
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christ mas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different : This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it starte d when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein

Thanks for posting that. I love Ben Stein.