That's a quote from Joan Jett and Mae West, just in case you've forgotten.
Now, I have spoken out on this webspace in the hopes of starting a serious discussion -- serious to me means heartfelt and real, not fanciful societal niceties and accepted norms. Are we here to brand Aristotle valid? Or are we here simply to obey Aristotle? Are we equals to Aristotle? Or are we subservient to Aristotle? Are we here to use Aristotle's philosophy in our lives in order to find fulfillment? Or are we here simply to learn what this old, dead guy said?
I posit that better minds than mine have worked on this Aristotle stuff for 2,300+ years . . . and they still haven't fixed it. He's had his run. He had every chance in the book for two millenia, and then some. I think it's time to say: "It's broke. Time for something completely different."
In an attempt to do that I have written a lot of stuff . . . some of it is shit, some of it is divine, and some of it I have no idea if I'm even in the same ballpark as everyone else.
Some of what I put out there I know is wrong -- I was hoping to use them as bait for someone to step up and say: "Hold on a minute there, Ed, this bit is a little off." Even still, these wrong things are valid as discussion points -- because though I know they're wrong, I don't have the answers that are right . . . that's what I hope discussion will reveal for me.
Some of what I put out there was simply to show you how to critique my own words -- give me the same treatment I give Aristotle. Remember, I'm the one who believes in individuality and liberty . . . so I'm the one who believes I must treat others as I want others to treat me. Aristotle is the one who has to be correct or he'll throw a tantrum . . . or run away . . . or do both (look it up). But we don't have to worry about Aristotle . . . he's nothing but dusty bones, if that. He ain't divine.
Some of what I put out there is real. It is these things that Aristotle has no good answer for. Here is where Aristotle is flat-out wrong. Here is where Aristotle's house of cards comes tumbling down.
There is an answer to everything. Aristotle does not have it, but he has some parts of it. In fact, his system is excellent for some things in life . . . like buying a used pickup truck. I used his Virtue-Vice Scale with a friend to help her pick out the best possibilities from hundreds of pickup truck ads. Worked great. But it doesn't work for people -- 2,300+ years have proven that, I don't have to prove it.
Here's something else I don't have to prove . . . that I can post on this site whether or not anyone else does. So . . . it's yours. Have a discussion, and I'll come in when I feel like it -- when you write something I can't resist to comment on.
I'm going on vacation . . . (these pics from the Daughters of Ishtar at a Burning Man Ceremony)
