Friday, February 23, 2007

Discomfort In Front Of Neck

Meme: Influences

Technorati Tags: influence, intellectual , meme , thinkers

Pato Padilla, from naturals , earned another point in Technorati and passed me a meme that is, as I read in Immanence, in reviewing who have influenced intellectually. Let it.

Bertrand Russell, mathematician and philosopher, had 98 years to think and write about many things. I started to read it since childhood, because my dad was also a fan of this author. In Russell seek his rationalism, the force that gives the words in the reflection, his nonviolent stance, his theory of knowledge, his empiricism ... His debate between atheism and agnosticism is something that intrigues me to this day. I think it is clear that Russell is a hero (never a role model, following recommendations Malthusian). David Hume

: empiricist, for whom the sensory knowledge is achieved, not only because we read books. Therefore, focused his reflection on how we perceive and order around us, challenging normative views of human behavior. He was one of the early utilitarians, playing to the social cohesion of election and justification of our actions.

John Locke: a liberal empiricist. I checked him this constant comparison to the reader, fragmenting everything we perceive, presenting their parts separately and then reconstruct.


These three authors I read in my teens, and I have reviewed some more But are these the ones I have used frequently. During my studies in sociology I met many colleagues, and during those years, I scored the following "colleagues."

Max Weber: Curiously, Max did not know him to study sociology, but stood with his brother Alfred, also a sociologist, for his work on Chiloé . In Economy and Society found the reference to the idealism to do social science a bastard child of the natural sciences, reflecting on the reality to make sense beyond our experiences and feelings, resulting in an interpretive sociology. Alfred Schutz

: And on the same line of interpretation of Weber, Schutz commitment to idealize the process of understanding reality in everyday life. I do not know if it's a great influence or is that too conceited Temin after finishing my thesis. Niklas Luhmann

: I do not share much with Luhmann, but the branches of theory in my career almost confined to study this author, so that their influence is present. I do not agree to turn our attention to communication networks, but I saw not focus heavily inspired by the description of structures and analyze social systems in a functional scheme. I am not a adept, but there is a thought and language that I consider very valuable.

Edgar Morin: A writer whose work has not yet mastered, but I find it very appealing his paradigm of the complexity and global policy proposal.


Now, to continue this meme, anyone can take it and continue with it, but I leave it explicitly Daste, José Luis , and Arlette, who already have item for your first post on his blog (it come!).

Friday, February 2, 2007

Getting An Alias For Deed Poll In Singapore

Criticism 'blackout' European Population

Technorati Tags: blackout , climate change, energy

Yesterday, February 1, 2007, the European environmental movement are disconnected from the power for 5 minutes how to raise the world about the climate change process and its consequences.

This action, driven by L'Alliance Pour La Planète , managed to summon thousands of people, governments, businesses and organizations of all kinds. But there are also critical to this initiative, which aimed to bring the media merely not being a real contribution in reducing global pollution.

Portuguese Quercus organization not adhere to this campaign, criticizing focus on the production of electricity. She argues that the biggest polluter is the transport and the generation of carbon dioxide, and that the blackout "runs the risk of passing the wrong message that to reduce the greenhouse effect, switch off the light, instead of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, which are the real culprits. " (Source ) also expressed concern at the impact on electricity supply.

For its part, the English electricity sector down and announced that a sharp rise in energy consumption can negatively impact the users, including measures necessary involving the waste of water to overcome this situation. (Source ) I have clear whether or not these possibilities materialized.

in the media has emphasized the energy savings achieved by this event, and are calculated in dollars, euros, millions of bulbs and how much equivalence can be done. The truth is that the same organization convener said that "it is not save five minutes, but the attention of the public, the media and deciding on wastage of energy and urgency of taking action. " (Source ) So, I really liked this paragraph, which vividly expresses the critique of a media initiative of a population even insensitive:

To this is added if that was not enough, it seems the bad guys are still over energy companies as the cause of all evil. However, we who do not want to sacrifice their comfort in which we are accustomed to live and they do no more than the energy needed to serve all our comfortable life takes place. And what we get angry when our electric utility or natural gas does not meet its service and leaves us without electricity, TV or hot water, then the life of the caribou, bear, panda or the melting of polar icecaps we care about what we care about.


important thing is that the hype has already been created, and this is where the discussion should go beyond the particular event. Among other things, you can bring the change the light bulbs with low-consumption, or follow this regime green living.


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