tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post3614002168263608377..comments2024-03-29T03:19:09.227-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: AN ASTONISHING COMMENTRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-20603414125072524032023-06-21T07:17:38.987-04:002023-06-21T07:17:38.987-04:00Looking forward to reading more of your blog posts...Looking forward to reading more of your blog posts in the future and Learn about the unique qualities of granite, marble, quartzite, and limestone, and explore the stunning <a href="https://productmagnate.com/business/granite-marble-columbus-collection/" rel="nofollow"> Granite Marble Columbus </a> collection by Mont Surfaces.Mont Granitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06734080051691186465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-60510064374785371912021-08-25T12:49:26.332-04:002021-08-25T12:49:26.332-04:00Contact us and ask your questions and queries dire...Contact us and ask your questions and queries directly to us <a href="https://businessleadsworld.com/pricing/" rel="nofollow"> MCA Realtime Callback Leads </a> Capital Brokers are receiving calls from the Qualified Merchant<br />Business Leads Worldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682586770344781777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-35122160954946060372019-08-23T05:54:07.766-04:002019-08-23T05:54:07.766-04:00It would be interesting to join such an aggressive...It would be interesting to join such an aggressive and real discussion with readers of this blog as well as readers of other blogs or websites who really thing that they can express more related to this topic.<a href="http://opleidingmediumschap.com/" rel="nofollow">opleiding mediumschap</a>jackharrywilson1https://www.blogger.com/profile/12276523810011339944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-23409433432864753532019-06-28T08:24:26.406-04:002019-06-28T08:24:26.406-04:00This blog helped me to understand the fact that ev...This blog helped me to understand the fact that even a simply written article can be best over thousands of other highly qualified no-meaning articles. So always keep in mind that use simple but accurate parameters for your blog.<br /><a href="http://zwangerschapscursusamsterdamzuid.nl/" rel="nofollow">zwangerschapscursus amsterdam zuid</a>morsan terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06026693945865303021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-32439672049847703262019-06-18T14:06:42.268-04:002019-06-18T14:06:42.268-04:00Are you in financial crisis, looking for money to ...Are you in financial crisis, looking for money to start your own business or to pay your bills?, Global Loan Access is given all types of loans at low interest rate of 2% I got mine from them you can Apply now via email at: ( globalloanaccess@gmail.com )Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13113192659213764907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-24086288526370242032019-02-20T07:26:31.408-05:002019-02-20T07:26:31.408-05:00Under-over-rated,
There's no reason to apolog...Under-over-rated,<br /><br />There's no reason to apologize for your English writing skills. You write very very well. Many native-speakers of English do not write as well as you do. Good use of metaphor: for example, "confession to the void".<br /><br />The mistakes that I see in your text above are probably due (I guess) to lack of sufficient proof-reading. I write as an ex-professor of English composition. Proof-read everything at least three times is a good rule. Make it four if you're not a native-speaker.<br /><br />I hope that you keep in touch with readers of this blog.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-61814793312281282542019-02-20T04:02:58.951-05:002019-02-20T04:02:58.951-05:00The last time I was in Iran, December 2016-January...The last time I was in Iran, December 2016-January 2017, I observed new developments that either I had not seen before or they did not exist before.<br />Everywhere I went, even in some of the more remote countryside where I have extended family, I was asked to explain the Electoral College! and how Trump became president even though he had lost the popular vote. One of the more interesting questions was whether Trump is America's Ahmadinejad, a man who could look directly into a TV camera and tell blatant lies with confidence, and when asked about the veracity of his claims he would turn the question around and interrogate the questioner and his/her motivation for asking such questions. Ahmadinejad become president of Iran in 2005, about 12 years before Trump became president. [On one of his trips to New York City for the annual UN general assembly meetings Ahmadinejad was invited to give a talk at the Columbia University. When asked about the persecution of homosexuals in Iran Ahmadinejad confidently declared that "Iran does not have any homosexuals. Homosexuality is a disease of the west." People in Qazvin and Isfahan and other parts of Iran had a good laugh. The evangelicals in the US were very pleased. That, in part, prepared them to accept and vote for the American Ahmadinejad a few years later.]<br />It was surprising to see that the new Rouhani government, the current government in Iran, was implementing many of the Reagan/Thatcher policies of the 1980s. The Rouhani cabinet is dominated by old merchants who are implementing predatory mercantilism which is devastating domestic manufacturing. [If you are concerned about Wilbur Russ being the Secretary of Commerce in Trump administration you need to go to Iran and see Rouhani's cabinet.]<br />I, however, see a lot of positives in the current developments in Iran. Iran began and finished the 20th century with revolutions. Both revolutions were "hijacked" by the Shia clergy who distorted both revolutions into corrupt authoritarian regimes. The truth is that these revolutions were not hijacked but, rather, they reflect the personal/psychological/cultural dependency of a large number of Iranians on a "great Papa", the Imam, to tell them what to do, how to do it, and how to eliminate the enemies of Shia Islam/Iran even if that happens to be your parent, your child, your spouse, your sibling, or your best friend. The alienation that many Iranians feel and are suffering from is, I think, the natural outcome of such betrayals. <br /><br />Alas, the Islamic regime in Iran is removing all masks of sanctimony and is revealing what it is all about: predatory merchant capitalism with unlimited thirst for wealth accumulation in the hands of a very few people while the majority is left to suffer unspeakable humiliations. The Zoroastrian/Hegelian dialectics may force a majority of the Iranians to confront the question: how long will you hold on to the childish fantasy of having "an elect" guide you through life? Or, will you assert your right to chart your own path through life? I think that Robert Paul Wolff could write an article on Kant's "What is Enlightenment" and the Iranian situation. That could be very useful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-33305225958769667522019-02-19T23:35:12.075-05:002019-02-19T23:35:12.075-05:004th part
lots of other things happened that I ju...4th part<br /><br /><br />lots of other things happened that I just can't go into details here but a major component of this was the universities opened their doors to any one .<br />suddenly anyone could be an undergrad ,for instance our chemical engineering department went from having 70 undergrad to over 300 undergrads in 5 years . just imagine the effect it had on the teachers and the whole academic spirit . now not only they didn't care about the sheer number of people dropping out , they couldn't keep up with the number of students that were showing up ! Universities became a secondary high school were you fell in love and had some dates maybe in the cafe in Vali-asr street and talked a little about politics and arts and smoke a cigarette and thought you were cool.<br />literally that is what the university experience is considered by most teenager-like undergrads here ; and for the exception of some really good art departments like Tehran University .<br /> <br />I wish I was a little bit less bias towards academic life in Iran but ever since I myself and many others are deeply hurt by this factor I just can't help to point out this very important factor here .<br /><br />institutes make everything in my opinion . and when you destroy the major ones by flooding it with people of all range of backgrounds ,ostracize the political and social movements and student unions by heavily controlling them under a ruling thumb , close down the journals,fire or force-retire their academic staff ,<br />build and promote private high school-like result making exam-focused institutes that pop out on every corner like supermarkets you subliminally message to the students that Universities are not the place to search for the " Truth " or to work scientifically but a playground for segregated boy and girls to play and trivialize their predicament .<br />and then the minds start migrating to the dark and werid spots . to the movies , to the different music genres and different fields of arts to be able to reinvent their lives or rediscover the truth. that's why Tehran sometimes feels like a compelete underground bunker in 70s people talking about a comunist revolution as if it is a marvel movie ! <br /><br />again sorry If I rambled too much . I just had to write another one .feels like a weird confession to the void I guess .<br />Feel free to ask me any follow-up questions<br />my email is General_milad70@yahoo.com<br />also you can find me in instagram @MiladMoatamedDezfully<br />P.S :<br />by the way the reason for my handlebar-name is that I just started a blog with the same name and I am currently working on an analysis on one of my favorites movies of all time " Crash " 1996 by David Cronenberg .I've written two versions of the essay in Farsi trying to connect the different ideas of Sex and Death being intertwined , game-theory and existential exploration , migration of mind to a virtual space and the position of " Scars " in our subjectivity ... maybe one day I'll finish it in English and be able to send it to Professor Wolff maybe . I hope<br /><br />UnderOverratedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14251931690021551336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-56503288473113349592019-02-19T23:34:10.233-05:002019-02-19T23:34:10.233-05:003rd part
so how come people turned to be this wa...3rd part<br /><br /><br />so how come people turned to be this way ? somewhat snobs yet damaged and still angry and lost ? <br />well , this whole weird situation began with the boom of the " university entrance exam " craze ,<br /> something very odd happened to Iranian consumer culture around the 2004-09 <br />not only country was undergoing major political shift , something very peculiar was happening with its youth.<br />suddenly going to university and having a degree became fashionable . and I mean really fashionable to the extend that the sheer amount of people singing up for the test revolutionized the whole system . not only the Ministry changed and underwent on a major overhaul ( I don't know exactly how it works but there this private organization called " Sanjesh " which is essentially like the " SAT " committee I guess ) but also the private institutions and high schools changed in a major way , even the families changed for crying out loud .<br />it all became about numbers and names . millions of high school graduates pushed to the brink of mental breakdown under heavy stress to simply be accepted in a prestige university in Tehran or other big cities .suddenly being somebody meant that you had to be an academic person . which sounds good on the surface but there were and still are major consequences .<br /><br />the amount of money and attention that went into the system created a weird Mafia of sorts , the production of books preparing you for the exam and the private institutions skyrocketed . so in a sense . the whole education system became factored. <br />on the one hand you had the terrible mediocre stupid indoctrinating high school teachers , in the evenings you had the very sophisticated English and physics teachers telling you the truth about the basic concepts of knowledge and science using the top of the line computers and stuff .suddenly students had to be much more engaged and well rounded to enter and it felt like a Jeopardy-like race for accumulative knowledge .<br /><br />this strange disease of collecting and perfecting different (sometimes seemingly unrelated branches of knowledge ) also found its way to other fields soon enough .<br />namely popular fields like Cinema,Music,Countercultures ,street-art ,psychedelic drugs ,etc .these things were heavily censored and suppressed by the mainstream media and before the eventual coming of the high-speed internet .<br />we as the youth of 2009 were one of the first people to be able to have access to the Real World of knowledge and cinema and other cultures . and this boom , this very strange phenomena for sure had a significant effect on our psyche . suddenly our search for the truth was universalized . <br />we began to watch Friends and engage in all sort of globalized movements and trends .<br />UnderOverratedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14251931690021551336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-41154468793456984802019-02-19T23:33:28.544-05:002019-02-19T23:33:28.544-05:002nd part
all of these and of course the new forms ...2nd part<br />all of these and of course the new forms of social media and satellite tv stations like <br />VOA , BBCPersian , Manoto helped pushed the majority of people out of their conservative-relegious bubble<br /><br />even though Iranians these days try to reconstruct their double lives as a super progressive modern intellectuals there are multitude of problems and paradoxes still remaining. <br />for instance on of the more interesting struggles in the problem of "marriage"<br />on the one had people brag about being totally open-minded and try to achieve a polyamorous status like fame among friends yet when they go back to their parents they are planing their traditional fancy and expensive wedding preferably with a close relative . <br />this strange dichotomy of melancholic experience dominates every inch of my generation .why ? because the society is build( or I should say broken ) around such behavior . our so called famous " Instagram Influences " advertise plastic surgery and stupid make up products whilst talking about the benefits of Hijab .<br /><br />even the ones who have some sense in any field whether be animal rights , women issues or the environment are simply ignored or bullied by general public.<br />I should be very careful here , there are strong and opinionated people here but the majority of people simply can not break completely from their Ideological and cultural backgrounds . that's why when faced by difficult questions and dilemmas instead of studying or even asking the right questions the fall back into arguments .<br />I don't know how to explain it but many people here has ideas and beliefs simply because it brings them some prestige and chicness . <br /> it is fashionable here to say names of Derrida , Hegel and Popper !<br />so the surface and the artificial has again won over people in some sense ; when there are no great teachers nor good academies or literal critics to comment on your writings or artistic production the " show " becomes the aim not the question or the true problem you were trying to address .<br /><br />people mostly want to inflate their none existing personality , even to some extent I myself am guilty of it .but this method of encyclopedic the knowledge is at the same time a hectic defense against the new found dumbness people find themselves in , and also an attempt to reach and study a deeper question that can not yet ask .<br />I see it as an amateur miner looking for diamonds in the surfaces .UnderOverratedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14251931690021551336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-77574864970612625712019-02-19T23:32:18.279-05:002019-02-19T23:32:18.279-05:00Ok
so hello again (from the heart of Bourgeois Teh...Ok<br />so hello again (from the heart of Bourgeois Tehran ) first and foremost hello to dear Professor Wolff,and then to all the people who took the time to read what I wrote.I honestly don't know where to begin . <br />before I write any serious stuff, I should apologies ,sincerely, by mentioning that I know my English writing skills are not up to par with this sort of discussion and I should really first learn how to write polite formal letters then come here and reply but well here I am I might as well say how I feel .I truly apologies in advance.<br /><br />well I guess It is only polite to introduce myself when I am speaking among probably academic scholars and well educated readers.<br />My name is " Milad Moatamed Dezfully" ( and yes that double "lly" is a very old personal joke on my own last name ) you can easily find me on the app Instagram with the same name.<br />there you could clearly follow me and my other friends who are trying to document our everyday life using amatuer street-photography and all other sort of crazy amateur artistic thought experiments ! a lonely soul floating in ship wrecked world .<br />I'm not Malala , not a propaganda machine , just some random dude who watches too much Youtube ! <br />Nonetheless,I would like to begin by pointing out how unbelievable I feel at the moment , being finally recognized by someone whom I followed for so long and had never courage to write to .as a 27 year old I shall admit that I just can't shake the feeling that when You ,professor Wolff, told your story about visiting "Bertrand Russell" in your youth and all the conflicting feeling you had about the experience , it isn't far reach for me to see myself In sorta similar place .<br />however I should definitely mention what truly pushed me to write to you (riding a weird impulse) was in fact the immense power of "honesty" you expressed with each and every single word that you told that story ; In a very strange way , crawling away from all the lies we had to endure on a daily basis in our deeply indoctrinating high schools , I just simply can't help to breath in this breeze of fresh honesty in having a discourse , speaking here .<br />the fact that you read my comments are reposted them ... I'm heaven . I seriously can't thank you enough for the amount of time and attention you all gave me.<br /><br />but since my last comments were too long I plan to keep this one short,as much as I can. and put a little effort into further explaining the factors that has gone into " breaking the Ideology bubble " in my generation's psyche .<br />I see the current situation in Iran and specially the somewhat progressive developments in minds of my fellow millennial under the influence of some very basic and strange factors(that I'm sure when I share them with you you will certainly find them very odd to say the least )<br /><br />factor 1. the cheap English learning Institutions <br />factor 2. the access to movies and internet <br />factor 3. the disillusionment of the events of 2009 with the Government and the national TV<br />factor 4. migration of grad students to prestige universities all around the world<br />UnderOverratedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14251931690021551336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-86460737775736007262019-02-19T12:31:32.589-05:002019-02-19T12:31:32.589-05:00A note of appreciation to "underoverrateds&qu...A note of appreciation to "underoverrateds"<br /><br />Dear Sir/Madam,<br /><br />I studied with Dr. Wolff while working on my Ph.D. in political science. While I certainly learned much from him about social and political theory, one of the most important things I learned was the advantage of inserting stories and humor into lectures to drive points home and make the insights more accessible.<br /><br />I found your description of just how thorough and total the repressive forces are to be extremely informative. It is one thing for the state to take over the University and fire dissident and critics. It’s a significant escalation of terror when professors are “disappeared” and turn up dead. Your appreciation of the relationship of the contradictory forces that influence your fellow citizens and the psychological impacts these relations have on one's mental health is also quite informative and sophisticated. <br /><br />Be careful, and I hope it is possible for you to maintain communications with this blog.<br /><br />Christopher J. Mulvaney, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15817420454023465228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-75748009499399805322019-02-18T14:09:40.229-05:002019-02-18T14:09:40.229-05:00Under-over-rated,
Thank you for explaining the si...Under-over-rated,<br /><br />Thank you for explaining the situation in Iran at length.<br /><br />You say that nobody cares about the Iranians. Basically, nobody cares about anyone else unless there is a well crafted campaign to awaken solidarity. Two good examples of well crafted campaigns to awaken solidarity are the one against apartheid in South Africa and the current one against Israeli "apartheid" in the occupied territories. <br /><br />The well-crafted campaign generally paints things as black and white, good and bad, without subtleties, and in fact, apartheid was bad as is the Israeli occupation. I don't doubt that the current regime in Iran is also bad, but any successful campaign has to accentuate and simplify that situation. People prefer Hollywood movies where it's clear who the good people are and who the bad people are to John Le Carré novels where at times no one is particularly or particularly bad. <br /><br />I genuinely wish you and your people well.<br /><br />s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-74318646374322650882019-02-18T13:39:31.075-05:002019-02-18T13:39:31.075-05:00continuation
This all without mentioning the conf...continuation<br /><br />This all without mentioning the conflict between capitalism and socialism that is also occurring, and the class struggle it involves. Those familiar with Marx know that his is the fundamental dynamic taking place dialectically in history.<br /><br />Marx realized this long ago. That is why Marx, Marxism, Marxian thinking, or even any association vaguely relatable to Marx are demonized.<br /><br />So let's sympathize with people like that author of the above comment but also remember than this is the stuff out of which propaganda is crafted. I am not accusing the author of that, of course, just sayin' how this kind of thing is used. And some of it is manufactured, e.g., by Western intel services, like the White Helmets as heroes, and the little Syrian girl, Bana al-Abed, on Twitter.<br /><br />Let's keep our eyes on the ball and not be mislead by or as "bleeding-heart" liberals. BTW, I am a Vietnam era vet who was gung-ho at first and then gradually realized the shuck — "spreading freedom and democracy" and all that. Then I became a political activist and "alienated youth." I am still alienated and see the current situation as an extension of the shuck. Follow the power and money.<br /><br />endTom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-62776754925846689632019-02-18T13:39:20.529-05:002019-02-18T13:39:20.529-05:00While I am sympathetic to the liberal cause — I se...While I am sympathetic to the liberal cause — I self-identify as a left libertarian, I think we need to be cognizant of this in terms of the global dialectic that is now in the process of unfolding. Russian philosopher-sociologist Alexander Dugin has proposed that the of the four political theories underling the modern dialectic — fascism, communism, liberal and traditionalism, only two are left in conflict — liberalism and traditionalism — after the defeat of the fascist powers in WWII and the collapse of the USSR. While I am not sure that he is correct about the demise of fascism and communism, I believe he is correct about the present struggle between liberalism and traditionalism as liberalism (Western bourgeoise liberalism aka neoliberalism) is seeking to impose itself on traditional societies and cultures. <br /><br />This is happening both internationally, e.g., in the Islamic countries, and domestically, e.g, in the US in the conflict between "godless" liberals and Christian fundamentalists, both Protest and Catholic.<br /><br />This not going away anytime soon and it will characterize at least the first half of this century if not the whole century and beyond.<br /><br />Iran is actually one of the most liberal of the traditional Islamic countries, where "Islamic" means governing in accordance with sharia. Iran has a democratic system in which the ayatollahs' interpretation of sharia takes precedence. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy government by the Wahhabi strict interpretation of sharia. The US regards SA as a close ally while it views Iran as an enemy. Obviously, this is not about liberalism and Western values, but the neoliberal, neoconservative, and liberal international assumption of Western global dominance.<br /><br />Therefore, focusing on how "illiberal" Iran is constitutes as sidetrack in the global struggle for freedom that is being harnessed by the Western elite, in cahoots with the comprador elite, to dominate the world and extract rents. We should not be distracted by this or fooled by the propaganda for it as "spreading freedom and democracy." This is just a facade for imposing neoliberalism through neo-imperialism and neocolonialism, where any country that refused to be a vassal or colony is destroyed. Now the neoliberal elite is colonizing the people of the EU and the process has also begun in the US as the divide between the elite and "little people" (Alan Simpson) widens, constitutional rights and civil liberties are curtailed, a police state erected, and the surveillance state erected with the cooperation of corporate interests that control communications.<br /><br />Pitting Western liberalism against traditionalism is the real issue and this is what needs philosophical, political, sociological and historical discussion — before it is too late and the curtain of nuclear winter descends or an extinction through climate change becomes irreversible. <br /><br />continued<br />Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.com