by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings, Republic of Bloggers2 commentstags: Human Condition, Political Opinion, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-serial The Ascenturian Saga at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments. Dear Chris, Thank you for the writings on what is means to be a Ascenturian. How inspiring and fun! I consider it a pinnacle of your blog’s Roleplaying Game concept. You called on others to roleplay the engaging on ideas and the Ascenturian saga invites others to contemplate and roleplay a future that we will never experience. A serious yet fun game that I am joining through this reply to you. In your series you identify six principles that you consider vital for the human species to survive into the future. In keeping with the roleplaying game theme, these six principles can be likened to RPG character traits which need to be levelled up to advance the game. Below are your ASCENT principles: The Principle of Assembly: Assemble a plurality of reciprocal collectives of any viable kind. The Principle of Sustainability: Reject accelerating technology for perfectible techniques. The Principle of Commonisation: Create commons that are open to aid in the subsistence of all. The Principle of Elevation: Secure solidarity by eliminating poverty. The Principle of Normalisation: Achieve neutral population growth without […]
by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings, Republic of Bloggers2 commentstags: Components of Human Nature, Human Condition, Human History, Human Misery, Political Opinion, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter The New Sickness Unto Death at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments. Dear Chris, Thank you for engaging me in this poignant discussion about the COVID-19 crisis the world is facing. In addition, thank you for engaging in a private email discussion concerning the dark tone of your post. That was a highly meaningful exchange. I don’t intend to change your mind about the harms committed in reaction to COVID-19, but I will challenge you on some of your specific terminology. I do so to better inform my understanding about your position and to ask you to clarify where I see contradictions in your position. I think we share a common horror that reaction to COVID-19 has done as much damage as the virus itself but would differ about what where our interventions should lie. Now on to parts of your letter: — > Every expectation has now been upended by this monomaniacal fear of an infection that is certainly serious enough to warrant action, yet nowhere near dangerous enough to warrant abandoning democracy. … Are […]
by Chris Billowsin Republic of Bloggers0 commentstags: Defining Life, Human Condition, Meaning of Life
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Every Cause of Death Matters at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments. Dear Chris, I want to commend you for taking on a topic that is wholly lacking in our sensationalism-driven, hyper-sensitive COVID-19 fixation thanks to our modern media. You elaborated eloquently about how we don’t have a rational relationship with reporting on the causes of death and this leaves us poorer and more vulnerable to false information. I could not agree more. I’m believe you exaggerated your position to in order to make your point and in doing so lost some of the nuance that I feel compelled to address. You alluded to it in your statement: This principle does not mean that we are wrong to care about some causes of death more than others – on the contrary, it would be reckless to replace it with a principle that ‘every cause of death matters equally‘. I’ve known you long enough to recognize you are pitching a position with the hope that somebody will engage with it and so I will happily […]
by Chris Billowsin Republic of Bloggers0 commentstags: Components of Human Nature, Human Condition, Human Mystery, Virtuous Discourse
A response to Chris Bateman responding to his blog post The Power of No at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments. I made a quick on-blog comment to Chris’ post but felt there was more to share. The idea of three different responses, each with their own power was something I wanted to delve a little more into. Chris eloquently explains that The Power of No as represented by four women philosophers give us a powerful beacon to see the importance for a small number of people to raise their voices in opposition to absolutism. It is necessary for there to be principled opposition to majority because majorities are not without fault or ignorance. Human nature being as it is, is well served by a conscience and the Power of No is this practice. Yet human nature is a multifaceted thing for the Power of ‘no’ is challenged by the power of ‘yes’ and the power of ‘maybe’. ‘Yes’ is the desire to belong to certainty in a world full of uncertainty or horror. It is a powerful magnet and it does not matter if the […]
by Chris Billowsin Republic of Bloggers0 commentstags: Defining Life, Human Condition, Virtuous Discourse
Thank you Chris for inviting others to suggest a topic for your Virtuous Cyborg project and thank you for your treatment of my suggestion on nostalgia. Your post elicited my own nostalgic experience. It is as if you mentioning Micronauts acted as a chemical trail to other memories such other action figures, comics, Choose Your Own Adventure, D&D, and Fighting Fantasy. I remember vividly being at home during the summer break in 1982, lying on a bed, watching music videos on a small box television, and playing Final Fantasy/Sorcery books. It was one of those moments in time that is seared in my mind and brings a smile. Thinking about the past in this way initiates a sub-routine program in myself. This is not simply a bunch of electrons firing off, there is an actual change in my mood which has been documented in people who are exposed to nostalgia. There is no doubt that computers are chemical creations (drawing a circuit board alters the state of it) and I would propose that establishing nostalgia is like the etching of a circuit board in our nervous system. We know that nostalgia makes us emotionally settled but what is it […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief, Republic of Bloggers0 commentstags: Blogging, Human Condition, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Top Ten Cybergs at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments! Dear Chris, What an great concept. It makes so much sense to link human networks with its inherent technology. The term Cyberg emphasizes the linked aspect of humanity, technology, and networks. It got me thinking about some additional Cyberg applications that were not included in your list, but I’m not sure where would these fit in your hierarchy of top Cybergs. I think that a few of them may warrant some attention. 1) Literacy Literacy is a tool and technology to symbol understanding. I think it might be the very first connection system, being one of the fundamental pillars that supports civilization. While this technology is not cyber based it is definitely a network that communicates ideas and thoughts. 2) Toys Toys, like Literacy appears to be older than any of the other cybergs as it is so fundamental to human and animal development. While it is not a network, I think the the fact that it is shared cross-species, it is as if […]
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