17 August 2009

Quotes & Other Things

In order to live, man must act; in order to act, he must make choices; in order to make choices, he must define a code of values; in order to define a code of values, he must know what he is and where he is - i.e., he must know his own nature (including his means of knowledge) and the nature of the universe in which he acts - i.e., he needs metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, which means: philosophy. He cannot escape from this need; his only alternative is whether the philosophy guiding him is to be chosen by his mind or by chance.
~~ Ayn Rand, "Philosophy: Who Needs It"

Thing that got me was not her list of things she hated, since she was obviously crazy as a Cyborg, but fact that always somebody agreed with her prohibitions. Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws, always for other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up. Because not one of those people said: "Please pass this so that I won't be able to do something I know I should stop." Nyet, tovarishchee, was always something they hated to see neighbors doing. Stop them "for their own good", not because speaker claimed to be harmed by it.
~~ Robert Heinlein, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress"

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Good morning! It rained surprisingly hard, overnight - we've been sleeping with the windows open since April, and the rain was loud enough to wake me around 3 a.m. It rarely rains that hard, here. I didn't get back to sleep until 4:30, and the alarm goes off at 5:10. Oh, well, I obviously wasn't that tired, or I'd have slept more readily.

It's about 55 degrees this morning, and humid again. This alone is a bit strange, as the humidity in this near-ocean climate is usually quite low.

There's not much in the local news worth repeating; it's barely of interest to us, and so unlikely to appeal to those of you Outside.

Have a great day, folks - thanks for stopping by.

3 comments:

joated said...

Now there you go again! Referring to Alaska as "Outside" is the reason folks think of Alaska as being, well, outside the Union, i.e. a "foreign country." Something you complained about just a few days ago.

Man, I would kill for those 55 degree days! The darn jet stream shifted or something and we've been sweltering in 88-90 degrees of HHH (Hot, Hazy, and Humid) weather.

joated said...

Oh, and the more I reread Hielein, the more I am amazed at his perception of humankind. The man had powerful observational skills.

Rev. Paul said...

Alaska isn't "outside" - that's the Alaskan term for everywhere that isn't Alaska.

Regarding Heinlein, I agree.