#mentat

One can indeed try to obtain a particular result either by the use of violence or by speech aimed at securing the adherence of minds. It is in terms of this alternative that the opposition between spiritual freedom and constraint is most clearly seen. The use of argumentation implies that one has renounced resorting to force alone, that value is attached to gaining the adherence of one's interlocutor by means of reasoned persuasion, and that one is not regarding him as an object, but appealing to his free judgment. Recourse to argumentation assumes the establishment of a community of minds, which, while it lasts, excludes the use of violence. ↗

— Chaim Perelman

#rhetoric #freedom

A sure sign of ineptitude and malice is manifested when one's attacker is willing to cover himself with mud in order to try and make some of it adhere to his target. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#debate #ineptitude #malice #norman-g-finkelstein #smear-campaigns

Being black is not a matter of pigmentation - being black is a reflection of a mental attitude. ↗

— Steven Biko

#being #black #matter #mental #mental attitude

We slow the progress of science today for all sorts of ethical reasons. Biomedicine could advance much faster if we abolished our rules on human experimentation in clinical trials, as Nazi researchers did. ↗

— Paul Nitze

#clinical #could #did #ethical #experimentation

A basic principle of data processing teaches the folly of trying to maintain independent files in synchonism. ↗

— Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

#documentation #maintenance #architecture

Absurdity is the ecstasy of intellectualism. ↗

— Criss Jami

#absurdity #art #artist #ecstasy #experiment

When we say that humans have a “right” not to be used for these purposes, this means simply that the interest of humans in not being used as non-consenting subjects in experiments will be protected even if the consequences of using them would be very beneficial for the rest of us. The question, then, is why do we think that it is morally acceptable to use nonhumans in experiments but not to use humans? Vivisection, Part Two: The Moral Justification of Vivisection | Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach http://bit.ly/oREDH0 ↗

— Gary L. Francione

#moral-justification #utilitarianism #vivisection #experience

On my resume I have an awards category. It has one entry. It is the highlight of my life. I’m not trying to impress you or make you overly jealous. I’m merely documenting. OK, so maybe I am gloating a bit. Here it is, exactly as it appears on my resume. “Awards: I won third place in the 100-yard dash in the fourth grade. I still carry around my green ribbon with me wherever I go. The ribbon is available for authenticity inspection upon request, and my fourth grade PE coach’s phone number can also be provided to corroborate the validity of my claim.”
 ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#award #awards #category #claim #coach

لو أن لبائع اللب قدرة على الجدل لدلل على أنه يلعب دوراً خطيراً في حياة البشر، ولا يبعد أن يكون لكل شيئ قيمة ذاتية ولا يبعد كذلك ألا يكون لشيئ قيمة البتة، كم مليوناً من البشر يلفظون أنفاسهم في هذه اللحظة؟ في الوقت نفسه يرتفع صوت طفل بالبكاء على فقد لعبة، أو صوت عاشق يبث الليل والكون متاعب قلبه، أأضحك أم أبكي؟ ↗

— نجيب محفوظ

#argumentation #humanity #life #value #values

No matter how great we get with digital formats of instrumentation, nothing really quite duplicates the real thing. ↗

— Michael Bolton

#formats #get #great #how #instrumentation