Overview: Art is love Euphoric happiness General imperative (Kant) Repetitive thinkers Cultural assets Once again, I struggle with a word because it is conceptually misinterpreted. Now, this statement can be false or true depending on who is doing the evaluation. The human spirit is granted great freedom in this regard. Contrary to the majority, I find this autonomy to be more of a spiritual aid to life. What's interesting is that I can feel the intuition of this expression even without saying a word. In hearing it, in naming it, I experience the great power of this word as an ultimate only-just expansion. Each person produces their own recognition for any given expression. Nevertheless, through communicative exchange, groupings of equality emerge. People band together and carry the original (historical) tendency of the expression into a totally alienated understanding. The intellectual value is diluted and only a small number of people remain to believe in its originality, even revere it. I belong to this group.
But how is the original intention explained? And why do I only consider this recognition to be correct? Well, art behaves like a genuinely invigorating phenomenon and thus directs the human spirit towards feeling good within the good values. The discussion of creating and viewing art helps to renounce dual thinking and thus to reject falsehoods in both creating and enjoying art. Perceiving art does not need instruction; enjoying art is instructive. Ingenious dexterity and sheer beauty of an art object induces respect, on which good feeling is based. Without question, the human body can also be recognized as art and the maker artist of this is the mother. I love this sentence. This is where unnecessary gendering reaches its peak. Based on this, thinking about our planet, the universe as well – a piece of art. It might be difficult to name the mother of that creation. Another lovely structure of words which put forth goose pumps on to my lower arms. But enough of the puns now and back to the sensation art, more precisely, feeling good. When a painting is sold, there is generally a good feeling. People who experience art in this way enjoy looking at it, they feel good about it and find peace. A large part of Albert Anker's works, for example, can be found in the house of the Swiss entrepreneur and politician Christoph Blocher. I know nothing about the effect of this accumulation on Mr. Blocher's mental state, but I am convinced that it is not just a profitable investment. Perhaps the purchase of the first Anker was based on a calculation, but then he must have recognized the good feeling by looking at his collection. A comment on originality of art. Its original value is purely idealistic; its mission is to touch people and guide their thoughts, shall inspire us to reflect emotional, intellectual and cultural values, definitely not to become subject to market-based evaluation. My convergence towards perceiving arts is nothing like that, it is an enormously differentiated feeling. I have never bought an expensive piece of art before. A painting with a special meaningfulness, I just own one from a street market. My painting on a wall in my living room and the ones of Anker have absolutely the same expressiveness. The pensive element of the word art corresponds to a concept of thoughts, expressing the totality of human beings. I generally find the impact of social media catastrophic. In the field of art, however, this kind of networking initiates social competence in the sense of emotional motivation. Today there is access to art like never before. I never noticed anything wrong with my painting. Whenever I look, even briefly as I walk by, I feel good, I really feel it. Should there be people who can't feel that way? Art is love and love is giving. Love should fundamentally not be for sale. Even in the oldest (art) trade, love is not sold. In that trade human bodies, likewise pieces of art are offered. Extreme, this transition. On the other hand, you can see here how art is present in all areas of life, and in terms of formative appearance often very uneven. In principle, every person should have access to an arts-based education. The therapeutic value of creating art has long been scientifically proven and is established. I have engaged myself in teaching art-based classes in a women's prison here in Nairobi for almost ten years. Through our courses we see our students open up and so begin to develop self-confidence and confidence in their abilities. It is amazing to see how positive inmates respond to a creative learning environment. For example, after classes, we all meet outside. Euphoric joy becomes evident. Their thoughts are not in prison and, very important, the inmates pass on this specific mood to their fellow prisoners. This is an inspiring, sustainable state of mind, initiated by performing art, assisting inmates towards mental recovery. I do not struggle with the word art at that particular moment because I experience freedom in prison. In addition to the well-known points of contact, the arts also reflect the cultural identity of social groups. People sentenced by the law are part of such equalities. The word prison generates aversion and usually ends with the thought, I don't want anything to do with it. This despite being aware of flows within the penal system, not just in the third world. A prerequisite for making right decisions is recognizing what is wrong. The moral values currently prevailing worldwide leave a lot to be desired and all existing remedies seem to be failing. In contrast, I claim that the emotionality of creating and enjoying the arts only stimulates good values. I am touching on a far-reaching element of existence, a delicate area, since this perspective also affects cultural heritage. This is not just mental impact. Faulty behavior of people can lead to anarchy. People who campaign for a fairer justice system can still be found. The late French Minister of Justice Robert Badinter gave a speech to the French National Assembly in 1981. He successfully argued for the abolition of the death penalty by guillotine. Today his two-hour speech is considered a French cultural asset. He also campaigned for television in French prison cells. To bring in better understanding. Modern societies want nothing to do with this, even so the cultural value of a nation can be effectively measured by the penal system. It is understandable - one cannot love every fellow human being, but not a single one should be despised. The mistakes made in this context are enormous and the allocation of mistakes is directed at all social groups in a nation, according to the order, pay back to society. Therefore, two aspects must be considered. Firstly, a criminal act has always a circumstantial connection to society. When looking closely at the circumstances of the act, it is appropriate to consider complicity, because it is often the condemning society that has driven a person to commit the crime. The second aspect relates to reintegration. The order, pay back to society demanded by the very same society requires a penal system that makes this possible. I refer once again to the cultural context, and recall Robert Badinter's speech and the fact that society has faith in a failed system. I divide prisoners into three groups: innocents, circumstantial criminals and hard-core criminals. Innocents must be released as soon as possible, circumstantial criminals should be reintegrated and hard-core criminals should be broken, by teaching them the concept of right/wrong without physical pain, just psychotherapeutic and time. But to do this they need an appropriate intellectual substance, which should be taught individually if there is need to catch up. From this, the formula of the general imperative by Immanuel Kant could now be usefully applied. Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time want that it become a universal law. However, maxims in the sense of moral value are no longer in demand today. My analysis of the formula and the followed sentence shows how morality and law contradict. Kant could not have known at the time, not even suspected, that morality and law would be subject to such disregard. This categorical imperative by Kant became a fact when he included duty as a decisive factor in his formula. When duty is recognized by a society, things begin to function better. The individual human being enables him: herself to act as its own legislator. Such a lifestyle does not require laws. I can imagine a future, wherein immorality eliminates itself in the making for a majority of citizens of the world. Once again, I refer to the cultural context, recalling Robert Badinter's speech and the fact that society trusts an inadequate system and, in addition, to the emotionality of creating and enjoying art, which only stimulates good values. As humanity, we have reached the point where a spiritual leap, the escape from imprisonment (including the free citizen) determined by contradiction, is possible and per se must happen. Repetitive thinkers who chew over what has previously been thought and refuse to swallow should keep their mouths shut and let those speak, able to implement artistically sensed, social-ethical ideas. In this way, the word art would not give anyone cause for struggle, we all would sense one and the same declaration of the arts. Peter Ochsner Nairobi, January 2024
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Overview: Language, mental acuity, man/woman relation African village society Corruption and welfare Science, politics, public finance Ethical values Experience has shown that prison reforms are extremely complex and therefore not sustainable. Unfortunately, the source of the error lies in the system. A long chain of human inadequacies can be seen as responsible for this. And as in all areas of life, it is the three well-known basic elements that prevent progress - language, ability to think and man/woman relationships.
Men and women in discourse as counter-balancing opposites are existentially indispensable and decisive within the socio-ecological sphere. It has been scientifically proven that languages and our ability to think manifest inadequate, therefore, man-made systems cannot be perfect. On the basis of this condition, the following findings become possible. § A family man caught stealing food. With the breadwinner in prison, wife and children to suffer most. § Downright inhumane is to take away a mother from her children. § Separation of hard-core criminals and petty offenders in lock up. § Human behavior should, but cannot be regulated. § Nobody has the right to judge another person. It certainly appears prudent to ask for constant mental health evaluation of constitutional protected citizens. This is not in reference to basic human rights but a moral obligation for societies to survive. I have used the term survive intentionally because the modern lifestyle slowly wears away provision of this fundamental right, especially for marginalized individuals, even communities. Ahead of colonization, corruption, even falsehood in the form of blunt lies within cohabitating African communities, was not present to the extent of today. Therefore, it can be assumed that foreign impact (colonization) based on greed is the reason for corrupt behavior today. It is imperative to mention that this interpretation should be regarded as a psychological, not a political concept. Like this can the constitutional rights of the individual remain protected. However, I would like to approach this philosophically to excite a broader spectrum of socio-economic views. The content raises a wide range of questions, such as: How does corruption affect the wellbeing of societies? The rhetorical discourse of the matter at hand has led to talking in circles, if I may say so. Unfortunately, none of the efforts have improved the situation and this is why a philosophical approach is required. As a validation, I would like to mention the often expressed, now acknowledged incorrect opinion of philosophy has to follow science. We all know of rather negative impacts on the environment (natural habitat) and mental health (mainly advanced societies), because the combination of scientific knowledge, political will and financial opportunities favor corruption, which may be inconsistent with philosophical interpretations. Let me fast forward the topic of this essay to a possible solution. To achieve acceptance, the negative impacts of bribery on welfare in relation to gross national product (GNP) must be understood and recognized by society. And I ask again, how does corruption affect the wellbeing of societies? This time I add - in long terms - to the question. Example. A police officer is given power over any citizen just because wearing a uniform. People therefore accept that and pay bribes to avoid being taken to court and consequently, if judged (doubtful) guilty, to prison. The moralistic wrongness of this development should be a major problem, an unacceptable one, in every country. Nobody is able to answer the question - how does corruption affect the wellbeing of societies? Corruption is such a complex reality and is being alternated by the hour. In this darkness, corruption can be explained but its course of impact is not really understood. Which points at the long-term proposition to analyze the moral implications of the threat to future generations. Unfortunately, African philosophy is being down-talked but I believe that good conduct has been present around here long before the New Testament was written. There are indicators which do relate to that. We as people are bound to live in harmony in order to survive. There is little scientific will in supporting the thought - science must follow philosophy. Scientific knowledge, political will, financial ability and corruption are problems created and maintained by mature, adult people. Young people learn leadership skills in institutions, also planned and developed by adults. Seen from this point of view, education corresponds to a false basic idea, since education is a scientific endeavor. Therefore, prison reform is in the hands of mature grown people. My solution (in short) is to give up talking in circles and allow young, unspoiled minds to participate. Prison reform should not, cannot root in prisons, related offices or conferences but within society. Society incorporates the scientist, the politician, the financier and the police officer among others. Numerous studies indicate, not necessarily conclude, that societies tend to ignore if not dismiss issues related to judiciary and penal system. Over time this paradigm has strengthened itself, given the fast-evolving lifestyle, which as a result drastically widens the rich/poor gap, so up-bringing the number of petty offenders. And a positive side effect can be found within. If our children are being educated according to science must follow philosophy, for generations to come, the likewise negative affected socio-cultural aspect will be cured from within. Prison reform is only possible, if society agrees to reform itself. I have been teaching art (creative writing) for almost ten years at the Langata Women Prison, Nairobi and learned how useful a released offender could become for society, provided the reintegration programs are tailored to the capacity of a young unspoiled mind. If bribery is an African tradition (as often referred to) the root cause can be found within cultures suffering from extensive political and economic inequality. Over time the praxis of bribery has been perfected without fear of legal prosecution. If the evidence (oral legacy) of good Christian behavior existed in Africa long before Christ was born is genuine, the original practice of give and take got corrupted by the unending desire for wealth, a fact almost every culture has been affected around the globe. And again, I mention: mature adult men and women make use of bribery, therefore affecting their children with the menace. The only possible point of action against is right there, not to show a child the road to wealth by corrupting good cultural behavior. To be clear-sighted on that, African tradition should be understood in this context as a philosophy for the survival seeking humankind. Time has come to unveil that existent philosophy in the minds of African youth. Given their situation between parental failure and absence of political will to serve, the last traces of hope have not yet faded off. As such I may conclude, inmates and youth are entangled by the system in precisely the same socio-economic situation, which cannot be tolerable in long terms. As a result of that their minds are forced to participate in the give and take game. Youth and inmates are constant reintegrated into already failed economic systems. Make no mistake, particularly all systems fail is evident within the so-called civilized world. African Philosophy has not yet found its way onto paper. However, there is that sense of culture driven tradition. In prison we teach our students to take their minds off the daily go-down and focus on art related creativity. The same should apply for African youth. Find and write down your African philosophy based on a culture which always gives slightly more than it takes. Re-create your philosophy based on traditional values of your village communities. You do have the resources, share that enormous grant within yourself only, without loading soil, water and air. It’s not complicated, just learn from mistakes committed since the age of enlightenment. How? You ask, how? Consider the influence of social media and entertainment as disturbing daily go-down equal to the one of prisoners. Social media and aggressive entertainment provide tools to build your own prison around you, you construct it yourself. Then you carry CV and personified jail from one job interview to the next – sorry mate, you lack experience, you are told. Instead, start to talk to each other, start to write it down, your philosophy and then enact. For that, social media contains all mistakes committed by adults, read and don’t repeat. Avoid all advert elements and luring temptations, just begin to be, an African youth. I say again: demanding the same economic opportunities that people in the highly developed North enjoy is not necessarily right, because there the systems are destroying themselves and, in the process, the environment. I might have given my words some poetic weight simply because the topic touches heart and soul. I am almost certain; the mentioned key elements earlier have great influence on how life could be. The secret of emotional equilibrium lies in thinking right, speaking true and the resulting love between man and woman. Peter Ochsner May 2024 Overview: Just-thinking correct brings progress Feeling good through the arts Being human is art (mother) I imagine the cognitive process to be self-constructive, with the aim of finding the absolute right way of doing so. This right-thinking-state must not correspond to the dualistic approach. Viewed this way, it is free will that should prevent us from allowing false or even evil elements in our thinking. This recognition is intended to exclude what has been recognized as incorrect. I refer to the basic moral attitude of every human being, which a priori should be oriented towards what is right and good. Should be because it should befit a requirement of our being. We are free to do good and refrain from doing evil. There is absolutely no connection to religions or philosophies of any kind, because a newborn is granted this free will, the choice between wrong and right, between good and evil. Shortly after birth, however, influence is exerted and it has been proven that it is this influence that has repeatedly led humanity astray. You shouldn't follow any illusions about that. As long as we (the majority) are not prepared to think correctly, technical innovations will not improve the global situation. One must consciously recognize a categorical separation, namely the satisfaction of greed for material more and spiritual peace through expanding cognitive processes. As I mentioned, scientific achievements can satisfy only part of humanity. This statement brings me to the brink of decision – wrong? or right? which leads to an enormous complex of questions if the answer is right.
So, my brief for this essay is: technical progress cannot improve the global situation. At this point you most probably think like the majority. What now? What should happen next? Considerations in this direction are becoming increasingly rare; people accept the modern lifestyle and live according to it. This is probably the biggest, most influential logical fallacy of all time, based on the thesis that technical progress prevents independent thinking, more than that, is a precursor to anarchist behavior. One should not be fooled by a few modern philosophers, declaring technical progress as a panacea. The vast majority of humanity is not involved in this. Therefore, below the promised approach about cognitive processes. Human brain abilities are designed and effective expandable in such a way that continuance would allow a perfect lifestyle for everyone. This claim, however, touches on the social-ethical sphere of mankind, effective an obstacle to the cognitive process. Approached logically, we just have two questions left to answer. What is right, what is wrong? It is important to first define these units in the sense of generally right (allgemein richtig) and just-right (nur-richtig) in particular. On the surface, whatever feels good is generally right. But Just-Right as recognition should persist beyond the present. False thinking should not be important for this thought experiment, especially since my stated goal is to eliminate the same. In doing so, I have also committed the concept of intelligence to a primary obligation. Along every theory, a sharp distinction between wrong and right must be pointed out, because it is possible that this separation is present at the time of birth. Intelligence should be understood as being able to just-right-thinking. Being intelligent therefore means to be able to think right, not wrong and good, not evil. Cognitive process now refers to the neuronal routine. What builds itself independent (social-ethical correct) should remain a requirement. Accordingly, the electro-chemical state is characterized by God logic. This allows me to know what will not remain right beyond the present. It is absolutely pointless to implement technical achievements without long-term knowledge; in effect, such innovations should be viewed as stupidity, in retrospect acknowledged. The recognition of right must be absolute. In neuroanatomy we encounter the membrane potential. There is talk of a neuronal cell membrane as a capacitor and transmembrane channels, effective as resistors. In electronic circuits, so-called timing elements are created when capacitors and resistors interact - the basic condition is the voltage difference, consistent with the word potential - the actual key word for the processes in the cells, therefore also determining the cognitive process. My perception of cognitive processes is based on biological-physical experiences, intended for a specific goal, which means that the explainable process is followed by a sensuality that is only partially capable of reason. The mental imprint of this sensuality finds physical support in the word electric field strength and is the actual effect of the potential voltage difference. I have therefore built up a chain of thoughts which inevitably led me to the word field strength, where field indicates expansion of effect. From electro-chemical reactions, related to a cause, potentials arise, which in my opinion, cause the cognitive process in the broadest sense. My thoughts expand, as expected, the capabilities of these potentials. A self-thought becomes a mystical experience wherein the entire human body is included and the just-element of the cognitive process can be taken from or given to permeation. (Permeation refers to transcendent entanglement of the entire universe) Given my consideration of expanding brain capabilities and the approach of a different way of thinking, the acceleration of evolution of human intelligence will be possible. Faster developing brains will also have an expanded memory capacity. I imagine the cognitive process like three-dimensional waves emanating from one point. It is important to animate this point with the just-right element, readable from the expanded memory, which means that at the basis of a thought, wrong and evil do not exist. I assume that Providence gives us the opportunity to have a say in the evolution of human intelligence. I think this idea has a connection to the sense of existence. It is not the physical expansion of the universe that is important; for that, energies are active, definitely guided by the just-right-theory. It is the field strength of a neuronal voltage potential that, when expanded (universal permeation), can create equal potentials in neuronal environments. And if I reduce my theory to the human body, I again recognize this absolute, error-free influence of energies. In this respect, I find it absurd to call the human brain an organ. Its abilities are set high above the rest, which perhaps even shows the pattern of God logic. The interactions of these three-dimensional waves, based on electro-chemical alterations, are therefore characterized by God logic, achieved by correct thinking. A splendid example would be being able to recognize what will remain right or wrong beyond the present. (We developed today's military industry from bows and arrows!) In cognitive processing, neural potentials arise depending (not electrochemically) on these three-dimensional waves, more so a mystical experience. Until now, correct thinking could be imagined as closed circuits. Right could consist of more or less right, i.e. an unfavorable default for aligning our ideas so that in long terms its context would remain only right. This also applies to: neuronal processes under observation are just visible reactions; the universal recognition of potentials is not included within. I repeat: electro-chemical changes in the brain have no direct relation to the way we think, not to the current, more primitive kind, nor to the long-term just-right version. At the beginning I wrote: I imagine cognitive processing to be self-constructive. I confess, a philosophically rather shaky formulation. As a visual representation of cognitive process, however, it can do; I think I managed the picture quite well. In order to do justice to the philosophical aspect, I have adopted a simple way of thinking. Take a woman, maybe someone from China, someone who can cook well. For many years she has been standing in the same room every day and kept cooking the same dishes. She no longer cooks according to her knowledge, she feels it, her dishes always taste right on the chopsticks. She has become aware of this feeling through experience and has acquired a very good idea of what is just-right. Time and desire to make use of free will initiated reduction of the wrong. She now lives with a kind of inner compulsion which enables that special kind of free thinking. When she cooks in her room, she is inspired by this free spirit, right-cooking has become a mystical process. Her actions are transformed into three-dimensional waves off her mind, which I can read as potential in the Permeation, just as she thought them. My perception of her cooking skills is generated by precisely congruent potential properties (field strength). If my brain mass corresponds to the evolved state of my future mind, I would be able to cook just like her. One question still remains: Will the evolution of human intelligence allow the expanding cognitive process? Peter Ochsner May 2024 |
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