Memoriale Diem

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin

May 30th is Memorial Day in the US. Officially, it’s a holiday designated by the national government to honor those who died in military service. 

 

There’s a tendency for people, especially government officials and their nationalist supporters, to toss about phrases such as "they gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country." Grand ceremonies are held, especially at military cemeteries, full of patriotic pomp and circumstance.

The problem with such displays is that they risk glorifying death. Stalin was right only to the extent that it’s a normal human reaction when confronted with large numbers of deaths to lose sight that everyone killed was human, regardless of what side they fought. We tend to forget that each one was a person with hopes and dreams. 

Every death from war is a tragedy. 

Memorial Day isn’t a day of celebration. Nor is it a day of patriotic pride. It’s a day for mourning the lives taken too soon through the waste of war.

Qabalah for Wiccans

I think I’ve mentioned before that we’re in a golden age of books on occult and Paganism. An example of this golden age is Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magick on the Pagan Path, by Jack Chanek. 

 

In Qabalah for Wiccans, Chanek explains how the Hermetic Qabalah played an important role in developing many of the beliefs and rituals found in modern Neopaganism. By understanding this connection, the reader can better appreciate the importance of the Qabalah, even if they don’t wish to make it part of their practice. 

At the start of the book, Chanek addresses the skeleton in the closet. The roots of the Hermetic Qabalah exist in the antisemitism of the Christian Cabala. The Christian Cabala was created as part of the concerted efforts by Christians to eradicate the Jewish population and to appropriate their traditions, such as the Jewish Kabbalah. This was an outgrowth of the Christian doctrine of supersessionism, which claims that Christianity fulfills and replaces Judaism. A belief that’s still taught in many Christian churches today. 

This dark history of the Qabalah raises important questions. With its antisemitic roots, should the Hermetic Qabalah be used by contemporary Pagans? Or is it okay to work with the Hermetic Qabalah as long as we acknowledge its antisemitic past? Each person must decide their own answer.

Rather than focusing on teaching each Sepiroth one at a time, Chanek organizes the book around the structure of the Tree of Life. By doing so, Chanek explains not only individual Sepiroth but how they relate. Another difference is that rather than beginning at the top of the Tree, Chanek begins at the “lowest,” the material realm, and works his way up.

After covering the Tree of Life, Chanek includes several chapters on correspondences, colors, and other ties-ins with Wiccan beliefs and rituals. Of these chapters, the one that I found most interesting was about the gods and the Qabalah. I expected Chanek to follow the stereotypical Wiccan Duotheistic viewpoint. Instead, his views are much more complex and nuanced. 

Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.

Philosophy Bro

“All we are is dust in the wind, dude.” – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Let’s face it, studying philosophy is hard. Some philosophers’ writings are so convoluted one wonders if they intentionally tried to confuse the reader. And some philosophical concepts are challenging to understand even when their philosophers’ writings are straightforward. 

This difficulty is unfortunate because philosophy is an essential field of study. While I consider Socrates’ statement, “An unexamined life is not worth living,” hyperbole, I believe there is some truth to it. Many of our problems in this contemporary age result from people’s failure to apply philosophy to their decisions.  

However, we have resources at our disposal that were not around in the past. The internet, for better or worse, is here to stay. And while it’s full of misinformation and empty time-killing material, there are some bright spots. One of those bright spots is a website titled ‘Philosophy Bro.’ 

 

Philosophy Bro is a website designed for the average person. Built and maintained by Tommy Maranges, a writer and game designer based in Brooklyn, NY, Philosophy Bro translates complex philosophical ideas into everyday language. Philosophy Bro has sections on Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, and Political Theory. It also has essays on the ideas of philosophers from Aristotle to Susan Wolf.

Whether proficient in philosophy or a newbie, I highly recommend Philosophy Bro.

Danger, Will Robinson!

“You shouldn’t fear immigrants taking your job; you should fear robots.” – Sead Fadilpasic.

Advances in AI are all the talk of the town. And for good reason. Programs such as Midjourney and ChatGPT are very impressive at creating art and text, respectfully. It’s premature to declare these AI programs “sentient.” Sentience requires a general understanding of the world and can function in various areas. Instead, AI programs are currently limited to addressing specific functions, such as writing or art, but not anything outside their specialty.

While the ethical questions about future developments in Artificial Intelligence are interesting, and I want to explore that later, the more pressing problem is the real-world impact of the current level of AI on human affairs. 

AI does have the potential to aid humanity. AI is expected to help streamline processes, and it’s expected to aid in research and scientific studies. All of these may result in not only saving time and money but may also help save lives.

However, the picture of AI isn’t all positive. There’s evidence that the source material used to teach AI has included inappropriate use of copyrighted material. More importantly, AI will replace people’s jobs. Automation has long been known to be a significant player in the loss of jobs, as much or more so than outsourcing. Another concern is that programs like ChatGPT could be used to spread fake news and misinformation. Journalists with news organizations such as The Guardian and USAToday have found that ChatGPT makes up nonexistent sources for studies with incorrect claims. 

Whether we like it or not, AI is here to stay. Pandora’s box has been opened, and it’s impossible to return its contents. What’s necessary is societal oversight in the form of governmental regulation to mitigate its toxic elements.