Academic Interests

Philosophy  | History  | Religion
 | Economics  | Psychology  | Political Science
 | Science vs. Religion  | Languages  | IQ Tests & Puzzles

Philosophy

Kabbalah

I look at Kabbalah both as an academic exercise, and an intuitive tool for understanding both myself and the universe. It is quite a flexible system, and could be used by the strict academic, the occult researcher, the magician, and the mystic. For the occult/mystical approach, see my spiritual page.

Objectivism

• The Ayn Rand Institute

Existentialism

• An Introduction to Existentialism

History

Religion

Economics

Money
 
The nature of money intrigues me.   In most ages, gold has been considered a valuable commodity that was synonymous with money.  Now, in the modern age, most money is an electrical signal in a computer.  For more about money and banking, see my liberty page.
 

Democratic Capitalism
 
There is a middle path between socialism and capitalism. It has not really been looked at seriously by academia, but I think is worthwhile investigating. For some thoughts, see In Defense of Democratic Capitalism
 

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Psychology

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Political Science
 
Anarchy
 
Anarchy is a concept that is generally considered in a negative context.  Most people usually think of chaos when they hear the word anarchy.  There are serveral definitions of anarchy:
 
a : absence of government
b : a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
c : a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government

I believe that an absence of government will only lead to chaos if the citizenry is immature and unable to govern themselves in a responsible manner.  When I think of anarchy, I think of a society of mature individuals who have a great deal of respect each as well as themselves.  This would eliminate crime, as crime would not be an acceptable means of obtaining what one desired and people would be acting from a solid moral base.

 
• I have not had the time to go throught this Index to Anarchist Materials, but there looks to be a mountain of material available.
•  Introduction to Anarchism
•  Anarchy and the Media
•  An Anarchist FAQ Webpage This site contains a large collection of essays relating to all aspects of anarchy.  It is going to take me quite a while to go through this material, but from my quick once over, it looks like quality writing.
 

Utopia

 
Utopian writings and ideas are generally considered fantasy, as it is thought that people will never be able to live up to the ideals that are presented in this type of material.  In my opinion, this subject is very much related to the above anarchy section.  Is a utopian society possible?  That is probably an impossible question, as it is extremely unlikely that consensus could be reached on what a utopian society is.
 
Webster's Dictionary:
 
1: an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2: a place of ideal perfection esp. in laws, government, and social conditions
3: an impractical scheme for social improvement.
 
•  Quest for Utopia   What is happiness and utopia for human beings?  This site mentions 'Buddhahood', and the Eightfold Path which gives you an initial indication of its biases, but there are some good questions asked and some good ideas presented.
•  Utopia by Sir Thomas More, reviewed by Greg Sanders.
• A college course  on Utopia, "Utopia: Lehman Scholars' Seminar"
• Aonther  college course, "Utopias Ancient and Modern"
• Information on Sir Thomas More from Oregon State University
• Utopia exits!  The Principality of New Utopia
• Virtual Seminar: Thomas More's Utopia as Political Literature.

George Orwell
 
I read 1984 when I was in Russia!  I really enjoyed Mr. Orwell's writing and found it to be very descriptive of what really goes on when power is concentrated in a few hands.  I think I read Animal Farm in high school, which was before I read 1984.  Animal Farm is an excellent portrayal of how the best ideals eventually are tossed aside for the benefit of those who do the tossing.  One of the most memorable lines that I recall from it is what the animals wrote on the side of the barn, "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others".

 
• Orwell Reader
• George Orwell in Our Age
• Bohemian Ink Biography
• Big Brother Couldn't Forsee the Big C - Consumerism
• A Brief Review of 1984
• Lexicon of Doublespeak
• The text of "Animal Farm" (a Russian server, so you will likely see some strange characters)
•  Big Brother Conspiracies
• American Newspeak  News Stories of the Week

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Languages

Japanese

I have travelled to Japan and met a very special person there. This has sparked my interest in learning the language.

•  JapAlpha   This is an awesome program that will help you learn Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It is like having electronic flashcards (for Win3/95/98). Order yours here.
•  Teach Yourself Japanese  This is a great site to learn the different writing systems in use in Japan.
•  Takaaki Sonobe's Japanese Lessons  
•  Learn Japanese - Free !