The Glass Half
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Wonder workshop 3 by Ian Robinson The Glass Half Whose view wins? Does it really matter? WW3 EXPERIMENTS 1. Looking Around – Creator or Demiurge 2. The Parent Trap 3. Creation and Calling 4. Fear of the Fire 5. Y points 1. LOOK AROUND – WHO WINS? GOAL To introduce the importance of worldview for shaping behaviour. INTRODUCTION Do beliefs matter? Are they all the same in the end? Let’s look around to see what sort of world are we in and how does it work out? EXPLORATION Here is a good contrast in worldview. It involves a bit of reading and discussing a comparison. STEP ONE BIOGRAPHY OF Niccolo Machiavelli 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527, was a writer based in Florence (today’s Italy) during the Renaissance. He was for many years an official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. After the Medici had recovered power, they imprisoned and tortured him for three weeks, and he no longer held a position of responsibility in Florence. It was in retirement (or was he under house-arrest?) that he wrote his masterpiece, The Prince, from which the quotes below are taken. They are instructions for a would-be ruler. His writing is at the start of modern political ethics. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. STEP TWO : Some quotes to begin to get the measure of this man’s beliefs: “Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.” “It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.” Wonder workshop 3 by Ian Robinson 2 “A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.” “The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all”. “Politics have no relation to morals.” DISCUSS: From these short quotes, start to form your picture of the world that Macchiavelli imagines. Is it a world where people live their lives in love and do their best, or is it a dark world of power plays, corrupted without light? Or something else? Now a longer quote from THE PRINCE: I say that every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel. He must, however, take care not to misuse this mercifulness. … A prince, therefore, must not mind incurring the charge of cruelty for the purpose of keeping his subjects united and confident; for, with a very few examples, he will be more merciful than those who, from excess of tenderness, allow disorders to arise, from whence spring murders and rapine; for these as a rule injure the whole community, while the executions carried out by the prince injure only one individual. And of all princes, it is impossible for a new prince to escape the name of cruel, new states being always full of dangers. … Nevertheless, he must be cautious in believing and acting, and must not inspire fear of his own accord, and must proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence does not render him incautious, and too much diffidence does not render him intolerant. From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved. The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be wanting. For it may be said of men in general that they are ungrateful, voluble, dissemblers, anxious to avoid danger, and covetous of gain ; as long as you benefit them, they are entirely yours; they offer you their blood, their goods, their life, and their children, as I have before said, when the necessity is remote; but when it approaches, they revolt. And the prince who has relied solely on their words, without making other preparations, is ruined, for the friendship which is gained by purchase and not through grandeur and nobility of spirit is merited but is not secured, and at times is not to be had. And men have less scruple in offending one who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared; for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails. (Ch. 17, as translated by Luigi Ricci (1903)) It was the verdict of ancient writers that men afflict themselves in evil and weary themselves in the good, and that the same effects result from both of these passions. For whenever men are not obliged to fight from necessity, they fight from ambition; which is so powerful in human breasts, that it never leaves them no matter to what rank they rise. The reason is that nature has so created men that they are able to desire everything but are not able to attain everything: so that the desire being always greater than the acquisition, there results 3 Wonder workshop 3 by Ian Robinson discontent with the possession and little satisfaction to themselves from it.From this arises the changes in their fortunes; for as men desire, some to have more, some in fear of losing their acquisition, there ensues enmity and war, from which results the ruin of that province and the elevation of another. Book 1, Ch. 37 STEP THREE COMMENTS Some say that M was firmly tongue in cheek. It was more a satire about the Medici. Others say that he has been so persuasive that he can be called the founder of political philosophy . Here are two modern comments about him: Machiavelli calls the bluff not just of official morality—the hypocrisies of ordinary life—but of one of the foundations of the central Western philosophical tradition, the belief in the ultimate compatibility of all genuine values. His own withers are unwrung. He has made his choice. He seems wholly unworried by, indeed scarcely aware of, parting company with traditional Western morality. Isaiah Berlin, "A Special Supplement: The Question of Machiavelli" (1971) The founder of modern political philosophy is Machiavelli. He tried to effect, and he did effect, a break with the whole tradition of political philosophy. He compared his achievement to that of men like Columbus. He claimed to have discovered a new moral continent. His claim is well founded; his political teaching is "wholly new." The only question is whether the new continent is fit for human habitation. Leo Strauss, "What is Political Philosophy?", published in What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies (1959) DISCUSS: Is this how the world really works? Is it reality-check time? the ‘real politick’? Jesus comments are very different. STEP FOUR BIOGRAPHY OF JESUS CHRIST Born in Bethlehem around 2BC (more or less) and executed in Jerusalem by the Roman Empire in 33AD, Jesus is the God-figure and prophet of billions of Christians. He lived a life of miracles, healing and teaching which Christians believe was authenticated by God when he rose again after being certified dead.. His life is historically verified, but there have always been competing experiences and views about him, different formulations and different movements (churches), and some of them are toxic. However, through confidence in him and his teaching, we have seen the powerful rise of powerlessness – that is, such values as the importance of community, service, humility and the relegation of power, trust in the outcomes of life, work to a purpose, personal self-control as the basis of all ethics. Due to his principle of broadly sharing the gifts and compassion of God, we witness the development in many places around the world, wherever Christians go, of universal health, freedom and education. It is unique in world Wonder workshop 3 by Ian Robinson 4 history. These became ‘common sense’ in many cultures that are at this time rejecting his leadership. Time will tell. STEP FIVE SOME SHORT QUOTES THEN A LONGER ONE ‘Crunch question’ according to Jesus is : Love God and love your neighbour. That covers everything. (get the full quote in Matt 22.38-40) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone. The first followers put it in these words: Faith hope and love are all enduring values, but the greatest of these is love.; I Cor 13.13) The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.