One vote one person is not Democracy; the freedom from undue political influence by organised interest groups, from social coercion and mass deception, where respectful public deliberation is the primary means of reaching agreement, and voting is there only to certify the state of agreement and not used as a substitute for it, is democracy. Disagreement, bad faith, coercion, or deception cannot be meaningfully re-presented. The system we live in is not democracy.
Individuals form groups, in good faith, to serve the interest of the individual; it would be absurd to form a group to serve the group, akin to idolatry ‘for its own sake’. Therefore, all forms of collectivism are false, and beneath their absurdity hides bad faith of the few.
What I mean by Humanism
The term Humanism has been used to signify a range of sometimes contradictory views. I consider most of these views logically deficient. When I refer to Humanism I mean that conscious rational agency (the Kantian definition of Human) is a universal, fundamental value (which we all implicitly affirm by acting intentionally), and a condition of all meaning. On this view, all actions that negate the humanity of others also negate our own humanity, which is ultimately self-destructive. I explain and defend this form of ontological Humanism and associated ethics here: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3737433
Consistent, ontological Humanism is compatible with religion, insofar as religious traditions symbolically encode the moral essence of human existence: especially the golden rule. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3883011
The term Humanism has been used to signify a range of sometimes contradictory views. I consider most of these views logically deficient. When I refer to Humanism I mean that conscious rational agency (the Kantian definition of Human) is a universal, fundamental value (which we all implicitly affirm by acting intentionally), and a condition of all meaning. On this view, all actions that negate the humanity of others also negate our own humanity, which is ultimately self-destructive. I explain and defend this form of ontological Humanism and associated ethics here: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3737433
Consistent, ontological Humanism is compatible with religion, insofar as religious traditions symbolically encode the moral essence of human existence: especially the golden rule. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3883011
Ssrn
Ontological-Transcendental Defence of Metanormative Realism
If there is something (P) that every possible agent is committed to value, and certain actions or attitudes either enhance or diminish P, then normative claims
“Communes have a lot in common, a common ethos, but unable to individually generate lifesaving healthcare, mechanised transport, defence, communication technology, manufacturing etc so they have the natural tendency to unite into a system of communes, Communitarianism, under a Central Committee.” The ethos of the Commune can result in only two logical outcomes: a) aggregation into a communitarian system (really, communism), or b) a suicide cult. This is what the so called “freedom movement” in Australia seems to be steered toward.
Profit is not of itself a motive for action. The pursuit of wealth requires a higher motive, a purpose the wealth and the associated power are accumulated for. Wealth/power is always a means, not an end. The ultimate aim of action is always the same: meaning.
If gender is a social construct then it is not, by definition, an individual feeling; it must by socially verifiable, not individually asserted. And if gender is just a freely chosen denoscriptor, then it is nothing but a nickname.
The WHO defines ‘gender’ as follows: “Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed… Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to the person’s physiology or designated sex at birth.” These statements contradict one another: if gender is socially constructed then it cannot be just an individual feeling or experience.
“I will not apologise for killing a few innocent people to keep the rest of you safe.” Said the man in a blue suit.
Forwarded from Normal Chat
Giving the mob a fuse, something to burn, smash up and then get bored, is a counter revolutionary strategy. Fake revolution frustrates real revolution.
If, as the man said, “the revolution will not be televised”, then whatever is televised is not the revolution.
Employers and universities are still conducting surveys on the support for vaccine mandates. They want to know what you think because they are concerned about liability.
A recent survey at La Trobe University (Melbourne, July 2022) showed that 32% of the staff and students oppose vaccine mandates. The previous survey, completed in October 2021, showed only 18% opposition to the mandates. The opinion is shifting and I suspect the relevant institutions will drop the mandates when parity between support and opposition to the mandates is reached. They are letting us decide, in a kind of democratic way, whether their unethical policy (killing a few people for the benefit of the many and removing the right to free medical consent) should continue. Until the majority becomes ethical, we all suffer.
A recent survey at La Trobe University (Melbourne, July 2022) showed that 32% of the staff and students oppose vaccine mandates. The previous survey, completed in October 2021, showed only 18% opposition to the mandates. The opinion is shifting and I suspect the relevant institutions will drop the mandates when parity between support and opposition to the mandates is reached. They are letting us decide, in a kind of democratic way, whether their unethical policy (killing a few people for the benefit of the many and removing the right to free medical consent) should continue. Until the majority becomes ethical, we all suffer.
My letter to La Trobe University Student Union (10 July 2022)
I am a Melbourne-based philosopher/ethicist and apparently the leading voice in the academic debate questioning the ethical permissibility of vaccine mandates.
My close friend is a student at La Trobe and has informed me about two surveys conducted by the university, gauging the level of support for mandatory vaccination of staff and students attending the university.
The most recent survey (July 2022) showed 32% of the staff and students opposing the mandate. The previous survey, completed in October 2021, showed 18% opposing the mandate. The opinion is shifting and I suspect that La Trobe will drop the mandates when parity between support and opposition is reached.
I share with you the following statement of my position on this issue, which I hope will be of assistance. An earlier version of this statement was formally submitted to the Inquiry into Public Health Amendment Bill 2021 (No 2) ACT, subsequently published at https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2022/04/26/medethics-2022-108229.responses#fundamental-values-are-not-defeated-by-utilitarian-calculus
Summary of the three strongest arguments against the ethical permissibility of vaccine mandates and why any medical procedure imposed by coercion must be refused:
1. Vaccine mandates imply that all humans are born in a defective, inherently harmful state that must be biotechnologically augmented to allow their unrestricted participation in society, and this constitutes discrimination on the basis of healthy, innate characteristics of the human race. (This point derives from my paper published here: https://jme.bmj.com/content/48/4/240).
2. Medical consent must be free – not coerced – in order to be valid. Any discrimination against the unvaccinated is economic or social opportunity coercion, precluding the possibility of valid medical consent. The right to free, uncoerced medical consent is not negotiable, under any circumstances, because without it we have no rights at all; every other right can be subverted by medical coercion. Crucially, by accepting any medical treatment imposed by coercion we would be acquiescing to the taking away of the right to free medical consent not just from ourselves but from our children and from future generations, and we do not have the right to do this. Acquiescence to medical coercion is always unethical, even if the mandated intervention were a placebo.
3. Vaccines are known to occasionally cause deaths of healthy people. When an employee is required to receive vaccination as a condition of employment, that employee is economically coerced to participate in an activity where some percentage of employees are expected to die ‘in the course of employment’ as a direct result of the mandated activity. This goes against the fundamental principles of medical ethics and workplace safety. It may be objected that infectious pathogens also kill people, but these two categories of deaths are not ethically equivalent. Infection with a pathogen for which there exists a vaccine is not mandated, whereas deaths resulting from mandatory vaccination are mandated deaths, a legalised killing of some people for the prospective benefit of the majority. Critically, any discrimination against the unvaccinated (or a privileged treatment of the vaccinated) amounts to a violation of the right to life, because a small percentage of the targeted population are expected to die as a result of this coercive treatment.
If the Union would support the removal of mandatory vaccination, for reasons explained above, and communicate these reasons to your members, I believe you could defeat this unethical policy by gaining the necessary shift in the level of support.
I am a Melbourne-based philosopher/ethicist and apparently the leading voice in the academic debate questioning the ethical permissibility of vaccine mandates.
My close friend is a student at La Trobe and has informed me about two surveys conducted by the university, gauging the level of support for mandatory vaccination of staff and students attending the university.
The most recent survey (July 2022) showed 32% of the staff and students opposing the mandate. The previous survey, completed in October 2021, showed 18% opposing the mandate. The opinion is shifting and I suspect that La Trobe will drop the mandates when parity between support and opposition is reached.
I share with you the following statement of my position on this issue, which I hope will be of assistance. An earlier version of this statement was formally submitted to the Inquiry into Public Health Amendment Bill 2021 (No 2) ACT, subsequently published at https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2022/04/26/medethics-2022-108229.responses#fundamental-values-are-not-defeated-by-utilitarian-calculus
Summary of the three strongest arguments against the ethical permissibility of vaccine mandates and why any medical procedure imposed by coercion must be refused:
1. Vaccine mandates imply that all humans are born in a defective, inherently harmful state that must be biotechnologically augmented to allow their unrestricted participation in society, and this constitutes discrimination on the basis of healthy, innate characteristics of the human race. (This point derives from my paper published here: https://jme.bmj.com/content/48/4/240).
2. Medical consent must be free – not coerced – in order to be valid. Any discrimination against the unvaccinated is economic or social opportunity coercion, precluding the possibility of valid medical consent. The right to free, uncoerced medical consent is not negotiable, under any circumstances, because without it we have no rights at all; every other right can be subverted by medical coercion. Crucially, by accepting any medical treatment imposed by coercion we would be acquiescing to the taking away of the right to free medical consent not just from ourselves but from our children and from future generations, and we do not have the right to do this. Acquiescence to medical coercion is always unethical, even if the mandated intervention were a placebo.
3. Vaccines are known to occasionally cause deaths of healthy people. When an employee is required to receive vaccination as a condition of employment, that employee is economically coerced to participate in an activity where some percentage of employees are expected to die ‘in the course of employment’ as a direct result of the mandated activity. This goes against the fundamental principles of medical ethics and workplace safety. It may be objected that infectious pathogens also kill people, but these two categories of deaths are not ethically equivalent. Infection with a pathogen for which there exists a vaccine is not mandated, whereas deaths resulting from mandatory vaccination are mandated deaths, a legalised killing of some people for the prospective benefit of the majority. Critically, any discrimination against the unvaccinated (or a privileged treatment of the vaccinated) amounts to a violation of the right to life, because a small percentage of the targeted population are expected to die as a result of this coercive treatment.
If the Union would support the removal of mandatory vaccination, for reasons explained above, and communicate these reasons to your members, I believe you could defeat this unethical policy by gaining the necessary shift in the level of support.
I wrote before that the Government can never fully control the individual mind, but I failed to note that they can test your moral conscience and find out how human you are.
“The good patient-citizen takes their politico-medical sacrament by donating their body to science, shot by shot, booster by booster in infinitude for purification and atonement. Practicing the rite of receiving a piercing puncture and risking a life-altering injury atones for the original sin of an unclean, diseased, infectious bodily state. The infusion with state-of-the-art nanoparticle gene-based agents cleanses, at the molecular level, all biochemical traces of selfish human indulgence from the sins of social intercourse: travel, work, friendship, love, conversation, affection, sex, reproduction. Thus, man as a carbon-based life form can practice in self-righteous faith the new state rituals of self-loathing and self-denial by despising, as he is instructed to do, his own carbon footprint. Furthermore, the pain of the injection site, the fatigue, the headaches, the nausea, the blood clots, the heart attacks, the strokes, all hallowed suffering — marks of martyrdom — punish the flesh to chase out the demons of infectiousness.” https://propagandainfocus.com/the-serpent-and-the-staff-symbols-of-safety-and-security-in-the-propaganda-of-a-global-medical-tyranny/