Recently, I wanted to find out more about two brothers – not just any brothers, but, alongside Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel and the brothers Thomas and Heinrich Mann, two men who could hardly be more important for the intellectual history of Germany: Georg and Ludwig Büchner. One of them recognized as a literary genius only decades after his death, while the other was a celebrity in his time.
How bad is AI (Askgpt)? Incredibly bad! weiterlesenKategorie: prospects
TrumpoLitics, MuskaRade – an era of lawlessness begins
After more than half a century of peace at least in the Western world, the starting signal for the beginning of a new era of lawlessness in international relations has just been sounded in the US. Donald Trump wants to place the Panama Canal, up to now the property of a sovereign state, under US administration, i.e. occupy it. Not without reason, of course. The US is vitally dependent on the sea route for trade between the west and east coasts of the country, as the completely outdated and dilapidated rail infrastructure is unable to cope with the trade and transport by road is too expensive. In 1989, the United States already saw its interests threatened. At that time, it took appropriate action against dictator Noriega. Trump is a cold-blooded realist. He knows exactly what will happen after such an attack. There will be short-term outcry, especially from South America but otherwise:
TrumpoLitics, MuskaRade – an era of lawlessness begins weiterlesenWohin will Klaus von Dohnanyi Deutschland führen?
(Ich habe den Aufsatz an einige jener Autoren versandt, die von Dohnanyi in seinem Buch „Nationale Interessen“ zitiert)
Die folgenden Gedanken sind das Ergebnis der Lektüre zweier Bücher eines sehr klugen, hervorragend informierten und erfahrenen deutschen Politikers, des ehemaligen Hamburger Bürgermeisters und späteren Bundesminister für Bildung und Wissenschaft Klaus von Dohnanyi, der trotz immenser Belesenheit, trotz eines fast immer bemerkenswert ausgewogenen Urteils gleichwohl beim Bündnis Sarah Wagenknecht (BSW) eine späte politische Heimat fand – einer Partei, die mehr als nur US-kritisch ist, während sie Putin und sein Regime mit Samthandschuhen behandelt. Wie kann sich ein kluger Mann derart verirren?
Wohin will Klaus von Dohnanyi Deutschland führen? weiterlesenCan we still be saved?
Confronted with such a question, the critical reader will think of several counter-questions. Who is meant by „we“? From “what” are we meant to be saved? And “who” dares to ask such a curious question? Can we still be saved? weiterlesen
All against all: the cyberwar against truth and reason
(section taken from my yet unpublished new book »Homo Faber – what holodoxy tells us about the future of man«)
Hardly any thinking person today would still claim that the „progress“ of weapons technology makes the world a better let alone safer place, but this was precisely the prediction made with regard to the internet and the social media. The interconnectedness of all with all appeared to its creators as a promise of worldwide dissemination of truth and knowledge. The fact that everyone could now express their opinions and that these could, in principle, be heard by everyone else on the globe was even hailed as the dawn of a new global democracy.
All against all: the cyberwar against truth and reason weiterlesenTechnópolis – the promise of eternal bliss
For the longest time in our history, we Europeans believed that the devil would only grant us a miserable existence in this vale of tears. Real happiness for man only existed in a paradise up somewhere in heaven. In the seventeenth century, however, the Enlightenment set in. It taught us that we only had to become reasonable, then nothing would prevent us from realizing paradise here and now.
Technópolis – the promise of eternal bliss weiterlesenSome rather aberrant reflections about schoolyards, wars, NATO, Russia, and China
Not only scientists, but all people are constantly searching for causes to explain the course of their own lives and that of the world in general. This need becomes particularly strong when death and life are at stake. War makes each of us an explorer of primary causes. Some rather aberrant reflections about schoolyards, wars, NATO, Russia, and China weiterlesen
Germany – a Banana Republic?
The critics of representative democracy suspect it of disenfranchising voters because they are prevented from voting directly on legislative proposals. This accusation ignores social reality, which has changed fundamentally since ancient Greece and the Germanic Thing, where free men (women were still excluded) decided on war and peace and many other basic concerns. Modern society has become so complex that most decisions require technical expertise that can only be provided by specialists. Germany – a Banana Republic? weiterlesen
The Verdikt
The ruling against oil company Shell, forcing it to reduce CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030, is a landmark – the dawn of a new era. For the first time, the fate of a major corporation is no longer exclusively in its own hands, nor ruled by government regulations; instead, it is civil society that determines its freedom of action. The Verdikt weiterlesen
Future – God’s eighth Day of Creation?
When studying and trying to understand the past, we always do so in order to cope with the present and be better equipped for the future – that’s a truism. But our endeavors become difficult when the past provides us with contradictory signals so that the future turns into mystery. Then it can happen that our certainties waver and we look for completely new orientations and even concepts. Future – God’s eighth Day of Creation? weiterlesen
Yes, we can – No, we must! Build a better, sustainable World
When contemporaries talk about the dark years of Nazi rule, they want to make us believe, consciously or not, that they themselves would have been immune to the poison of inhuman propaganda. The fact is, however, that about 99 percent of Germans did not openly resist the regime, and a large part of them were eager to clap their hands at the big parades. Yes, we can – No, we must! Build a better, sustainable World weiterlesen
Jenner on Jenner: Outline of a mind-related biography
As human beings we are controlled by emotions and by our intellect – at any time both are invariably involved, even if it sometimes seems as if we are dealing with either purely emotional people or pure intellectuals. A mathematic formula, for example, which to an average person may seem as cold, lifeless and repellent as a prison wall, may produce enchantment and ecstasy in a mathematician who perceives it something extremely beautiful and elegant. In other words, he experiences much the same feelings as a musician who is playing Mozart or Bach. Feelings and the intellect don’t present themselves to us with an either-or, but we may definitely speak of prevailing tendencies.
Jenner on Jenner: Outline of a mind-related biography weiterlesen