Coming -- Better Wind Power

Forbes magazine is reporting on a new design for wind power that does not involve turbines or blades.  It is much cheaper to maintain and can be down-sized to the order of the electrical needs of an individual house.  Though not an engineer, I think this approach is sound and should be pursued:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/05/07/wind-power-without-the-mills/2/?ss=energy

Nomocratic versus Teleocratic

In 1975, Michael Oakeshott’s On Human Conduct [see yesterday’s Daily Quiddity entry of this blog] distinguished between ‘nomocratic’ and ‘teleocratic’ regimes. The latter, he claimed, seek to impose an abstract vision of human flourishing onto contingent historical circumstances. Teleocratic regimes take their orientation from a particular philosophical goal, or telos, and slash through the dense web of custom and tradition in order to implement it. In teleocratic regimes, the law shapes history.

Nomocratic regimes are more modest. Rather than attempting to alter their societies, these regimes seek to protect the traditional liberties and social norms of their citizens, their nomos. Whereas the teleocratic regime is universal and philosophic, its nomocratic counterpart is local and historical. One might point, for example, to the early-modern British Common Lawyers, who (as J.G.A. Pocock has shown) sought to erect a legal order upon precedent and prescription. In nomocratic regimes, then, the law reflects history.

Oakeshott saw the teleocratic regime as uniquely modern. Yet he said little about how such a regime might evolve from a nomocratic one, and was vague about where, historically, the border between them lay.

static.uni-graz.at/.../Docservice/20140227_History_and_the_Law.pdf

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Nomocracy [Wikipedia redirects this

term to its article on “Rule of Law”]

The rule of law is the legal principle that law should govern a nation, as opposed to being governed by arbitrary decisions of individual government officials. It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behavior, including behavior of government officials.  The phrase can be traced back to 16th century England, and it was popularized in the 19th century by British jurist A. V. Dicey.  The concept was familiar to ancient philosophers such as Aristotle, who wrote "Law should govern".

Rule of law implies that every citizen is subject to the law, including law makers themselves. In this sense, it stands in contrast to an autocracy, collective leadership, dictatorship, or oligarchy where the rulers are held above the law. Lack of the rule of law can be found in both democracies and dictatorships, for example because of neglect or ignorance of the law, and the rule of law is more apt to decay if a government has insufficient corrective mechanisms for restoring it. Government based upon the rule of law is called nomocracy.

History

Although credit for popularizing the expression "the rule of law" in modern times is usually given to A. V. Dicey, development of the legal concept can be traced through history to many ancient civilizations, including ancient Greece, China, Mesopotamia, India  and Rome.

In the West, the ancient Greeks initially regarded the best form of government as rule by the best men.  Plato advocated a benevolent monarchy ruled by an idealized philosopher king, who was above the law.  Plato nevertheless hoped that the best men would be good at respecting established laws, explaining that "Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state."  More than Plato attempted to do, Aristotle flatly opposed letting the highest officials wield power beyond guarding and serving the laws.  In other words, Aristotle advocated the rule of law:

It is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens: upon the same principle, if it is advantageous to place the supreme power in some particular persons, they should be appointed to be only guardians, and the servants of the laws.

According to the Roman statesman Cicero, "We are all servants of the laws in order that we may be free."  During the Roman Republic, controversial magistrates might be put on trial when their terms of office expired. Under the Roman Empire, the sovereign was personally immune (legibus solutus), but those with grievances could sue the treasury.

In China, members of the school of legalism during the 3rd century BC argued for using law as a tool of governance, but they promoted "rule by law" as opposed to "rule of law", meaning that they placed the aristocrats and emperor above the law.  In contrast, the Huang-Lao school of Daoism rejected legal positivism in favor of a natural law that even the ruler would be subject to.

There has recently been an effort to reevaluate the influence of the Bible on Western constitutional law. In the Old Testament, there was some language in Deuteronomy imposing restrictions on the Jewish king, regarding such things as how many wives he could have, and how many horses he could own for his personal use. According to Professor Bernard M. Levinson, "This legislation was so utopian in its own time that it seems never to have been implemented...."  The Deuteronomic social vision may have influenced opponents of the divine right of kings, including Bishop John Ponet in sixteenth-century England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law

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Teleological

Variant of teleology
noun

1. the study of final causes
2. the fact or quality of being directed toward a definite end or of having an ultimate purpose, esp. as attributed to natural processes
3.  
1. a belief, as that of vitalism, that natural phenomena are determined not only by mechanical causes but by an overall design or purpose in nature
2. the study of evidence for this belief
4. Ethics:  the evaluation of conduct, as in utilitarianism, in relation to the end or ends it serves

          http://www.yourdictionary.com/teleological

 

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Summary by the Blog Author

Thus a teleological approach to government is one for which the institutions and laws are geared toward the results achieved and ends served.  This teleological bent is different from the rule of law approach (nomological) in that the head of state probably asserts sovereign immunity and the actions of the government are judged by whether the ends are reached rather than by whether the agents followed the law as subordinates to it.

Positive Quiddity: Michael Oakeshott

Introduction by the Blog Author

Cambridge Professor Michael Oakeshott wrote a book in 1974 of three essays entitled On Human Conduct.  It was published in 1975 and reprinted as a paperback in 1991.

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                                                                Michael Oakeshott

On Human Conduct is composed of three connected essays. Each has its own concern: the first with theoretical understanding, and with human conduct in general; the second with an ideal mode of human relationship which the author has called civil association; and the third with that ambiguous, historic association commonly called a modern European state.
Running through the work is Professor Oakeshott's belief in philosophical reflection as an adventure: the adventure of one who seeks to understand in other terms what he already understands, and where the understanding is sought is a disclosure of the conditions of the understanding enjoyed and not a substitute for it. Its most appropriate expression is an essay, which, he writes, "does not dissemble the conditionality of the conclusions it throws up and although it may enlighten it does not instruct."

Editorial Reviews

"Oakeshott presents three essays: on the theoretical understanding of human conduct, on the civil condition as the ideal mode of human association, and on the modern European state....His book is like a long elegant conversation--sometimes rather abstract, always with a keen eye for concrete exemplification, learned, analytical, and full of trenchant insights."--Library Journal

"This majestic work by the greatest living British philosopher of conservative disposition is preeminently a grand adventure....Oakeshott has here added to our common stock one more such distinction--the one between rule-governed associations and purpose-governed associations. In so doing, he has given us a fresh and memorable definition of political liberty. And that, besides so much else, is cause for gratitude and celebration."--National Review

http://www.amazon.com/Human-Conduct-Clarendon-Paperbacks/dp/019827758X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430885793&sr=1-1&keywords=On+Human+Conduct

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On Human Conduct and Oakeshott's Political Theory

In his essay "On Being Conservative" (1956), Oakeshott explained what he regarded as the conservative disposition: "To be conservative ... is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss."

Oakeshott's political philosophy, as advanced in On Human Conduct (1975), is removed any form of party politics. The book's first part ("On the Theoretical Understanding of Human Conduct") develops a theory of human action as the exercise of intelligent agency in activities such as wanting and choosing, the second ("On the Civil Condition") discusses the formal conditions of association appropriate to such intelligent agents, described as "civil" or legal association, and the third ("On the Character of a Modern European State") examines how far this understanding of human association has affected politics and political ideas in post-Renaissance European history.

Oakeshott suggests that there had been two major modes or understandings of human social organization. In the first, which he calls "enterprise association" (or universitas), the state is understood as imposing some universal purpose (profit, salvation, progress, racial domination) on its subjects. By contrast, "civil association" (or societas) is primarily a legal relationship in which laws impose obligatory conditions of action but do not require choosing one action rather than another.

The complex, often technical style of On Human Conduct found few readers, and its initial reception was mostly one of bafflement. Oakeshott, who rarely responded to critics, used an article in the journal Political Theory to reply sardonically to some of the contributions made at a symposium on the book.

After Retirement

In his retirement he retreated to live quietly in a country cottage in Langton Matravers in Dorset. He lived long enough to see growing recognition, although he has become far more widely written about since his death.

Oakeshott refused an offer of being made a Companion of Honour, for which he was proposed by Margaret Thatcher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Oakeshott

Afterword by the Blog Author

It seems very possible that Oakeshott turned down the status of being a Companion of Honour because he didn't want his distinctions seen as associated with any party of British politics.

Oakeshott's distinction between nomocratic organizations and teleocratic organizations may be profound and important.  See tomorrow's (May 6th, 2015) blog entry for additional analysis of this distinction.

Sages and Wise Men

The wise old man (also called senex, sage or sophos) is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.  The wise old man can be a profound philosopher distinguished for wisdom and sound judgment.

Traits

This type of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a mentor.  He may occasionally appear as an absent-minded professor, appearing absent-minded due to a predilection for contemplative pursuits.

The wise old man is often seen to be in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, from those he advises. In extreme cases, he may be a liminal being, such as Merlin, who was only half human.

In medieval chivalric romance and modern fantasy literature, he is often presented as a wizard.  He can also or instead be featured as a hermit.  This character type often explained to the knights or heroes—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail—the significance of their encounters.

In storytelling, the character of the wise old man is commonly killed or in some other way removed for a time, in order to allow the hero to develop on his/her own.

Examples

          Historical

• Saptarishi

• Seven Sages of Greece
• Solon of Athens
• Chilon of Sparta
• Thales of Miletus
• Bias of Priene
• Cleobulus of Lindos
• Pittacus of Mitylene
• Periander of Corinth

• Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
• Ruan Ji
• Xi-Kang
• Liu Ling
• Shan Tao
• Run Xian
• Xiang Xiu
• Wang Rong

• Navaratnas

• The Rabbis or Sages of Talmudic lore (Judaism)
• Yohanan ben Zakkai
• Hillel I
• Shammai
• others

• Jiang Ziya, a genius and patient old man. He was well known as a legendary military strategist and the most famous Prime Minister of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• Nguyen Binh Khiem, also known as the White Cloud Hermit. He is a saint of the Cao Dai religion and the most prominent person of Vietnam history in the 16th century.

Mythology

• Mentor, in Greek mythology
• Merlin from the Matter of Britain and the legends of King Arthur
• Nestor from The Illiad
• Tiresias from the Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, and other Greek myths
• Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh
• Mimir, in Norse mythology
• Chiron from The Iliad
• Odin, in Norse mythology

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_old_man

What Is a Tantrum?

A tantrum (or temper tantrum or tirade or hissy fit) is an emotional outburst, usually associated with children or those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, yelling, shrieking, defiance, angry ranting, , a resistance to attempts at pacification and, in some cases, violence. Physical control may be lost, the person may be unable to remain still, and even if the "goal" of the person is met he or she may not be calmed.  A tantrum may be expressed in a tirade: a protracted, angry, or violent speech.

Toddlers

Tantrums are one of the most common forms of problematic behaviour in young children but tend to decrease in frequency and intensity as the child grows older. For the toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, even as gauges of a developing strength of character.

While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future anti-social behaviour, in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration, and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.  Parental containment where a child cannot contain itself - rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding - may be what is really required.

Selma Fraiberg warned however against excessive outside pressure and control in child-rearing, which may in itself provoke tantrums and nursery revolt.

Aberrations

Freud considered that the Wolf Man’s development of temper tantrums was connected with his seduction by his sister: he became "discontented, irritable and violent, took offence on every possible occasion, and then flew into a rage and screamed like a savage".  Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt -- something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.

Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were narcissistic rages, caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core. The blow to the inflated self-image, when a child's wishes are (however justifiably) refused, creates fury because it strikes at the feeling of omnipotence.

Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression, may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.

Some people who have neurological disorders such as the combination of autism or mental retardation could be more prone to tantrums than others, although anyone experiencing forebrain damage (temporary or permanent) can suffer from tantrums. Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age.

In Later Life

Thackeray claimed that in later life 'you may tell a Tantrum as far as you can see one, by the distressed and dissatisfied expression of its countenance -- "Tantrumical", if we may term it so'.

The willingness of the celebrity to throw tantrums whenever thwarted to the least degree is a kind of Acquired Situational Narcissism -- tantrumical.

Notable People

Tennis player Ilie Nastase is best remembered for being one of the best players never to win the singles title at Wimbledon, for his tantrums, and his good looks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantrum

Paul Smith Typewriter Art

Paul Smith (September 21, 1921 – June 25, 2007) was an American typewriter artist.

Biography

     Early Life

Smith was born in 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He suffered from severe spastic cerebral palsy from an early age. The loss of fine motor control of his face and hands made it impossible for him to attend school—or even eat, clothe, or bathe himself—and also made it difficult for him to express himself.

Early in life Paul discovered the typewriter and a technique for using it to create pictures. He was able to use one hand to steady the other and thus press the desired key. He was creating typewriter art by the age of 15 and steadily refined his technique.

In the 1940s, Paul's family moved to Hollywood, Florida.

Paul never married and had no children. In 1967 he entered a retirement facility.

     Death and Afterward

As he aged, Smith's cataracts worsened, and he was not able to create art of as high a quality. He stopped creating pictures in 2004.

Smith died in June 2007.

Philosophical and/or political views

He was devoted to his family and was a committed Catholic.

Published works

Paul did not publish any works, but his work has been collected into several books of art.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Smith_(artist)

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Examples of Smith’s Typewritten Images

 

 
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Short Video of  Paul Smith in his later years:

http://www.wimp.com/drawing-zoom-in/

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More pictures at: 

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=What+Are+the+Prices+for+Paul+Smith+Typewriter+Art&FORM=RESTAB

Altering Blood to Type "O"

Researchers Closer to Being

Able to Change Blood Types

University of British Columbia, April 28, 2015

What do you do when a patient needs a blood transfusion but you don’t have their blood type in the blood bank? It’s a problem that scientists have been trying to solve for years but haven’t been able to find an economic solution – until now.

University of British Columbia chemists and scientists in the Centre for Blood Research have created an enzyme that could potentially solve this problem. The enzyme works by snipping off the sugars, also known as antigens, found in Type A and Type B blood, making it more like Type O. Type O blood is known as the universal donor and can be given to patients of all blood types.

“We produced a mutant enzyme that is very efficient at cutting off the sugars in A and B blood, and is much more proficient at removing the subtypes of the A-antigen that the parent enzyme struggles with,” said David Kwan, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry.

To create this high-powered enzyme capable of snipping off sugars, researchers used a new technology called directed evolution that involves inserting mutations into the gene that codes for the enzyme, and selecting mutants that are more effective at cutting the antigens. In just five generations, the enzyme became 170 times more effective.

With this enzyme, UBC associate professor Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu and colleagues in the Centre for Blood Research were able to remove the wide majority of the antigens in Type A and B blood. But before it can be used in clinical settings, the enzyme used would need to remove all of the antigens. The immune system is highly sensitive to blood groups and even small amounts of residual antigens could trigger an immune response.

“The concept is not new but until now we needed so much of the enzyme to make it work that it was impractical,” says Steve Withers, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. “Now I’m confident that we can take this a whole lot further.”

The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canadian Blood Services.

BACKGROUND

Blood types
The defining difference between A, B and O blood types is the presence of slightly different sugar structures on the outside of the red blood cells of each type. Type A and B blood cells each have a single additional sugar attached to their surface.

http://science.ubc.ca/news/researchers-closer-being-able-change-blood-types

(The link immediately above contains another link to a detailed article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society).