Political and Philosophical Commentary
This blog invites readers to think a little deeper about important issues and news events that affect their lives. Reflection creates the possibility of alternative perspectives.
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de Jouvenal on Power Presidential Candidates analyzed at St. Meinrad Philosophy Conference The Presidential Candidates: Agents of Change or "Partners" in maintaining the Status Quo? Incommensurable Beliefs and Cultural Conflict Is Political Transformation in Modernity possible? Part 1 Is Political Transformation in Modernity possible? Part 2 Notre Dame selects Richard Poirier for Modernity Conference Modernity and The Rise of Individualism Prop 83 - Jessica’s law - Revenge Laws vs. Justice Prop 85 - Parental Notice - Rights & Consequences October 06 November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 
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Richard Poirier, a Los Angeles resident, music industry financial executive, writer and philosopher, has been selected by the University of Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture to chair a colloquium session on "20th Century Ethics" at this year's annual conference titled "Modernity: Yearning for the Infinite," Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 in South Bend, Ind.
Presentations by academic philosophers in Poirier's "20th Century Ethics" session include "On Keeping Things Complicated: Ethics after Modernity" by Darin Davis of Baylor University; "Objective Ethics and the Dynamics of Desire" by Benjamin Huff of Randolph-Macon College; and "'Is' and 'Ought' Revisited: Moral Realism and the Fact-Value Distinction" by Robert J. Matava of University of St. Andrews (Scotland). "In recent years," director David Solomon explains, "the meaning of the modern has come to be at the heart of many of the deepest and most divisive debates within ethics, politics, the arts and religion. While continuing to recognize the great achievements of modernity, especially the rise of the natural sciences and liberal political regimes with their rejection of oppressive social and political structures, many have come to believe that the modern has also brought with it human problems of new and frightening sorts: cultural and moral fragmentation, anomie in personal lives, crimes against humanity of unprecedented scale and ferocity, and the domination of human life by new technologies that seem impossible for us to control." Poirier cites the use of police surveillance cameras at parks and intersections as well as Prop 83's new requirement to use GPS monitors for life on certain categories of human beings as examples of society's inability to control today's available technologies. Based on these troubling trends we can speculate what the future may hold. The aim of the seventh annual fall conference is to bring together a large number of respected scholars representing all the main academic fields, from Catholic, non-Catholic, and secular institutions, to provide spirited discussions of the underlying causes and ramifications of the intellectual epoch we have come to call modernity; of the relationship between the main theses of modernity in the last century; and the impact of modernity upon work in philosophy, theology, law, literature, the arts, as well as other fields of intellectual inquiry and endeavor. There are thirty-eight sessions over the three day conference that address topics ranging from "The Crisis of Modern Law and Legal Theory" to "Theological Challenges of Modernity" to "Kantian Themes in Modernity" to "Literature and Modernity" and "Modernity and the Limits of Freedom." The conference key note speaker is world renowned philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre whose presentation is entitled "Modernity's Self-Subversion." Richard Poirier has a political and philosophical commentary blog on the Bakersfield.com website in which some of his commentaries may be viewed including a one page abstract he wrote for this conference entitled "Modernity and the Rise of Individualism." In 443 B.C., Sophocles presented an embryonic notion of individuality when Oedipus's daughter Antigone decided to defy King Creon's edict that prohibited the mourning or burying of her slain brother Polyneices for alleged disloyalty to the state. Under penalty of death by stoning, Antigone buried her brother to honor a more compelling family duty, thus preserving the identity of her family. Characterizing her actions as criminally sinless and recognizing death is inevitable for all mortals, she viewed premature death by state execution more honorable than living under a state sponsored evil proclamation that she viewed as contrary to notions of justice and the statues of heaven. Antigone, the King’s son Haemon and wife Eurydice each ultimately choose self-inflicted death rather than life under the King's terms.
This concept of living for the sake of the community because one lacks any individual identity apart from the duty entailed by community membership was examined and rejected by individualist philosophers during the Enlightenment and industrial revolution that gave birth to the modern state. Since the French and American Revolutions against royal establishment rule and since Adam Smith's vision of capitalism and Thomas Jefferson's vision of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in 1776, efforts to assert notions of individualism, __ although the term itself was first used in a negative context in 1820 by Joseph de Maistre __ have been a long solitary struggle until reaching critical mass during the mid-1960's counter-cultural revolution. Notwithstanding the public paradigmatic shift stemming from the temporary phenomenon of the 60's, those who seek to preserve traditional community values have continued to challenge those who assert a natural law right to live with minimal restraints and maximum freedom. Pressures to conform to the norms of society express themselves in virtually every aspect of one's life from childhood training, formal education, employment, encounters with law enforcement and political activism to everyday peer pressures to adhere to preconceived normative expectations. However, resistance to conform also expresses itself in sometimes predictable and sometimes bizarre behavior, as well as in pragmatic compromises that allow one to occupy conventional and individualistic life styles simultaneously. Predictable pursuits of individualism include alternative education, occupations and life styles. Bizarre expressions include engaging in extremes for the sake of extremes, such as flirting with near death experiences, involvement in extreme fringes of the adult entertainment industry, and extreme attention-seeking or self-sabotaging behavior. Pragmatic compromise includes working within the system and using goods obtained for individualistic ends, such as acquiring an outlet to express counter-culture point of views, building homes with walls and security to keep society away, accumulating resources to engage in legal battles when offended by societal restrictions, or perhaps earning enough to never have to work for the rest of one's life. As society exerts more pressure to conform utilizing the legislative process, required dress codes, age restrictions, licensing credentials, politically correct speech, credit scores, advertising, and the arts, we will continue to see individuals reevaluate what they value and why, which provides insight into who they really are. This need for self-reflection will bring a greater awareness of the role of our knowledge and beliefs in formulating our judgments about competing rival concepts and available alternatives. Individuality is not resisting societal norms for the sake of resisting. It is going deeply into the resources of one's mind to identify one's exact needs and tapping into one's creativity to formulate one's own personal way to achieve one's individual ends. If we find that institutions originally designed to facilitate the individual in obtaining his or her ends are no longer fulfilling that purpose, one might take it upon oneself to modify or recast those institutions to serve individual ends. Individual and societal needs do not necessarily have to be at cross-purposes. Do individuals have an identity prior to their membership in social groups? Yes, identity begins with perceptional development after birth. One is obviously different from that which is external. At various points the socialization process seeks to mold us into norm-adhering members of the community. It does not take much for many people to forget their own self-identity and accept group thinking or robot behavior. However, deep within our mind there is a voice that calls out for us to assert our individuality. Those who pursue their individualistic calling pay a price. But, when has there not been a price to pay for anything really worthwhile. The reason for the rise in individualism in modernity is the theoretical justification for the societal-control argument by authority figures has weakened due to a more educated general population and a more transparent view of those in power by the media. There will always be a valid argument for some organized community structure and order, but society has always pushed far beyond the point of what is reasonable. A society that respects individualism provides a justification for individuals to respect the society that they comprise.
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