The "Socrates" of comedy

George Carlin was one of the very few public figures with the balls to tell it like it is and he didn’t give a damn about political correctness or what anyone thought about it. The reason for that is because he always told the truth and stood behind the truth. He was not delusional and he refused to be a sheep and follow the status quo. Everyone thought he was a comedian, but the fact is that all he was doing was telling everyone how utterly ridiculous you look trying to be something you’re not and listening to people convincing you that blatant lies are truth. Very funny indeed!

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I’d like to share with you the wisdom of existentialist Glen Campbell, who discusses in one of his many philosophy essays the fundamentals of mental nutrition.

In the aforementioned enlightening essay, Campbell reveals the potential dangers for the mind which consumes too much “junk information” instead of gaining the beneficial qualities from consuming “real information”, which as Campbell metaphorically states, is very much the same as bodily consumption of either “junk food” or “real food”.

I have already written about the population being bombarded with vast amounts of information on a daily basis, which is the bane of the modern technological age.  This information overload, which not only distracts us from getting the real truth, but can also cause our minds to become addictive for mindless entertainment, is also described in part by Campbell’s exposé of the modern purveyors of this knowledge (no matter how useless or manipulating) in the form of the television, the media and the Internet.

However, Campbell does advise us not to overload our minds with superfluous knowledge, even if it is deemed to be “real information”.  Campbell, instead, encourages us to moderate our consumption, if not postpone it all together, so that our minds have the time and space to think about what we have just digested, which will hopefully allow us to understand and learn something of worth.

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One of the most inspirational speeches in recorded history was given by a silent comedian by the name of Charlie Chaplin from the his classic movie ‘The Great Dictator’.

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What can be said about information overload?  With the advent of the media and technology, especially in regards the television, the computer and invention of the Internet, we have unlimited access to information and knowledge more than at anytime in human history.

We are continuously bombarded daily with superfluous information no matter how useless or irrelevant it is to ourselves and our everyday lives.

We can now download information literally anytime and anywhere with the use of the currently popular Smartphones, iPads and various choices of Tablet computers.

However, the following article ‘Is the Internet the Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy?’ reminds us of the fact that despite possessing vast amounts of information at our fingertips, it has inexplicably contributed towards obscuring our consciousness, paralysing our pursuits for self-knowledge and wisdom, and distracting us from attaining the true and beneficial knowledge that would broaden our perspective concerning world affairs.

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Happy New Year one and all!  Yes, I know it’s a bit late but I’ll say it anyway.  Hopefully you all had a good Pagan (or whatever you want to call Christmas) break and are now fully reinvigorated for the year ahead.

But don’t leave 2011 just yet, as I have decided to put together this recap of what I consider to be the best posts of last year on Knowledge Reform – one for every month.

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“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe starts this post with an apt quote which states, perhaps wisely, how one should apply the knowledge and experiences, they have accumulated in life, towards making the best possible decisions.

Therefore, by making a reasoned decision when called for, will not only make us more virtuous but will also put us on the true path towards goodness and happiness.

According to ‘The Art of Manliness’ bloggers Brett and Kate McKay, Aristotle’s philosophy of phronesis – which usually translates to ‘practical wisdom’ – best describes a more pragmatic life (rather than just contemplative) towards right action and virtue which deals, adequately, with all possible circumstances that may arise. Read more…