Wired Wessex event

Wired Wessex hosted a talk on Mind mapping on the twenty fourth of February, in an impressive newly refurbished Walton suite in Winchesters Guildhall. The event was held for local small business to give them the opportunity to see if mind mapping could benefit their company, as well as being able to network with other businesses. Many people will be wondering what exactly mind mapping is, well to simplify; it is essentially a way of organising anything from your business to your blog or even what daily tasks you need to carry out. The event that saw about fifty people attend, ranging from small to medium business owners, saw Andrew Wilcox gave a talk about the advantages of using mind mapping software to improve business productivity. Mind mapping is very similar to what most people will recognise as ‘brain storming’, writing down ideas on paper to help with a project such as an essay. Mind mapping allows you to put your ideas down on a vast database in your computer. Also you can link your ideas to websites, as well as to other mind maps. The people that attended the talk were impressed by the idea of mind mapping; Jane Michel, a local business woman, said ‘they research their audience by looking at the guest list and pull out appropriate points; I’d recommend the events to any local business’. Wired Wessex will be holding there next event on March 10th at the slug and lettuce in Winchester. For more information on wiredwessex events visit; www.wiredwessex.co.uk

Tractatus Logico-philosophicus notes

Ludwig was born in to a wealthy Austrian family, served in the Austrian Army in the first world war. Worked on Tractatus towards the end of the first world war. Inherited money but gave a lot away to Austrian writers and artists, very patriotic. Says that logic represents the structure of reality. Says that objects can be analyzed as they are the truth in existence. When comparing to other philosophers theories he says that a lot of the problems arise from the philosopher’s inability to understand language. Which makes their questions ‘non senseical so they can’t be right. The world is determined by facts. This is the basis for logical thinking, in the world facts exsist. Objects exist in the world which make it real Space, time and colour are forms of objects The structure of a fact consists of the structures of states of affair. The state of affairs is the combination of objects or things. So a factual statement consists of a combination of objects, that fit in to each other like a chain to make sense. A picture is a fact. A picture represents a possible situation in logical space. A picture represents what it portrays in its pictorial form only. Whether it is true or false is different to what the picture itself represents. To know whether a picture is true or false we must compare it with reality, but we can’t tell if a picture is true or false just from looking at it. A thought is true if you have no knowledge of anything to compare it to. So if you have a thought then it is true if you don’t know anything to contradict that thought apriori. ‘Language disguises thought.’ Wittgenstein says that language and be spoken by a human without the person knowing exactly how the sound of what they are saying is made. He compares clothes covering a body. You cannot tell what a body looks like as the clothes cover the true form of the body. This could mean that people can say things to cover what they really mean like lying or just not knowing what the f they are talking about. In other words some people just Gas a load of hot air not knowing what they truly mean hence disguising the thought. Wittgenstein says that things can only be said that are factual about the world. Things can’t be said that cannot be proven such as a certain moral belief. Ultimately he is saying that we must use language to try and explore facts as people can lie or not know what they are talking about. Understanding language and logic, we can ourselves find the truth without having to rely on what people are saying we can determine it for ourselves.

The new industrial state

· People are given jobs to provide for the economy, building things like roads is only done so money can be put back in to the economy.

· Thinks that population effects economic growth the kids you have the less money goes into the economy.

· Says tax rates are there so that rich people’s money goes to the poor who will spend it and put it back into the economy.

· Power is held by landowners who make capital from having the land.

· In the industrial world we live in, individualism means nothing as people must be working in teams like in factories producing things

· Corporations can’t overrule groups but can overrule individuals.

· The individual must be made to think that by working for the organisation they will benefit in some way. They must think that if they can achieve the organisations goals then they can someway improve themselves.

· Advertising is used to control demand, to increase it so that there is more supply more people buying things thus more money going into the economy

· TV and radio advertising helps demand greatly

· Firms have to appeal to the inner desire of the consumer. As technology advances more skilled workers are needed to operate machines etc.

Revision Notes

1. Media control Germany invades Poland discuss referencing Carey and Arendt .

· THe Germans restricted what could be said by the media, as they were state run.
· The media gave a Hegelian outlook on the war in Europe; the idea that Germans had to eliminate everyone so that they would get closer to God or 'divinity.'
· Carey says that the mob or masses becoming literate leads to them being just about able to write and makes them a political force.
· The intellectuals in the case Hitler and the Reich want to eliminate the mob as they are slowing down society’s progress.
· The masses bring about fascism by being manipulated by people like Goering. The masses are aware who they are voting into power and allow themselves to be manipulated as they are incompetent and need to be directed.
· Carey says the use of art and literature being too difficult for the mob to understand keeps them at bay but if they can write they have the ability to overthrow the hierarchy. Nietzsche wants to keep the masses controlled and illiterate so they have no power or political influence.
· The media In Germany and USSR would never report any losses of battles but often tell the complete opposite to boost morale. Furthermore this kept the mob in check and ensured that even their thoughts about things were controlled by the state; independent thinking was not allowed. On the other hand countries like Great Britain had free media that in some casses lobbied against Churchill resulting in the house of commons voting on the confidence they had in Churchill to lead the war effort.
· Totalitarian Rule is rule through fear. The state terrorise society and control everything through the secret police. No one has individual thought at this is controlled by the media. The very few people who oppose the totalitarian rule are murdered or arrested. Stalin and Hitler controlled society through communist and Nazi Regime; each regime used its principle ideas to excuse their behaviour. Communism was exterminating the class struggle and Nazi’s were trying to lessen the decay of society by eliminating the weak. The masses are all as one and nobody has individual freedom or rights; they are part of a nation state in which everything is ruled by one party that can never be opposed.
· No pluralism- tolerance for other races and religions etc.
. Arendt often asserts that anti-semitism had a lot to do with totalitarian rule in Germany, as it gave a common enemy for the government and the mass to hate on. Arendt says the Jews were secularised as they did not belong to a social class and were in control of finances in Germany for a long time. In the time of depression in 1930's Germany they were an easy target.
. Arendt says that the Jews were stripped of all individuality so were almost willing victims with nothing to fight for. This is similar to the way the masses were influenced giving them no indiviual thought asnd making them think they belonged to the nation under Nazism.

2. How does modern state differ from classical or medieval state according to Arendt. Refer Hobbes, Rosseau, JS Mill, Hegel and Marx.
· The modern state has much more control such as the media being a huge weapon in controlling what people think. Medieval states controlled society’s normally though their monarchy such as in England the ‘ divine right of kings’ meant society believed God had chosen them to rule in a teleological society. Modern Nationalist states submit to one ruler in order to protect the country from other countries.
· Hobbes - Without state ruling everything everyone would being trying to kill each other and take each other’s stuff. It would be carnage without state intervention. We must submit ourselves to the government for protection. State of nature would rule without harsh state intervention.
· Rousseau – More liberal thinks there should be a social contract between public and state and they should have limited power. The state should be the only people that can use force but only a little bit. Says state should listen to the general will of the people and anyone who did not want to be free will be forced to be free.
· JS Mill -believes people should be able to do what they want as long as no one else is harmed in any way. Freedom of speech and didn’t believe in censorship.
· Hegel- Believes that Germany or Prussian state is doing the will of God by killing other countries who were not following the prussian states religious views. This will bring Germans closer to God and is the natural way of the world.
· Locke –. Civil rights to property. People should be free and able to say what they want.
· Marx – Doesn’t believe that God exists; state is a tool of oppression to keep lower classes down. Liberal view in that he thinks state should not have total power. Mass culture attempts to eliminate diversity.

3. Analyse Nietchsze and modern literacy movements in journalism, popular culture and the masses.
· Writes in small outbursts like headlines you see on tabloids
· Very incoherent and hard to understand, thinks that the meaning is in the readers mind and that everyone interprets things differently. He makes it up to the reader to decide what is happening.
· Abstract art being interpreted by the viewer is a Nietchsze idea.
· Slogans used in advertising are a Nietchzse thing.
· Phenomenology means that everything and everything that happens is just a phenomena. Nothing has a morality of good or bad it is just happening.
· Amorality is where u are told what you are feeling and what is happening. Modernism says there is no god or spirits but we are just here and nobody knows why.
· Modern journalism is centered on telling the acts and not moralising what has happened and only saying it how it is. Also eye grabbing headlines in short outbursts.
. Modernism is centred around a scientific out look rather than religious in previous years, Nietzsche approaches things obejectively looking at facts and objects.

4. Explain the fascination for intellectuals and some journalists of the film citizen Kane.
· William R Hearst is Careys theory in action, a semi-literate member of the masses gaining power through literacy.
· Kane wants power and nothing is every enough for him
· Hearsts yellow journalism was the first of its kind, with short bursts of headlines and often exaggerated stories about crime to make people want to read. And using competitions.
· The idea of finding a story then standing it up comes from Hearst
· Hearst came from nothing as part of the masses but became literate and rich through skill as a businessman. He then informs the masses about the intellectuals through his paper which in turn gives them political power. Carey predicted this could happen if people become literate.
· Freud would attribute his actions to never being accepted by his mum as he was up for adoption at a young age. Also in the film Kane is unable to obtain rosebud so tries to obtain every material possession to make up for it. The analysis of dreams – Freud.
· Hearst shows a conflict between is real self that should never be shown and the mask he uses to be fake and appear strong and powerful. This conflict between real and fake makes you go crazy.

5. Asses Freud on the media from Page 3 to BBC and from to cosmopolitan Jerry Springer
· Shows Like Super nanny have been influenced by Freud’s child physcology
· Freud’s idea that everyone is fascinated with sex is reflected in advertising; everything is made to be sexy and revolves around sex, very fashionable.
· Feminism and ‘dear Deirdre’ columns influenced by Freud.
· The idea behind page three was that men weren’t breast fed as children in the 40’s and 50’s so they would be fascinated by breasts on page three!
· Shows like Jerry Springer where the super ego takes over and acts without thinking.
. Freuds theory of personality being shaped by parents rejection can apply to Kane who was given up by his parents,although it was a chance for him to have a better life. Kane (and Hearsts) apetite to always have more could be interpreted as Freuds need for approval from parents.

HCJ - The intellectuals and The masses

The intellectuals and the masses.

John Carey clearly has a dislike for people who follow the masses, however one of the people he writes about Arnold Bennett, says that even the masses who follow people are all individuals in their own way even if they are following people. He thinks that if people write books that appeal to the masses this should be seen a good thing and the masses that read them should not be looked down on.

Talks about the anti-feminist movement in modernism and how women allow themselves to be subjected to a lower social class to men.

Carey agrees with Hitlers view on a weak human race. Hitlers idea of a weak race was eastern Europeans, Jews, blacks homosexuals etc. any one not of aryan race. He even considered Russians as 'sub-humans' ( a tactic mainly used to stir up anti russki feelings during the campaign against Russia.)

''The remedies of the twenty-first century...will entail the recognition that, given the state of the planet, humans, or some humans, must now be categorised as vermin."

This is an almost fascist outlook, to categorise any humans as vermin is a prejudice view discriminating against them for whatever reason similar to one Mr Hitler.

Thought that Hitlers 'Mein Kampf' was not an evil look at society, but what all of western philosophy thinking is like.

Carey says that intellectual people are scared by the threat of the masses and there capability to overhaul the hierarchy. Carey says that the emergence of people being taught to read and learn for themselves scared the modernist intellectuals that had used literature and art exclusively to exclude the masses. He uses Nietzsche as an example of this who thinks the masses will always be lower in society.

Carey views the intellectuals in the same way as Hitler, he sees them as superior and that the masses should essentially be exterminated. The weak were seen as an inferior and they cannot contribute to society and are therefore useless.

Overall he believes that the masses should be controlled and cannot understand intellectual thinking and that if they are given the right to express their views and opinions they will overhaul the intelligentsia. This is similar to Hitlers views, believing that the masses are a threat.

Totalitarianism - HCJ

Hannah Ardent was a writer writing in post holocaust society, in a time where Stalin was allegedly still sending immigrants, Jews, Slovaks etc to essentially die in Serbia. This was part of the Communist movement in Russia still being run by Stalin who, like Hitler, wanted to destroy entire races and cultures that he considered to be inferior. The communist’s ultimate triumph was the defeat of Nazi Germany in the 40’s. The left wing socialist movement of the 60’s was seen as the right thing to do and is often referred to as ‘The popular front’. This was also the time where anti-communist views were very popular; the cold war between America and Russia was very strong this followed a movement for individual rights and liberation of; blacks, disabled, Jews and so on. The 60’s movement of freedom and love was very much an American Ideal that revolved around liberation and individual prosperity (such as the idea of the American dream).

Hannah Ardents main point was that she believes the Nazi holocaust and Stalin’s killings were ultimately down to society’s participation. She does not see Hitler or Stalin as dictators who simply hypnotised people and made them do things without consciously knowing what they are doing. She says that the people who were involved in the whole Nazi ‘final solution’ are as much if not more to blame than Hitler or Stalin respectively. From the people that made the maps and designed buildings to house people, or helped run the transport they are the people systematically wiping out entire cultures. She argues that people should not simply obey authority just for the sake that they have to, they should think before they obey. Mass submission was the reason for the extermination of the Jews due to the large amount of collaborators.

HCJ- seminar 2

Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Part 1
· Says that the search for knowledge should be followed to the furthest degree possible, even if it creates war as war itself is good.- war and warriors
· He says that most writers are so in depth that are hard to understand and almost pretentious and no one else understands. (Although the book itself is exactly that, Pot kettle black). – Reading and writing
· A murder that kills someone is more aware of their own emotion as they can at least be aware of their want to kill. Someone who hasn’t killed can’t even admit to wanting to do it and therefore has less moral awareness.- Pale criminal

Talks a lot about suffering and the struggle. He says that if you preach about struggling and suffering and saying that this is the only way to prepare for the afterlife then you are preaching for death. Essentially these people are preparing themselves to die when they are supposedly preaching about living and how to live.


· Says that freedom can only be found outside of the state. The state sets the rules, runs the economy and has the say on which religion to follow. Although all are seen as free within any state, only personal freedom and choice can be found outside of state rules.- The new idol
· Says that sex is natural and good for some but bad for people too. It is natural to look for sex but if don’t constantly nothing else will be done? - Chastity
· ‘Overman’ comes up frequently in the book. This must be ‘GOD’ or a god, but this is not specified as a certain religion, it could be anyone someone that is in charge of everything. However he says you can strive to become an overman presumably in the afterlife, how you achieve that is not really made clear. – The way of the creator
· Says that there is a knack to dying at the right time. Sounds like he is hinting at having an honest and noble death at the right time could inspire others ( such as Socrates with Plato).
· His attitude towards women is very negative as he says they are only capable of loving men and that basically that is the only need for them. They can also bare children which are handy, but they are not capable of friendship.

Part 2
· Nietzsche Talks a lot about ‘Slave morality’ and how he is against Christian views on life.
· He says that slaves struggle like Jesus did and this is a good thing as the afterlife will reward them.
· This preaching is similar to the first part of the book where struggle needs to happen.
· ‘Self-overcoming’ Is a common theme, Nietzsche talks about powerful people and how you can only be truly powerful if you can control yourself. If you cannot control yourself then there is now way that you can lead and therefore you need someone to control you. Will power is an underlying feature as it determines your ability to overcome yourself in pursuit for power and leadership.
· Nietzsche is anti-nationalist and thinks that if you believe in only the state so strongly then the only outcome is going to be war. Nationalism surrounds people with a false sense of security, and makes everyone believe that if they follow everything the state has to say then they can be free and that everyone else should follow them. This is what Nietzsche believes will happen.
· Nietzsche talks about how our will and change effect so much in life in ‘on redemption’. He says that our will to be different or in fact do anything effects our present and indeed future. However we can never change the past. This is why, he argues we change is so important, as without it we can never improve ourselves or become better people.
· He talks about will being so powerful that it has created your past and that therefore to forget about your past you must forget about will all together. This would leave you in a state of doing nothing and therefore you could not create anything so you would never regret your past as you will never create a present for it to become the past. If people do not have complete control of themselves then doing things with will, will constantly happen and you will always regret the past. In order to be happy and not regret one must obey and control themselves at all times.
Part 3
· In part three we learn about events reoccurring all the time throughout life and that there is no way we can change this. In the book Zarathustra finds it hard to accept that everything that is happening now in the present has already happened in the past and will happen again in the future. This is a never ending cycle that will happen through the human instinct of will. However this does not mean that all things will happen exactly the same, Nietzsche says that things will constantly change and this is what is reoccurring not necessarily the same thing happening over and over again. The way in which people interpret the planet has constantly changed over years. Since the begin of time people have accepted and followed different religions and ways of living. People’s moral code of weather killing is or isn’t acceptable has changed from cavemen having no morality but just survival instinct all the way through to following society’s boundaries and rules. Although it was once acceptable to cut a man’s hands off for stealing a loaf of bread it would now be seen a morally outrages to punish in this way, showing a change in moral code. This happening although being a reoccurrence it is a change and it is change in itself that keeps happening, and through this change we can strive to become better people and let go of our past.
· Nietzsche therefore thinks there is not one set god or in fact morality. He believes that all gods that have been forgotten about such as Egyptian, Greek and Roman etc. have at one point asserted themselves as the one and only God or Gods for all eternity.
· Zarathustra is against a lot of Christian fundamental beliefs a common theme in the book looks at sex. Christianity says that sex should only be used for pro-creation and otherwise is dirty and wrong. Zarathustra believes that it is a natural human feeling to want sex and it is emotional and a happy thing for people to experience in person. Selfishness and pride is another issue taken up as in Christianity it is sinful for be proud. Zarathustra thinks that you must be proud of yourself if you like yourself. If you are not proud then you must have something to conceal and you are not truly happy within yourself. The sin of wanting to rule is a very important area that Nietzsche or Zarathustra disagrees with as not wanting to rule or better yourself means you have no will, and earlier in the book he says that having will leads to change and this is the way in which the natural world works.
· Change is an important issue in this chapter as it is pinpointed as Nietzsche seems to think that the world is in a constant state of change. He believes that Christianity in particular does not allow for people to feel emotions that will lead to change. Maybe he thinks that humans although in their own mind think they are living morally sound according to the bible, they are in fact ignorant to the real world. As he thinks morality is always changing if you commit yourself to one religion or even to the state and follow nationalism you can never be open to change. Although things are constantly changing every moment that people experience in life such as praising God and things of this nature will happen again. However this maybe be praising a different god or following a different type of moral code but either way the principle of following a set of rules and regulations will happen again due to change.
· It seems like Nietzsche does not believe in fate or destiny as we create our own destiny. The theme of change is only controlled by our will to do things for good or for bad, so if people are using their will this will create whatever happens to us. The term creating your own luck seems to fit his mindset; however luck in itself may not be something he believes in himself!

Part 5
· When Zarathustra comes across the kings that have fled their city, you get another taste for Nietzsche’s Sinicism for the human race through what the kings tell him. They are leaving their city as they are not contempt with leading mundane mediocre lives that their people lead. Nietzsche’s view on how people lead their lives comes across as arrogant and pompous. He believes that people are happy with just enjoying the simple pleasures of life, and he sees this lack of ambition or ‘will’ as a weakness that should not be present in society. He thinks that everyone should strive to be better and achieve, other than those content in the past to be slaves and follow a god to get justice in an afterlife. Every character that he comes across seems to have a negative attitude towards society all giving their two cents on how society is so pathetic and how individuals cannot create their own lives to become over men, the criticism of how people live their lives is relentless and patronising. For example the ugliest man gets pity from people however he despises the fact that he gets pity as it is a feeble emotion. This is another flaw that Nietzsche picks out from humanity.
· The men that Zarathustra is surrounded by are all men that bear the ideals of Nietzsche. These are men that could eventually become overmen they don’t like pity or peoples inability to achieve anything above mediocrity.

The whole book essentially boils down to change and that people have to accept fundamentals in life will be repeated. Even though specifics may change, having will and determination is the only way to create change and become a better person. Nietzsche has shown that not all people posses the ability to change, and these people should not even be accepted as they are just wasting their time they are a speck of dirt in as dirt storm insignificant. Without change we cannot progress.