Chance:

Yes -- this is not the world we were told (by *television*) that we  
would be inheriting . . . !!

I am in complete agreement with Gregg that what is happening today  
amounts to a "Fifth Joint Point" in our "evolution" -- *caused* by  
digital technology.  However, that transition is *not* the one that  
most have thought would take place -- which is why a fresh look at all  
this, as ToK provides, is very important.  Even mind-blowing.

As a McLuhan scholar, it is my view that new *paradigms*, such as the  
one we are already occupying, mean new "mentalities."  Btw, this is  
also the view of Merlin Donald, whose work Gregg has carefully  
studied.  But this is not simply a sequence or progression.  Instead,  
there is an enormous amount of "retrieval" of our past that is also  
involved.  That is where McLuhan's Tetrad comes in (about which I run  
the Facebook group), as described in his "Laws of Media" (1988,  
posthumous.)

The most recent -- but now obsolete -- ELECTRIC paradigm (say from c.  
1850-2000) *retrieved* a period in human evolution that we would call  
"archaic" or, more specifically, "pre-literate."  Today it is common  
to call this "post-literate" by those who can only think in terms of  
"progress" but, as we should be able to observe, losing our capacity  
for literate thinking is not really "progress."  Among other things,  
it makes us more easily manipulated.  Thus "fake news."  And totally  
undermines "intellectual integrity."  Thus Trump.

The new paradigm -- based on DIGITAL technology -- is different.  In  
particular, it "biases" us towards Memory (not Fantasy) and, as a  
result, my Center has the motto "Digital retrieves the Medieval."  We  
are convinced that means a "come-back" for Aristotle (who as also  
retrieved in the 13th-century), so we have been researching all this  
for a while -- leading to Jeff Martineau's LADS seminar this summer in  
which he taught 30+ people Aristotle's "On the Soul" (or, as it is  
more commonly called from the Latin, "De Anima.")

If you go to Amazon and enter "neo-Aristotelian" in the search, you  
will find 20+ titles with that phrase.  Many more will come.  We think  
that this is a sign-of-the-times . . . <g>

Mark

Quoting Chance McDermott <[log in to unmask]>:

> Chilling assessment, Mark.  It is painful to imagine a world that
> re-commits to brown-eye/blue-eye, us/them cynicism.  Of course we are stuck
> with that othering mechanism as human beings (for example, there are people
> who understand that mechanism, and people who don't), and yet if we abandon
> "family of man" as the stated goal, then we find ourselves in a significant
> identity crisis.
>
> Do I understand correctly that this is part of the urgency in advocating a
> Western identity based upon on Aristotle?
>
> -Chance
>
> On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 8:12 AM Mark Stahlman <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Tokers:
>>
>> While I can't vouch for all the details in this item, I can state from
>> direct experience that two years ago the Chinese were rounding up Uighurs
>> in Shanghai and "deporting" them to Xinjaing.  I actually saw it in action
>> on the streets there.
>>
>> "Xinjiang is now a totalitarian police state of historic proportions — it
>> is widely cited as one of the most heavily policed places in the world
>> today. Public security budgets have skyrocketed and futuristic surveillance
>> systems have been pioneered in the region. As a result, over 20 percent of
>> all criminal arrests in China happens in Xinjiang, despite the fact that
>> the region contains only 1.5 percent of the country’s population."
>>
>> "In the camps, officials seek to brainwash prisoners to disavow Islam and
>> pledge loyalty to the Communist Party, and torture those who refuse."
>>
>> "Arbitrary detentions without charge or trial are the norm for prisoners
>> in these camps, and ethnically Kazakh Muslims have been “disappeared” in
>> large numbers along with Uyghurs. Common “crimes” are “viewing foreign
>> websites, taking phone calls from relatives abroad, praying regularly or
>> growing a beard.” The widespread use of arbitrary detention is also being
>> used as a tool to force Uyghurs abroad into silence."
>>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__supchina.com_2018_08_22_xinjiang-2Dexplainer-2Dchinas-2Dreeducation-2Dcamps-2Dfor-2Da-2Dmillion-2Dmuslims_&d=DwMBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=X-RdbOknBVQKywj0rdYxyCTA_j7LUmVegoA_I0_HMlw&s=AhHCO_atxpDBQFarQtajUJpMF2fpK3eLp4xh0NrR3Ig&e=>
>> About this website
>> supchina.com
>> China’s re-education camps for a million Muslims: What everyone needs to
>> know
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__supchina.com_2018_08_22_xinjiang-2Dexplainer-2Dchinas-2Dreeducation-2Dcamps-2Dfor-2Da-2Dmillion-2Dmuslims_&d=DwMBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=X-RdbOknBVQKywj0rdYxyCTA_j7LUmVegoA_I0_HMlw&s=AhHCO_atxpDBQFarQtajUJpMF2fpK3eLp4xh0NrR3Ig&e=>
>>
>> Islam is *alphabetic* and, therefore, West, whereas the Chinese are
>> *ideo/pictogrpahic* and, therefore, East.  These are two fundamentally
>> different Cultures (capital "C") with fundamentally different language
>> technologies at the root of their 2000+ year formation. As a result, Islam
>> cannot survive in China.  Indeed, nothing "alphabetic" will survive.
>>
>> As some might have noticed, Marxism is *also* Western.  Accordingly, from
>> 2004-2011 the Central Party School in Beijing -- where all CPC senior cadre
>> are trained (modelled on the French ecole hierarchy) -- completely scrubbed
>> Marxism of its Western traces and "Sinicized" it.  This past May, I was in
>> Beijing at the 2nd World Congress on Marxism to personally observe the
>> results.  The Western Marxists invited to attend were completely baffled at
>> what had been done -- but happy for the free plane tickets.
>>
>> Now the CPS is teaching Confucius and Laotze to these cadres -- while also
>> proclaiming publicly that it will win the "War of the Robots" . . . !!
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_AI-2DSuperpowers-2DChina-2DSilicon-2DValley_dp_132854639X&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=I7DEa5YxOdkJ7gJgGBvCaLsedEJVAF-yRsXg46rgKqc&s=rxD7nr7K3Ypx3eJyBfBXT4oWZsf5a-214o4fKNqAJDY&e=
>>
>> I was supposed to be back there a week ago but the CPC stopped my approval
>> to discuss the "robot problem" with one of their researchers.  It isn't
>> clear if I will be allowed to return.  Stories are circulating that "CIA
>> collaborators" are being arrested and killed and I'm in their "system" as a
>> "US spy."  Now it is being reported that it was the Chinese (not the
>> Russians) who actually hacked the election (or at least Hilary's closet
>> servers.)
>>
>> When Mao took over, many attempted to "simplify" the difficult Chinese
>> writing system -- which is still foundational, as reflected in the general
>> use of Chinese subtitles in Chinese movies, since the "accents" of many
>> actors cannot be understood everywhere in China.  That simplification then
>> led to the teaching of the alphabet to Chinese children, so that they could
>> use it for the Pinyin representation of the language.  This is now the
>> basis of Chinese use of Western technology, since smart-phones don't have
>> "Chinese" keyboards.  Perhaps that will be the next target?
>>
>> There is no chance that China will allow itself to become a part of the
>> "Global System" -- other than, as has now become headlines, to take
>> advantage of it.  As anyone involved in science/technology at the
>> graduate-level knows, many (if not most) of the accomplished students in
>> these fields are Chinese.  In effect, our education system has become
>> theirs.  No, that does not mean that China is becoming like us.  It means
>> that they are "stealing" our ideas.
>>
>> This presents many problems, particularly in the field of national
>> security.  This past Sunday's "60 Minutes" had a segment on two
>> Chinese-Americans whose lives were upended on suspicions of them being
>> Chinese spys.  The most recent National Security Strategy (NSS 2018)
>> introduced the topic of "National Security Information Base" for the first
>> time.  Everyone involved knows that China was the target.  Whatever else
>> you might think about Trump, he inherited a front-row seat for a world in
>> massive conflict (largely ignored by the press which is, instead, obsessed
>> with eliminating him.)
>>
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.whitehouse.gov_wp-2Dcontent_uploads_2017_12_NSS-2DFinal-2D12-2D18-2D2017-2D0905-2D2.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=I7DEa5YxOdkJ7gJgGBvCaLsedEJVAF-yRsXg46rgKqc&s=wdfc4pHJ60zKw0Yp-8mIL-km9YarrNrdDfyvAUd93uk&e=
>>
>> At the Center, we have concluded that their are *three* over-lapping
>> "global operating systems": East, West and Digital.  The TELEVISION-era
>> notion of "One World" is totally defunct.  Nobody takes the United Nations
>> (or IMF/World Bank &c) seriously anymore.  We have added DIGITAL because
>> that's now the driver for *all* Cultures (capital "C" and plural) --
>> including the *new* one that wants to eliminate humanity (by "upgrading" it
>> and "colonizing Mars.")
>>
>> Yes, as the Chinese saying goes, "May you live in interesting times" . . .
>> <g>
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> P.S. In the late-70s (when I was in my late 20s), I invented what was then
>> the world's most accurate (in terms of representing the language) Arabic
>> wordprocessor.  It was called "The Diplomat."  I became an expert in Arabic
>> calligraphy but never learned to speak or read the language.  NEC in Japan
>> hired me to design wheels for their Spinwriter.  The Saudi government
>> invited me to help them standarize Arabic for computers (i.e. the
>> equivalent of ASCII).  I once spent $10,000 on a hotel bill in Riyadh,
>> while drinking $100 Swiss grapejuice.  One Thanksgiving, I was almost
>> killed on the highway to Dhahran (leading me to propose over the phone to
>> the mother of my children.)
>>
>> As a result, I know a little about Islam.  What is happening now in China
>> is, from their standpoint, the only thing they can do and they will be
>> ruthless in carrying it out.  Any notion of there being a "family of man"
>> should be re-examined.  It's only going to get worse, as Sam Huntington
>> correctly predicted 30 years ago but, alas, since ELECTRICITY *formed* our
>> elites, he was ignored.  "Globalism" is dead -- which is why Trump was
>> elected.  The "World Order" has already been remade.  And, as they say,
>> "Something's strange in the neighborhood! Who are you going to call?"
>>
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Clash-2DCivilizations-2DRemaking-2DWorld-2DOrder_dp_1451628978&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=I7DEa5YxOdkJ7gJgGBvCaLsedEJVAF-yRsXg46rgKqc&s=xbm8imdcJ9BaurooL0uoSVfKoa0Lsij1mZkh4qrBMho&e=
>>
>>
>> ############################
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>> following link:
>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>
>
> ############################
>
> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list:
> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
> or click the following link:
> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1

############################

To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1