PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 31st October: National identity today (cont 2)

Dear Friends,

This Sunday, 31st October, we hope to finish off the discussion on:
National identity today

From the list of questions we had last week we are now left with:
- Personal identity vs National identity (Ines)
- National identity vs loyalty (Lawrence)

-->> Just to remind you that we do not use the video function on Skype
for the simple reason that this will drain the battery of those
connected on a mobile phone.

Best Lawrence

This Sunday we are discussing:
National identity today
Topic by Ines
Essay by Lawrence
https://www.philomadrid.com/2021/10/national-identity-today.html

In my very short essay I identify two philosophical issues that might be
the key issues to our topic.

In the meantime you can link to the current news and notices here:
https://www.philomadrid.com/2020/10/news-and-notices.html

-Alfonso has a new website and he gave us link to his latest book of
poems: Después

-Oscar's book on his reflections on COVID-19 is still available

-David J. Butler has published a new book "Absent Friends" regarding the
Cementerio Británico in Madrid

Finally if you have problems with Skype try launching it again if you
have the App or browser. Send me a message for the link.

Best and take care
Lawrence

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com


PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 31st October: National identity today
(cont 2)

PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 24th October: National identity today (cont)

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we are continuing with the discussion from last week:
National identity today

However, we have three questions left from last meeting which we can
have a look again:

- The secret personal national identity (Norma)
- Personal identity vs National identity (Ines)
- National identity vs loyalty (Lawrence)

Best Lawrence

This Sunday we are discussing:
National identity today
Topic by Ines
Essay by Lawrence
https://www.philomadrid.com/2021/10/national-identity-today.html

In my very short essay I identify two philosophical issues that might be
the key issues to our topic.

In the meantime you can link to the current news and notices here:
https://www.philomadrid.com/2020/10/news-and-notices.html

-Alfonso has a new website and he gave us link to his latest book of
poems: Después

-Oscar's book on his reflections on COVID-19 is still available

-David J. Butler has published a new book "Absent Friends" regarding the
Cementerio Británico in Madrid

Finally if you have problems with Skype try launching it again if you
have the App or browser. Send me a message for the link.

Best and take care
Lawrence

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com


PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 24th October: National identity today
(cont)

PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 17th October: National identity today

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we are discussing:
National identity today
Topic by Ines
Essay by Lawrence
https://www.philomadrid.com/2021/10/national-identity-today.html

In my very short essay I identify two philosophical issues that might be
the key issues to our topic.

In the meantime you can link to the current news and notices here:
https://www.philomadrid.com/2020/10/news-and-notices.html

-Alfonso has a new website and he gave us link to his latest book of
poems: Después

-Oscar's book on his reflections on COVID-19 is still available

-David J. Butler has published a new book "Absent Friends" regarding the
Cementerio Británico in Madrid

Finally if you have problems with Skype try launching it again if you
have the App or browser. Send me a message for the link.

Best and take care
Lawrence

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com


PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 17th October: National identity today

National identity today

National identity today

 

Topic by Ines

Essay by Lawrence

 

We assume that national identity is a consequence of state citizenship, but national identity need not be linked to citizenship. We have two good examples, the Jewish nation and the Indigenous North American nations. Even imperialism does not endow people with a different national identity as that of the occupying nation. When the British eventually occupied India, the native Indian people did not have a British national identity; and in Italy, when living there, I noticed that people identified more with the town or city they came from rather than Italy as a country.

 

I would therefore argue that national identity is more a subjective feeling in certain circumstances and an imposed identity in other cases. However, today anything connected with nation and state can and does give rise to nationalism and xenophobia. The problem is not that in the past nationalism and xenophobia did not exist, but that today such ideologies can spread to a worldwide audience within hours.

 

A look at some dictionaries national identity is established by such factors as traditions, culture and language. But in historical and ancient countries such as those found in Europe, these three factors can be and usually are different from region to region in a modern state. Spain and Italy are two very good examples. It should not, therefore, be a surprise that the political systems of these two countries are not as cohesive as say a modern country such as the United States.

 

From a philosophical perspective there are a number of issues that might be of interest. For example, where does personal identity stop and national identity start? Is liking roast beef and Yorkshire pudding a matter of my national identity with England or a personal choice based on what I like eating? But if liking food from one’s country makes it a matter of national identity, what about liking food (or music, literature, speaking another language) from another country? Would liking Fabada Asturiana or authentic Italian pizza make one Spanish or Italian?

 

At best only a socially inept person would think that their national food is the only food worth eating; at worst only committed racists and xenophobes would think such a thing about their national food. It seems that the criteria for national identity are neither necessary nor sufficient.

 

Indeed does national identity, therefor, give rise to xenophobia? Or is one’s national identity a trigger for xenophobes and xenophobia?

 

Best Lawrence

 

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813

 

Email: philomadrid@gmail.com

 

http://www.philomadrid.com

 

PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 10th October: Pandemic influence on ideology

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we are discussing: The influence of the pandemic on 21st C
ideology

The topic was proposed by Clara, and in my short essay I try to identify
the key issues:

The influence of the pandemic on 21st C ideology
https://www.philomadrid.com/2021/10/the-influence-of-pandemic-on-21st-c.html


In the meantime you can link to the current news and notices here:
https://www.philomadrid.com/2020/10/news-and-notices.html

-Alfonso has a new website and he gave us link to his latest book of
poems: Después

-Oscar's book on his reflections on COVID-19 is still available

-David J. Butler has published a new book "Absent Friends" regarding the
Cementerio Británico in Madrid

Finally if you have problems with Skype try launching it again if you
have the App or browser. Send me a message for the link.

Best and take care
Lawrence

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813
Email: philomadrid@gmail.com
http://www.philomadrid.com


PhiloMadrid on Skype 6:30pm Sunday 10th October: Pandemic influence on
ideology

The influence of the pandemic on 21st C ideology

 

The influence of the pandemic on 21st C ideology

 

Topic by Clara

 

Essay by Lawrence

 

Although pandemics are not new to humanity, they are rare enough that their effects and how to deal with them are lost in the memory of society. This might be a positive state of affairs since it implies that pandemics are not very common. But it also means that we are not necessarily prepared when there is a new pandemic. We are destined to make the same mistakes: people not wearing masks are one such mistake by members of society.

 

The 2020 Covid 19 pandemic has demonstrated how the political systems today are completely inadequate for a pandemic, even to the point of accusing some national governments of criminal negligence. This pandemic should not have happened and it happened because of the criminality of the Chinese dictatorship, and their corruption. Today we come across articles (search the internet) strongly suggesting that the pandemic did start from one of the virus laboratories in China and by the summer of 2019 the virus was already an epidemic in Wuhan.

 

The idea that the pandemic started in a wet market, maybe even coming from abroad, is disgraceful: there are many wet markets in the world and they don’t usually create pandemics.

 

Of course, the actions of the then President Trump regarding his management of the pandemic in the USA can only be described as intentional criminal policies. Most other governments were inadequately prepared for the pandemic if at all and politically many governments were ignorant or just being populist. Economically, many governments did not have or make available resources to help the sick or those affected by the lockdown.

 

The EU made a huge effort to organise finances and logistics to supply safety equipment and research to develop a vaccine within member states. But because healthcare systems are the competences of each individual country in the EU the coordination and management of the pandemic in the EU was at best parochial when the fight should have been coordinated at the continent level.

 

The pandemic made it possible for corrupt politicians and governments to plunder the financial resources of their respective country. And of course many Chinese suppliers took advantage of the world crisis to enrich themselves usually by supplying sub standard supplies. It is clear that in 2021 the world cannot rely anymore on a dictatorship and a single source to supply health care material and key products.

 

But this corruption and mismanagement is not something new and not exclusive for the 21^st century. However, what is new is that we practically had real time information about this corruption and mismanagement. Also a new factor is real time social media: these mediums were, and still are, used to inform people about the medical facts about the pandemic but also to spread fake and false information.

 

What the pandemic has established is that medical health care cannot be a for-profit activity anymore. Health care should not be a matter of whether we can afford the bill at the point of use. That is criminal because the state is condemning citizens to die simply because they are poor. If private companies can make a profit from providing healthcare (they cannot without cheating) then those profits can be invested back in the health care service.

 

Finally, new technologies have made it possible to access scientific and expert opinions about the pandemic in real time, but it seems that the average human mind is still not curious enough to find out the reality of the pandemic and the scientific implications of the pandemic.

 

Best and take care

Lawrence

 

telephone/WhatsApp: 606081813

Email: philomadrid@gmail.com

http://www.philomadrid.com