125 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
125 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
non serviam #0
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WELCOME
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Contents: Welcoming letter from the editor
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Advertisement
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On the next issue
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Welcome to "non serviam". You have probably read the
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advertisement, which, in any case, is appended below. At the present
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time, the newsletter is handled solely through my personal
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mail-address solan@math.uio.no, so all letters and request should
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be sent to that address.
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People subscribing to this list range from self-taught amateurs
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to professors of philosophy, and so the interest ranges from
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academic interest in ideas to the more practical and applied.
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Nothing more will come out from this newsletter than is put into it.
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The only synergistic effect we can hope for, is that of inspiration
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through an environment of people discussing the same ideas.
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Because this newsletter tries to address both professional and
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amateur alike, I would appreciate it if submitted entries took this
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into consideration. In practice, this means that claims should be
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supported by reasoned arguments, so that the opposite part has
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something to hold on to. References are fine, as long as they do
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not substitute argument.
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The newsletter is not primarily aimed at confrontation, though
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this surely is not barred, but at exchange of information. That
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means that if anyone finds something [s]he thinks will be of interest
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to the readers of the newsletter, [s]he should feel free to post it.
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Examples of what is relevant are articles on how Nietzsche, Rand, Hegel
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and Feuerbach relate to the primary subject matter of this newsletter.
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Likewise articles on the relation to the basis of anarchism, and on
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the relation to sciences - in particular psychology. As examples of
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what is non-relevant, we have: Election issues, flames, issues in
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philosophy not even touching the main subject, academic small-talk,
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and nuisance mail. I would also appreciate minimization of quoting
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from other posters.
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Current and back issues of Non Serviam, together with some material
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relevant to Stirner, are available via anonymous ftp from
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red.css.itd.umich.edu and ftp.css.itd.umich.edu.
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The files are stored in /poli/Non.Serviam on both sites. If you
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have problems retrieving the files, send email to pauls@umich.edu.
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Sincerely,
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Svein Olav Nyberg (editor)
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(solan@math.uio.no)
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____________________________________________________________________
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Advertisement:
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"Non serviam!" - "I will not serve", is known from literature as
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Satan's declaration of his rebellion against God. We wish to follow
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up on this tradition of insurrection.
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In modern times, the philosophy of the individual's assertion of
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himself against gods, ideals and human oppressors has been most
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eloquently expressed by Max Stirner in his book "Der Einzige und
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Sein Eigentum"[1].
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Stirner, whose real name was Johann Kaspar Schmidt [1806-56],
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lived in a time dominated by German Idealism, with Hegel as its
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prominent figure. It is against this background of fixation of ideas
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that Stirner makes his rebellion. Stirner takes down these ideas
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from their fixed points in the starry sky of Spirit, and declares
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all ideas to be the ideas of an Ego[2], and the realm of spirits and
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ideas to be the mind of the thinker himself. His heaven-storming is
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total. Even the idealist tool - dialectic, and the supreme ghost of
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Idealism, [Absolute] Spirit - are stripped of their status of
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intrinsic existence, and are taken back into the Ego himself. This
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is most clearly seen in Stirner's main triad: Materialist -
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Idealist - Egoist. And the triad stops at its last link. Any further
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progress cannot negate Egoism, for - progress has been taken back
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into the individual, as his - property.
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For Stirner, the solution to the "alienation", or
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"self-alienation" of Idealism, is in self-expression, or -
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ownership. What cannot be one's own cause, the cause that is not
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one's own, is not worth pursuing. As Stirner says "Away then, with
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every cause that is not altogether my cause!"
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Now, this is the philosophical starting point of this newsletter.
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For the more formal part, though the letter is centered on
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philosophy and ideas, articles on topics relevant to true egoists
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will also be admitted. The prime requirement is that the articles
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are not on-line ranting, but serious attempts to convey something of
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interest and relevance. Articles on literature through the ages will
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be very fine, stories will be welcomed if I see them fit, and I even
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think I might fall for an article on french cuisine made easy ...
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However: If in doubt whether the article will be accepted, contact
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me by personal mail first. A waste of time is a waste of time.
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I hope to be able to make each of the issues of the newsletter
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thematic, that is we have one main theme in each issue. The main
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theme is not meant to be the sole content, however, but more an
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inspiration for writing.
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Editor & List owner: solan@math.uio.no
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[1] English title: "The Ego and Its Own".
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[2] Einziger - single individual.
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____________________________________________________________________
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Next issue:
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By asserting oneself - by insurrection - one is an egoist, one
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who puts himself first. For the next issue of "non serviam", #1, I
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would therefore appreciate articles about "what egoism means" in
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general. Both questions of the type "is hedonism the real egoism",
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and articles pondering the status of egoism in ethics are appreciated.
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Psychological angles of attack are also appreciated.
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____________________________________________________________________
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***********************************************************************
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* "Whoever is a complete person does not need - to be an authority!" *
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* From +The False Principle of Our Education+ *
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***********************************************************************
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