Yin and Yang

*Can all knowledge be gained through reason, as in rationalism? or is it gained through experience, as in empiricism?
*Where truth and belief meet, knowledge.
*Rationalism is a shift in perception whereby you morally develop the irrational portion of your soul (emotions) and connect it with the rational, which is beyond consciousness but communicates via dreams, etc.; to know yourself; approach the world seeing that we never truly know the answer to a question, transcend to see what things truly are (?)- Socrates
*a rational pursuit of truth should doubt every belief about reality. i think, therefore i am. -Descartes
*Unlike Descartes, denied the existence of a material world. pre-establshed harmony, "monads"-Leibniz
*Kant: synthesize rat & empir; If one cannot prove that a thing is, he may try to prove that it is not. our future life is our ruler, otherwise morality is only an idle dream. Transcendental Idealism:our experience of things is about how they appear to us, but not about those things as they are in and of themselves. space and time are subjective but necessarily so. humanity as an ends rather than a means. perception: a priori (independent of experience), a posteriori (dependent on experience). experience depends on certain necessary conditions which hold true for the world. understanding what is supplied by the mind from what is supplied by the given intuitions.
*nature vs. nurture: the importance of an idividual's innate qualities/philo empiricism vs. personal experience (rationalism, transcendental idealism)
**literature, politics, career choice, interpersonal relationships
**religion, western vs. eastern, pessimism vs. optimism, war & peace, order vs. anarchy, nihilism, fate & free will
[Republicanism relies on civic virtue- habits promote community success; democrats pessismists? Republicans as a govt. of laws, not of men. but who makes the laws?
*Democracy majority rule: population plays a role in decision-making
*democracy by itself should prevent or minimize war? demo peace theory: rule of law: the principle that no one is above the law.]

Bosnian War: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of 26 February 2007 effectively determined the war's nature to be international, thus exonerating Serbia of responsibility for the genocide committed by Serb forces of Republika Srpska. The ICJ concluded, however, that Serbia failed to prevent genocide committed by Serb forces and failed to punish those who carried out the genocide, especially general Ratko Mladić, and bring them to justice. NATO(1949, parties agreed to defend against armed attack using actions deemed necessary, sometimes armed force, to restore and maintain security of area; collective defense organization)'s involvement internationalized it. Dayton Agreement, framework for peace reached in Dayton, OH (12/'95). Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL) divides Bosnia and Herzegovina into two entities, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Irish War? Middle East? Vietnam unsuccessful, undesired why? parallels to now?

Trapeze Swinger

Please, remember me, happily,
by the rosebush laughing
with bruises on my chin, the time when
we counted every black car passing
your house beneath the hill, and up until
someone caught us in the kitchen
with maps, a mountain range, a piggy bank
a vision too removed to mention

But please remember me, fondly,
i heard from someone you're still pretty
and then they went on to say that the Pearly Gates
have such eloquent graffiti
like: “we'll meet again” and “fuck the Man”
and “tell my mother not to worry”
and angels with their great handshakes
but always done in such a hurry

and please remember me, at Halloween
making fools of all the neighbors
our faces painted white, by midnight
we'd forgotten one another
and when the morning came I was ashamed
only now it seems so silly
that season left the world and then returned
and now you're lit up by the city

so please remember me, mistakenly
in the window of the tallest tower
call, then pass us by, but much too high
to see the empty road at happy hour
gleam and resonate just like the gates
around the Holy Kingdom
with words like: “lost and found” and “don't look down”
and “someone save temptation”

and please remember me, as in the dream
we had as rug-burned babies
among the fallen trees and fast asleep
beside the lions and the ladies
that called you what you like and even might
give a gift for your behavior:
a fleeting chance to see a trapeze-
swinger high as any savior

but please remember me, my misery
and how it lost me all i wanted
those dogs that love the rain, and chasin' trains
the colored birds above there runnin'
in circles round the well, and where it spells
on the wall behind St. Peter
so bright on cinder gray in spray paint:
“who the hell can see forever?”

and please remember me, seldomly
in the car behind the carnival
my hand between your knees, you turn from me
and said the trapeze act was wonderful
but never meant to last, the clowns that passed
saw me just come up with anger
when it filled with circus dogs, the parking lot
had an element of danger

so please remember me, finally
and all my uphill clawing
my dear, but if i make the Pearly Gates
i’ll do my best to make a drawing
of God and Lucifer, a boy and girl
an angel kissin’ on a sinner
a monkey and a man, a marching band
all around the frightened trapeze-swinger