With Christmas in full swing and the end of the year at the doorstep, it is time to reflect again on what has passed.
2019 was a year of a personal roller coaster that started at the end of 18. It challenged me on so many levels that I really cannot compare it to anything else but to a giant roller coaster. Mind you, it was scary and exhilarating at the same time and, it was stomach churning. Overall, it was a good year. But, to be honest, I don’t really want to have another one like it. Then again, I may not have a choice, so I better look at the bright side, the fun side, the one that makes you feel alive, even if it is only for a brief moment.

Unfortunately, the year marks a sinister turn for the local community as well as for the rest of the world. What scientists have been warning about for so many years, with the warning sign being well and truly present and ever more compounding, they were ignored, until now, 2019, when they hit hard and without mercy. 2019 marks the year of Australia burning as it never has before. Drought, cyclones, bushfires were always part of the harsh Australian living conditions, but nothing like the inferno of the bushfires right now. It makes 2019 an “annus horribilis”.

 Certain times are more enticing than others to put you into the mood of reflection on what you have achieved, missed, enjoyed or, what you had to put up with, and where relaxing is easier than not because the calendar shows more red colored days than black, telling you that there is little chance to get things done anyway. The most obvious time for it coincides either with the end or the beginning of the year, usually after the dining and whining or the partying. You may have a holiday but it does not mean your emotions have one. Just the opposite! They have their major season. In fact, they may boil over and then you ponder why family, friends, or God are so ghastly to spoil an otherwise perfect time.

Well, this blog will not dive into the ins and outs of joys or disappointments packed into the last breaths of a year. It will but, in the site’s tradition, link basic philosophical thought and theories of science, well in tune with the, lets say, original season’s purpose, or to give you something to think about, with far less pain.

Lately our website has been invaded with, so it seems, computer generated registry. Adverse events always interrupt what you are doing and you may feel disgruntled having to take care of a problem that will not go away by ignoring it. Some of the actions you may have to take, do not necessarily make you feel much better either, particularly not, when you are obliged to put up fences, though you prefer an open field. But to limit trespassing, a fence speaks a clear language for even the illiterate to understand. Though a fence can be jumped, at least, the trespasser knows, he is in the wrong and, more importantly, his actions reveal his true nature for all to see. Has this anything to do with the article? It sure has, because, coming to the point, the intentions of the trespassing agency or person behind it, are based on greed. Why get worked up about greed, you may ask? It’s just an unpleasant attitude, is it not? Well, you may change your mind when you look at it more closely.

Dear Ini!

Most people would agree, being ill or suffering from a disease is undesirable. Some would agree that we may bring it upon ourselves, but hardly anyone would agree, that one may choose or want to be sick. Why would anyone want to suffer when already a simple cold makes life quite miserable? The only exception as one knows, is the malingerer, who claims to suffer when he does not. But then again, there are others, who feel ill as good as, or even worse, than one would expect from the ailments they seem to have, raising doubts and questions by the doctors and nurses, or even people around them, if all really is as it looks like. Therefore, when we talk about illness, we are talking about something more intriguing than the eye meets, because illness, though it may be due to a disease, is not a disease. And, despite feeling ill, not necessarily is there an identifiable cause, but there are many reasons. 

Probably it is best to have a clear understanding of the terms illness, sickness and disease. All relate to the same thing, compromised health that is. The terms are interchangeable, but their implications differ on the occasion. Therefore, no harm is done to look at their definitions. In a nutshell:

Since the introduction of Sozieterna to the public the hesitation about this step was a point of concern then and it still is. No uni-vocal agreement or consensus among its members has been reached so far. There are more arguments against then for it, and the voices against become stronger rather than less. Their reasoning unfortunately has solid ground and is twofold. For one it is about Sozieterna’s own interests, the other about the interests of Non-Sozieternas. In this specific instance it is about the interests of all people on Earth as we inhabit this planet.

A word to the test itself, because there are so many different tests on the market, and you may ask, why this one? The answer is simple. Humans are curious and we always want to know more, including or particularly when it concerns ourselves. Obviously this is not an intelligence test, though Einstein and Neanderthal have a particular implication. Generally, the test examines how you integrate yourself into the world you live in; what relationship you have with the environment; how you use it, to what advantage or disadvantage, and with what aims or goals.

What am I: "Einstein" (Homo sapiens), or "Neanderthaler" (Homo erectus)?

( Part 1)

There is no doubt that good and evil exist and no denying that most humans need laws that (one would hope), limit evil as much as possible. Watching the news, looking around, evil has the upper hand in this world and if it is not reigned in, it will continue and escalate in doing the dirty deeds. Good and evil is generally seen as an abstract concept and as such it is a product of the mind. Though it is universal, it does not necessarily mean the same for all. Requiring a system of values by which it is judged it depends on the morality of a single person, as much as on social norms or the prevailing culture at large. What is seen as evil or good can therefore vary though basically the good is associated with kindness and life enhancing experiences, and evil with malice and suffering. There is also no clear definition of the two, but that is not necessary anyway because they are really not ever misunderstood. In fact, they are incorporated in everybody far deeper than the intellectual mind suggests or perceives. Apart from the external variables that intelligence creates and its societal and cultural context, a person’s internal and emotional understanding of good and evil is indeed very much the same for all people, no matter where they come from or belong to.   

It is unlikely that many people would doubt the necessity of laws. Interestingly, there is no universally accepted definition, but that is no hindrance to the understanding of what laws are for. Generally, they are a system of rules that governs behaviors. Therefore everything that humans do or aspire to has its set of laws: Legal systems with civil law, criminal law, religious laws; or legal subjects laws such as international laws, contract laws, human rights laws, communal laws, constitutional and administrative laws etc. etc.; you name it, there are laws for everything. But as Cicero, the famous philosopher, political theorist and lawyer of the old Roman Empire stated: “More law, less justice”, so it is, law has nothing to do with justice. But let us start from the beginning: 

It does not matter to whom you talk, peace is everyone’s desire. Strangely though it does not seem it is desired enough otherwise there would be peace everywhere wouldn't it?  Maybe peace is not achievable no matter how much it is desired? Like the song goes, “You can’t always get what you want……” Or maybe because peace, like a tree, has developed two major branches, both supporting a wide canopy if nurtured well, but one or the other or even both falling victim to disease and therefore bear no fruit or even die off? The two branches stand for peace as an individual agenda and political issue. Personal peace is more likely to eventuate being under a person’s own control, but the latter, depending on others to agree, may be a problem. What is peace anyway and why is it so desirable? 

After the initial introduction of Sozieterna to the public, people who have never heard of the name nor of anyone belonging to such a community, may want answers to some basic questions they probably have and wonder about. Questions like, who are they, what are they, why are they and how come that they never came across such people, though of course they did unknowingly.

One can speculate that the word is the short version of ‘equal quality’, - e-quality, and instantly the definition becomes self-explanatory. It is however defined as a status of being equal in aspects of social life or as a symbolic expression in mathematics for equation or symmetry.

Though one of the synonyms is sameness, another parity, these do not do justice to the meaning or interpretation as it is understood by the citizens of the western democracies. We as humans are the same, but different as individual human beings. We are equal despite being diverse. Equality is a social construct though in Sozieterna’s view there is no doubt that it is not only applicable to us humans. Equality belongs to all and everything coming from the same origin, created from the same matter and interconnected all the same, despite different appearances.  

It may be wrong to presume that expectation and hope are unique to humans. Observing animals shows they have expectations, the primates at least are likely to have hope too. Until recently animals were not even thought of having intelligence or emotions. They had instincts nothing else, even when their cries of pain and their expression of pleasure were telling a different story. Pet owners always insisted that their pets were far more than just instinct driven but who took them seriously? Fortunately, this is changing. Unfortunately, the endeavor to explore animal cognition and behavior, let alone their mind is more difficult than to investigate humans. So let us talk about us, our hopes and expectations! What are they? Why do we have them? 

Some may think there is no need to read about, discuss anything or examine the subject as a matter of interest. Everyone knows what responsibility is, and the unpleasant feelings it evokes. The attempts to avoid responsibility are far more entertaining than the topic itself. To be carefree is the goal, not to be held back, tied down or burdened by whatever it may be or whatever has or needs to be done. 

Many may immediately when hearing this word associate it with Women’s Liberation, may be using it as a synonym and though that is not wrong, it is misleading, because the word applies to all matters of liberation, not just the women’s.

Emancipation is defined as the fact or process of being set free from legal, social or political restriction. It does mean liberation from bondage, oppression and restraint. It is derived as so many words we use from Latin: “ex manus capere” translating into “take out of hand”. In Roman and civil law it meant to end control and give full legal rights.

Why talking about emotions? Because they are shaping our life and that of the society we live in. They are elusive, so unpredictable, at least that is what we think. We all have them, we are never without them, we all know what they do, in fact, they are essential to life as we know it. Some believe we can master them, may be, one better than the other, but they are there if we like it or not. We hardly ask why we have them particularly when we feel good, but when we feel miserable we do. So, do we really have control over them or do they rule over us? 

Theorists still scratch their heads. None can claim their views are right, and it appears nobody is clear about what to make of them. Too many angles from which emotions can be researched, too many opinions trying to interpret them. The libraries are full of their works and if anyone is interested, they are all inviting to browse the papers, books and magazines. Naturally, Sozieternas have their own opinion and theory.

The word comes from the Latin frater, meaning brother, but fraternity or brotherhood as a synonym for fraternity is defined as a ‘body of people sharing a common interest or being associated for a common interest or for a common purpose’. It does not imply that they are related to each other nor that they have to be male, though many of the fraternities are for men only.

Freedom is one of Sozieterna’s social principles and it is constitutional. It means however more than the French connotation of Liberty, which was a political cry for freedom from an oppressive and overindulgent regime of the French monarchy.

For Sozieternas freedom is a force and a state, meaning it has dual propensities. It also means one has a purpose, the other one is. Sozieternas utilize the force, as well as they access the state. That is expressed in the way their society functions and how the individual operates.  

I am sure there is no need for a definition but it may still fulfill the purpose to get right to the point of the blog.

According to the Oxford dictionary, pretence means an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true. Pretension is the act of trying to be more than one is, or a claim to be or do something. Pretending is to behave so as to make it appear that something is the case when it is not.