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The subject that currently interests me is omniscience, and the reason is that the common understanding of the word may be a contradiction. The word means "all knowledge", and is often referred as a pastiche of Bret Hart: knowing everything there is, everything there was and everything there will ever be. This implies determinism and a mechanistic universe that plays itself and abolishes the concepts of free will, morality, responsibility and such. That is because to hold someone responsible one would have to have the ability to do otherwise and in a mechanistic universe that simply is not the case. I instinctively recoil from this understanding of the word as it is in direct contradiction with how I, and everyone else, approaches life. It would also mean that God is the sort of monstrous puppet master who first creates beings He knows to mess up and then tortures them for shits and giggles while being the only one ever making a choice of any sort and thus directly and alone responsible for everything. You know, the sort of God atheists reject, and if it was real, Christianity, or any other religion, for that matter, would make absolutely no sense at all. So my question is: what if "all knowledge" cannot encompass the future, as it does not exist? Sure, one can calculate those things that depend on mechanisms, but not, say, what I shall eat tomorrow, for I have yet to decide that. Having all knowledge cannot mean having knowledge that is not there. This leaves open the possibility of having a free will, moral responsibility et al. It is also supported by our empirical experience of life. If the suggestion my question implies is correct, then God can be both omniscient and omnipotent without being omniderigent (ie. all-acting puppet master). And if so, the Bible would also make sense. PS. I do not subscribe to the usual attribution of God as omniscient, because the Bible strongly implies He isn't. He may well be voliscient (knows what he wants to know) and I'm perfectly ok with that. PPS. No wonder most atheists are so hell bent on determinism; their faux-moral rejection of God depends on it.

[This is an open work-in-progress theory regarding Capital and relevant definitions]: -- Preface -- In the same way the color wheel and circle of fifths help to convey relationships and serve as mnemonic diagrams, I seek to simplify and clarify capital theory for ease of teaching and incorporation into our daily lives. This is also an attempt to make measurable those aspects of capital other than physical/financial forms (many of them already are measured to some degree). If this sounds like something that interests you as well, I welcome your contributions, critiques, and clarifications. -- Definitions -- Capital: The source for, and result of, exchange/interaction (...too vague?) Capital: A vehicle for will Capital: A means to an end Capital Archetypes: Subcategories (the "hues") of capital that share certain properties (convenient as a label but not mutually exclusive to another archetype) Inter-Capital: Exchanges/interactions between different capital archetypes (a change in "hue" on the color wheel, or for example, cash for cookies) Intra-Capital: Exchanges/interactions within the same capital archetype (a change in "intensity" of a hue on the color wheel, or for example, cookies for milk) Currency: Valuations: The unit of measurement used for a specific capital archetype -- Capital Archetypes -- [][/Red] Natural Capital: Capital that sustains life. This can include land/ecosystems, food, water, animals, and even the body (time too?). The implication here is that self-ownership is not only a foundation of responsibility for one's actions, but also a generator of other capital (what we make with our time and energy for example). Possible currencies valuations include calories, joules (?), weight, numerical count (head of cattle for example), ppm/pH (water purity), and carbon/nitrogen/etc. (?). [][/Orange] Financial Capital: Capital that facilitates trade. This can include physical and/or digital forms of money, credit, insurances, securities, stocks/bonds, and any other form of fiduciary contract. The implication here is that this capital acts as a middleman capital to ease economic exchange between other capitals with physical limitations (or otherwise), and account for wealth in an abstract manner. Possible currencies valuations include price, probability percentages, shares, and... (maybe an economist can elaborate further?) [][/Yellow] Material Capital: Capital that fuels/supplies industry. This can include all matter of resources, tools, and infrastructure. The implication here is that this capital maintains the means of production. Possible currencies valuations include weight/load capacity, grade (quality), production rate, tensile strength, and efficiency (energy, material, or otherwise). [][/Green] Social Capital: Capital that denotes diplomatic capacity. This can include your social network, recommendations/reputation/trustworthiness/influence, and legitimacy. The implication here is that who you know and who knows you can become a valuable asset (strength of connections within a network). Possible currencies valuations include the number of connections, friends, and followers you have (both in your local and digital/distant neighborhood), your credit score, public opinion poll percentages, etc. [][/blue] Cultural Aesthetic Capital: Capital that projects perception. This can include art (manifested appeals to the senses), rituals, prestige, luxury, etc. The implication here is that people and things (ephemeral or enduring) have intrinsic value beyond the material, medium, or action. Possible currencies valuations include... I dunno... provenance? (moving on...) [][/indigo] Human Intellectual Gnostic Capital: Capital that documents and imparts information. This can include diplomas, reference materials, an individual's collection of experience (knowledge/wisdom etc.), personality, and language/discussion/debate. The implication here is that (applied) knowledge is power (whether esoteric or exoteric) and can inform our decisions throughout various capital transactions. Possible currencies valuations include literacy, age (?), bytes/RAM/processing power, and informational accuracy/intelligence (error probability). [][/Violet] Spiritual (φ) Capital: Capital that encourages self-actualization. This can include empathy, morale/self-esteem, honor, mastery, and internal resonance (as opposed to cognitive dissonance). The implication here is that our emotions are valuable in ways like sensing a connection to others as well as an internal guidance system (for future thoughts and behaviors). Possible currencies valuations include the emotional scale, etc. (another hard one...) -- Discussion/Revisions -- [i look forward to hearing your thoughts.] StylesGrant: Humanity in Capital vs. Rationality AustinJames: Subjective vs. Objective capital, & Social/Cultural Capital overlap GRosado: Redefine Capital, Inter- Intra- Confusion, Currency/Measurement Confusion, & Hayekian Triangle Inclusion Josh F: Human Capital distinctions possibly unnecessary, & possible Coercive Capital/Political Capital inclusion. I made a model to illustrate the idea.

Okay so I am reading Real Time Relationships. Stefan is using words I thought I knew but, he has different meanings for the words. Example: the word love. I would think. "Oh, love is when I like something alot." Stefan's meaning for love is my involuntary attraction to virtue. Virtue being truth , honesty, integrity, courage, and empathy. I am sure Stefan's list of virtues is much longer. These are just the ones that come to mind. With that said, my hiccups come about when Stefan uses the word soul and respect, respectively. Like any student seeking knowledge I first turn to a standard. In this case I was using Oxford English Dictionary. I am sure Stefan has his own meaning for these words. Has anyone tackled this and knows what Stefan is saying? Thank you, in advance, for reading my post.

Does anyone know if there is a specific word that describes the feeling you get when you experience or witness an injustice? Maybe it's just me being weird, but I've always felt like typical emotions like anger, frustration or helplessness just don't quite describe that feeling. It's almost like a mixture of all three. I found an interesting tidbit on Wikipedia about this feeling, applied to a culture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_%28cultural%29 Does anyone have any thoughts?