The native intellectual had learnt from his masters that the individual ought to express himself fully. the colonialist bourgeoisie had hammered into the native's mind the idea of a society of individuals where each person shuts himself up in his own subjectivity and whose only wealth is individual thought. now the native who has the opportunity to return to the people during the struggle for freedom will discover the falseness of this theory. the very forms of organization of the struggle will suggest to him a different vocabulary.

The Native Intellectual 

Brother, sister, friend—these are words outlawed by the colonialist bourgeoisie, because for them my brother is my purse, my friend is part of my scheme for getting on. the native intellectual takes part, in a sort of auto-da-fe, in the destruction of all his idols: egoism[…]”

Recrimination that springs from pride, and the childish stupidity of those who always want to have the last word. such a colonized intellectual, dusted over by colonial culture, will in the same way discover the substance of the village assemblies[…]”

The cohesion of people's committees & the extraordinary fruitfulness of local meetings&groupments. henceforward, the interests of one will be the interests of all, for in concrete fact everyone will be discovered bythe troops, everyone will be massacred—or everyone will be saved.The motto ‘look out for yourself,’ the atheist's method of salvation, is in this context forbidden.”

philosophy

Philosophy

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

In Praise Of The Native Intellectual

Modern systems of communication are an extension into the external world of man's nervous system.

Here’s 6 tips to break your phone addiction and stop wasting your life.

Phone Addiction Rescue

1. Delete the unneededGo through each app and ask yourself 2 questions:1. “Do I overuse this app?”Yes? Delete it.2. “Does this app help me and do I need it?”Yes? Keep it.But what if you want to take self-control out of the equation?

2. Download an app-blockerYou’d be surprised how many times you unconsciously check your apps.Downloading an app like Freedom can be a lifesaver.Freedom allows you to block specific websites and apps at certain times.This trick alone will save you hours of wasted time.

3. Make it difficultDisable app stores and use parental control.iOS — Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions again. Now, go to iTunes & App Store Purchases and disable App Store installations.This will completely hide the App Store from your phone.

4. Lock it up and throw away the keyEven if you use parental controls, you can still access the apps if you use your password.Unless…You generate a random passcode, write it down, and give it to someone.Now you can only access the apps when you absolutely have to.

5. Optimize the home screenThis is simple:- Only put the apps you need on the home screen- Choose a basic backgroundThis will keep you focused and less tempted to pick up your phone.

6. Turn off notificationsNotifications are just distractions draining your mental energy.Get rid of them.You won’t miss them and you’ll be more present with:- Your work- Your family- Your friendsTake back control of your life.

Take Back Control

How to break your phone addiction: 1. Delete the unneeded2. Download an app-blocker3. Make reinstalling difficult4. Throw away the key5. Optimize the home screen6. Turn off notifications

Conclusion

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

mentalhealth

Mental Health

To be a luddite or not? 

"This amounts to saying that he [i.e. modern man] becomes scarcely more than what would be described in current language as ‘a body without a soul', and that in the most literal sense of the words. [..] the individual really no longer has any 'name' that belongs to him, because he is emptied of the qualities which that name should express; he is thus really 'anonymous', but in the inferior sense of the word.

The Modern Man

This is the anonymity of the 'masses’ of which the individual is part and in which he loses himself, those 'masses' that are no more than a collection of similar individuals, regarded purely and simply as so many arithmetical 'units'. Units' of that sort can be counted, and the collectivity they make up can thus be numerically evaluated but in no way can each one of them be given a denomination indicating that he is distinguished from the others by some qualitative difference."

Arithmetical Units

The Reign of Quantity gives a concise but comprehensive view of the present state of affairs in the world, as it appears from the point of view of the 'ancient wisdom', formerly common both to the East and to the West, but now almost entirely lost sight of. The author indicates with his fabled clarity and directness the precise nature of the modern deviation, and devotes special attention to the development of modern philosophy and science, and to the part played by them, with their accompanying notions of progress and evolution, in the formation of the industrial and democratic society which we now regard as 'normal'. Guénon sees history as a descent from Form (or Quality) toward Matter (or Quantity); but after the Reign of Quantity-modern materialism and the 'rise of the masses'-Guénon predicts a reign of 'inverted quality' just before the end of the age: the triumph of the 'counter-initiation', the kingdom of Antichrist. This text is considered the magnum opus among Guénon's texts of civilizational criticism, as is Symbols of Sacred Science among his studies on symbols and cosmology, and Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta among his more purely metaphysical works.

books

Books

René Guénon

The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times

The antivocational dimension of the humanities has been a source of pride and embarrassment for generations. The persistence of this reputed uselessness is puzzling given the fact that an education in the humanities allows one to develop skills in reading, writing, reflection, and interpretation that are highly prized in our economy and culture.

Critical Thinking 

Sure, specific training in a discrete set of skills might prepare you for Day 1 of the worst job you’ll ever have (your first), but the humanities teach elements of mind and heart that you will draw upon for decades of innovative and focused work. But we do teach a set of skills, or an attitude, in the humanities that may have more to do with our antipractical reputation than the antivocational notion of freedom embedded in the liberal arts. This is the set of skills that usually goes under the rubric of critical thinking.

Importance 

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

problemsolving

Problem Solving

We’re (literally) so used to (just) writing these words we may (actually) find that our writing sounds (totally) odd without them. But (generally) once you get in the habit of cutting these words, you (really) won’t miss them.If one of these words is essential to the meaning of your sentence, keep it! But if not, let it go. To decide whether the word should stay or go, ask yourself these questions:What is the word adding to your sentence?If you cut it, does your sentence lose anything?If you keep it, will you dilute your message?

Delete words that don’t add anything to your sentence

Because we figure out what we think by writing, we often repeat ourselves as we get closer to the best version of our ideas. Combine sentences and shorten it!

Cut the overlap

Your readers don’t necessarily need to follow the journey you took while you were drafting the document. They just need to know where you ended up.Example:I want to point out that our current staffing problems have been exacerbated by a combination of low salaries and the rising cost of housing for renters and buyers in our target cities.Readers will know you’re pointing out the staffing problems because you’re the author of the document that mentions that staffing problems. You don’t lose important information if you cut those first few words and start with “Our current staffing problems…”

Just do it

It’s not the end of the world if you use an unnecessary word now and then, write the occasional overlapping sentence, or tell us what you’re doing in a sentence before you do it. But the extra words add up. In this article, the author offers advice for how to make your writing shorter and sharper.

writing

Reading & Writing

communication

Communication

How to Write Concisely

The least appreciated animals, in my opinion, are ants. Consider all the qualities that endear us to the large African creatures; many of them are shared by ants. They pursue prey that is larger to their relative size than even lions since they are extremely social, incredibly strong, active all day, and observed in larger numbers than wildebeest. Plus, they are fairly simple to locate.

Ants Are Underrated 

Over 200 ant species from various lineages are referred to as "army ants" in this context. Numerous ants forage simultaneously over a small area in large numbers thanks to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, or "raids." Foraging termites are devoured by honeypot ants. When two colonies encounter the same group of these fat prey, the ants congregate at a spot known as a tournament, where the workers from each colony circle one another while standing tall on their legs. When one group starts to look too huge, its members quickly flee.

Like An Army

Farming isn’t done by humans alone. It may seem unusual, yet it is the case. Farming is also practiced by other ant species, but on a lower scale. Just in a different way, apterostigma, or fungus-growing ants, also grow food. Apterostigma ants reside with their fungal garden in a small hole or sheltered place." The ants carry seeds, insect droppings, or other detritus and deposit it on the mushroom growth in these particular areas, which are frequently found in or beneath logs. But despite how messy it all seems, the ants maintain their garden.

Farming And Agriculture 

Our ability to comprehend species of organisms depends on our understanding of the evolutionary processes that result in biological diversity and our ability to create useful tools for species identification. It is essential for both biologists and the general public to comprehend what species are and how to recognise them. Understanding animals like ants helps us realise that there are extremely intelligent beings living among us. Perhaps intelligence is the insects we find in our back gardens and not some cyborg.

In Praise Of The Native Intellectual

To be a luddite or not?

The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times

Add title...

How to Write Concisely

Ahmad