Will to Power January 2, 2009

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Suppose nothing else were “given” as real except our world of desires and passions, and we could not get down, or up, to any other “reality” besides the reality of our drives–for thinking is merely a relation of these drives to each other: is it not permitted to make the experiment and to ask the question whether this “given” would not be sufficient for also understanding on the basis of this kind of thing the so-called mechanistic (or “material”) world?…

In the end not only is it permitted to make this experiment; the conscience of method demands it. Not to assume several kinds of causality until the experiment of making do with a single one has been pushed to its utmost limit (to the point of nonsense, if I may say so)… The question is in the end whether we really recognize the will as efficient,  whether we believe in the causality of the will: if we do–and at bottom our faith in this is nothing less than our faith in causality itself–then we have to make the experiment of positing  causality of the will hypothetically as the only one. “Will,” of course, can affect only “will”–and not “matter” (not “nerves,” for example). In short, one has to risk the hypothesis whether will does not affect will wherever “effects” are recognized–and whether all mechanical occurrences are not, insofar as a force is active in them, will force, effects of will.

Suppose, finally, we succeeded in explaining our entire instinctive life as the development and ramification of one basic form of the will–namely, of the will to power, as my proposition has it… then one would have gained the right to determine all efficient force univocally as–will to power. The world viewed from inside… it would be “will to power” and nothing else.

from Beyond Good and Evil, s.36, Walter Kaufmann transl.

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From Diversity to Pluralism December 23, 2008

by Diana L. Eck

All of America’s diversity, old and new, does not add up to pluralism. “Pluralism” and “diversity” are sometimes used as if they were synonyms, but diversity is just plurality, plain and simple — splendid, colorful, perhaps threatening. Pluralism is the engagement that creates a common society from all that plurality. On the same street in Silver Spring, Maryland the Vietnamese Catholic church, the Cambodian Buddhist temple, the Ukranian Orthodox church, the Muslim Community Center, the Disciples of Christ church and the Mangal Mandir Hindu temple are all located in the same neighborhood. This is certainly diversity, but without any engagement or relationship with one another it may not be an instance of pluralism.

Religion and Violence October 7, 2008

Oleh: A. Sihabulmillah

Moreover, despite the fact that these elites hold such meetings after every outbreak of religious based violence, the violence keeps recurring. Despite this problem, there are a number of factors involved in interfaith dialog that make it an important arena for transforming destructive religious attitudes into loving ones.

The 9/11 tragedy created a rift in interfaith relations – mainly between Islam and Christianity – and unfortunately, this rift has led to yet further bloodshed. In response to this, an international interfaith dialog was held in Jogjakarta on the 6th and 7th of December, 2004. Participants came from ten South East Asian countries and four other countries, namely Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor. The objective of the dialog was to develop understanding and harmony among the interfaith communities, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nietzsche October 6, 2008

Filsafat Nietzsche adalah filsafat cara memandang ‘kebenaran’ atau dikenal dengan istilah filsafat perspektivisme. Nietzsche juga dikenal sebagai’’sang pembunuh Tuhan” dalam ”Also sprach Zarathustra”. Ia memprovokasi dan mengkritik kebudayaan Barat di zaman-nya (dengan peninjauan ulang semua nilai dan tradisi atau ”Umwertung aller Werten”) yang sebagian besar dipengaruhi oleh pemikiran Plato dan tradisi kekristenan (keduanya mengacu kepada paradigma kehidupan setelah kematian, sehingga menurutnya anti dan pesimis terhadap kehidupan). Walaupun demikian dengan kematian Tuhan berikut paradigma kehidupan setelah kematian tersebut, filosofi Nietzsche tidak menjadi sebuah filosofi nihilisme. Justru sebaliknya yaitu sebuah filosofi untuk menaklukan nihilisme. nihilisme di sini juga dipahami sebagai ‘kedatangan kekal yang sama (atau dalam terminologi Nietzsche : ‘die Ewige Wiederkehr des Gleichen’) yang merupakan siklus berulang-ulang dalam kehidupan tanpa makna berarti di baliknya seperti datang dan perginya kegembiraan, duka, harapan, kenikmatan, kesakitan, ke-khilafan, dan seterusnya… (”Überwindung der Nihilismus”) dengan mencintai utuh kehidupan (”Lebensbejahung”), dan memposisikan manusia sebagai manusia purna ”Übermensch” dengan kehendak untuk berkuasa (der Wille zur Macht).

Selain itu Nietzsche dikenal sebagai filsuf seniman (”Künstlerphilosoph”) dan banyak mengilhami pelukis moderen Eropa di awal abad ke-20, seperti Franz Marc, Francis Bacon, dan Giorgio de Chirico, juga para penulis seperti Robert Musil, dan Thomas Mann. Menurut Nietzsche kegiatan seni adalah kegiatan metafisik yang memiliki kemampuan untuk me-transformasi-kan tragedi hidup.

Tan Malaka – Politik (1945) September 23, 2008

Ditulis oleh Tan Malaka di Surabaya, 24 November 1945

Sumber: Tulisan ini diambil dari buku Merdeka 100%, cetakan pertama, Oktober 2005, dengan ijin dari penerbit Marjin Kiri. Buku ini mengandung tiga tulisan Tan Malaka: Politik, Rencana Ekonomi Berjuang, dan Muslihat.

Transcribed to HTML by Ted Sprague

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PENGANTAR

DUA LUSIN TAHUN lamanya saya menunggu-nunggu kejadian yang berlaku dengan pesat dahsyat di Indonesia sekarang ini. Berbahagialah rasanya hidup saya karena bisa menyaksikan perjuangan di Surabaya selama satu minggu lamanya (17 – 24 November 1945).

Sikap dan semangat proletar, tani, dan pemuda Indonesia memuncak, sesuai semua karya dan pengharapan saya selama dalam perantauan. Di Shanghai atau Berlin, di Mesir atau Moskow, saya tak menjumpai sikap dan semangat yang lebih tepat-tangkas-tegap.

Tetapi rasanya masih ada kekurangan baik ditilik dari penjuru ideologi ataupun organisasi.

Pengalaman seminggu lamanya di masa Surabaya dihujani dengan pelor dan bom, ditambah pula dengan permohonan dari pihak pemuda yang sedang berjuang dengan hati laksana baja, saya dalam perjalanan ini terpaksa menulis beberapa brosur.

Yang sudah ditulis tergopoh-gopoh dalam perjalanan ini ialah Politik ini, yang berhubungan dengan kemerdekaan. Brosur yang kedua ialah yang berhubungan dengan Rencana Ekonomi. Yang ketiga akan berhubungan dengan Muslihat mempertahankan Republik Indonesia. Kedua buku yang belakangan itu diharap akan dihabiskan dalam perjalanan pula.

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Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) September 23, 2008

In 1498, Niccolò Machiavelli began his career as an active politician in the independent city-state of Florence, engaging in diplomatic missions through France and Germany as well as Italy. After more than a decade of public service, he was driven from his post when the republic collapsed. Repeated efforts to win the confidence and approval of the new regime were unsuccessful, and Machiavelli was forced into retirement and a life of detached scholarship about the political process instead of direct participation in it. The books for which he is remembered were published only after his death.

An Experience with Muslims from Secular Countries August 27, 2008

Jakarta, wahidinstitute.org
Muslims in Moro, the Philippines, suffer from poverty due to economic and political marginalization.

“Muslims in Moro are second class citizens,” said Dr Amina Rasul, former minister in Fidel Ramos’ cabinet in the Philippines, who spoke in the discussion “Muslim Minorities in Secular States: The Indian and Philippine Experience”.

The discussion was held at the WAHID Institute, Thursday (14/08/08). The other keynote speaker was Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer from India.

A “Muslim” Note on John Shelby Spong August 26, 2008

Oleh: Ulil Abshar-Abdalla

In the journey toward the truth, people tend to take the easy tack. The easiest way is to treat religion as an heirloom inherited from our ancient predecessors; to treat religion as a set of doctrines that have clear-cut boundaries or, more precisely, boundary (in a singular form). The easiest way to be in the way of being “religionist” is to follow the well-trodden path of the predecessors without daring to ask or challenge. To question what has been laid down as doctrines by our pious predecessors is tantamount to an act of heresy.

HINA……..! August 23, 2008

Di kala kegundahan ku semakin meradang, aku tak tahu harus menjadikan hidup ini apa.  Usaha telah mendekati titik kulminasi. Entah jadi apa keringat yang selama ini aku peras hingga tetes terakhir. Dan tampaknya sudah hampir kering. Aku berharap akan ada yang teduhkan jalan ku, namun sampai aku melemah, mentari masih terlalu bebas menghujam tubuh ku.

Sepertinya terlalu jauh aku memusatkan pandangan ku. Pasir dan kerikil mencengkram kaki ku, seakan melarang ku untuk melanjutkan mimpi.  Kapan  aku  bisa  menghirup  udara  pagi,  sementara  ku  rasakan  selalu  mentari  di  atas  kepala  ku.  Sesekali  aku  menghela  nafasku  yang semakin  pendek,  namun  sesekali  pula  aku  membuang  pandangan  ku  kearah  yang  tak  pernah  aku  lihat  selama  ini.