Walter Berns was a preeminent legal philosopher, professor of law and scholar. He explored the increasing application of The Science (TM) to the law beginning in the mid-1950's and the threat it posed to free people. The Science (TM) being behavioral science, "nudge" as Cass Sunstein wrote about. Mind-farkery to make free people behave like authorities want them to. Manipulation, coercion, deception, the science of brainwashing. I.e. The Science (TM) of the pandemic, masks, social distancing, etc, including shaming. He warned us in many papers of the dangers in just "following The Science."
He wasn't opposed to the concept of shame in general. The shame as he understood it came from breaking with God, his word as given to us through the Ten Commandments and scripture. Saying that in the absence of God and the role of shame in society people would need to be ruled. Authoritarianism. Repressive.
So basically saying we could either follow God's laws or man's laws. And offering that God's laws are much more liberated and provide us the freedom that God intends for us than man's laws ever could or would. That God is a much more benevolent ruler than man could or would ever be. His 2015 obituary:
Walter Berns, political scientist and philosopher, dies at 95
"Dr. Berns’s career, “reflects the classical view that democracy depends on the character of the citizens, so their opinions and beliefs, their personal habits and degree of self-discipline — in a word, their virtues — will matter to the prospects of democratic government.”
Dr. Berns argued against unbounded individual rights and for restrictions on pornography, which he believed eroded self-restraint.
“Those who are without shame,” he remarked, “will be unruly and unrulable; having lost the ability to restrain themselves by obeying the rules they collectively give themselves, they will have to be ruled by others.”"
Side Note: Cass Sunstein is a pivotal player in the transformation to a Behavioral Science-based law and society. He served in key roles under Obama reorienting the federal government to Nudge theory, has many proteges in powerful places. Including his wife, Samantha Power at USAID overthrowing governments she doesn't like, Jessica Hertz leading censorship and propaganda efforts in Big Tech again after a few years standing up the Biden administration, Maya Shankar (who's also connected to Chelsea Clinton and Frank Luntz) leading Big Tech global censorship at Google, at the Council on Foreign Relations, developing the mind-farkery plans at the UN/WEF to make us happy owning nothing and eating bugs. And many others. Sunstein also helped set up the UK's mirror programs with his coauthor Richard Thaler, the SAGE MINDSPACE nudge program. Today Sunstein teaches at Harvard Law School how to dismantle the Constitution using linguistic tricks to apply behaviorism inside the plain language of our rights, redefining words like freedom to mean slavery. Orwellianism.
And when we get into issues of God's law which informs Natural Law as to morality to a larger degree than Man's law, i.e. Positive Law which is law because man says so, if even it is immoral, amoral, we begin to understand that there was a lot more meaning behind this clip from Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing when Sen. Joe Biden hectored Thomas over his previous writings and comments about the role of natural law in American jurisprudence history...that changed in the middle of the 20th century to positive law theory around the same time that Berns was cautioning about applying a scientific approach to law, a behavioral science approach to law. It is all interconnected:
Walter Berns was a preeminent legal philosopher, professor of law and scholar. He explored the increasing application of The Science (TM) to the law beginning in the mid-1950's and the threat it posed to free people. The Science (TM) being behavioral science, "nudge" as Cass Sunstein wrote about. Mind-farkery to make free people behave like authorities want them to. Manipulation, coercion, deception, the science of brainwashing. I.e. The Science (TM) of the pandemic, masks, social distancing, etc, including shaming. He warned us in many papers of the dangers in just "following The Science."
He wasn't opposed to the concept of shame in general. The shame as he understood it came from breaking with God, his word as given to us through the Ten Commandments and scripture. Saying that in the absence of God and the role of shame in society people would need to be ruled. Authoritarianism. Repressive.
So basically saying we could either follow God's laws or man's laws. And offering that God's laws are much more liberated and provide us the freedom that God intends for us than man's laws ever could or would. That God is a much more benevolent ruler than man could or would ever be. His 2015 obituary:
Walter Berns, political scientist and philosopher, dies at 95
Washington Post, 2015
https://archive.ph/5lgZM#selection-395.0-1371.206
"Dr. Berns’s career, “reflects the classical view that democracy depends on the character of the citizens, so their opinions and beliefs, their personal habits and degree of self-discipline — in a word, their virtues — will matter to the prospects of democratic government.”
Dr. Berns argued against unbounded individual rights and for restrictions on pornography, which he believed eroded self-restraint.
“Those who are without shame,” he remarked, “will be unruly and unrulable; having lost the ability to restrain themselves by obeying the rules they collectively give themselves, they will have to be ruled by others.”"
Side Note: Cass Sunstein is a pivotal player in the transformation to a Behavioral Science-based law and society. He served in key roles under Obama reorienting the federal government to Nudge theory, has many proteges in powerful places. Including his wife, Samantha Power at USAID overthrowing governments she doesn't like, Jessica Hertz leading censorship and propaganda efforts in Big Tech again after a few years standing up the Biden administration, Maya Shankar (who's also connected to Chelsea Clinton and Frank Luntz) leading Big Tech global censorship at Google, at the Council on Foreign Relations, developing the mind-farkery plans at the UN/WEF to make us happy owning nothing and eating bugs. And many others. Sunstein also helped set up the UK's mirror programs with his coauthor Richard Thaler, the SAGE MINDSPACE nudge program. Today Sunstein teaches at Harvard Law School how to dismantle the Constitution using linguistic tricks to apply behaviorism inside the plain language of our rights, redefining words like freedom to mean slavery. Orwellianism.
Great post. The people wont fall for this crap anymore. Here's to dismantling their Mind-Farkery! 👊🔥
And when we get into issues of God's law which informs Natural Law as to morality to a larger degree than Man's law, i.e. Positive Law which is law because man says so, if even it is immoral, amoral, we begin to understand that there was a lot more meaning behind this clip from Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing when Sen. Joe Biden hectored Thomas over his previous writings and comments about the role of natural law in American jurisprudence history...that changed in the middle of the 20th century to positive law theory around the same time that Berns was cautioning about applying a scientific approach to law, a behavioral science approach to law. It is all interconnected:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4887077/user-clip-biden-natural-law