Contrary to the thinking of many contemporaries, both capitalism and democracy will not last and are to be superceded one day by post-capitalism and post-democracy. The short-lived triumph of market capitalism and liberal democracy in the post-Cold War era does not imply the coming end of systematic ideology, of structural oppression, or of violent conflict at the rational endpoint of history. Unfortunately, violence does not disappear but only takes a different form of hegemony, as it has throughout history. The difference is, each age has its own form to adjust to, so we believe in ours,...

The Future of Information Architecture examines issues surrounding why information is processed, stored and applied in the way that it has, since time immemorial. Contrary to the conventional wisdom held by many scholars in human history, the recurrent debate on the explanation of the most basic categories of information (eg space, time causation, quality, quantity) has been misconstrued, to the effect that there exists some deeper categories and principles behind these categories of information - with enormous implications for our understanding of reality in general. To understand this, the...

Why should inquiry be possible, only if some knowledge is required to guide it, as conventionally understood? Contrary to the conventional wisdom held by many thinkers in all human history hitherto existing, there are some fundamental dialectic principles hidden behind any categories of understanding in knowing. And these principles impose some constraints, at both methodological and ontological levels, together with other levels in culture, society, nature, and the mind - on how reality is to be understood. Furthermore, the specific categories of understanding (as conventionally understood),...

Is moral goodness really so desirable in the way that its proponents through the ages would like us to believe? For instance, in our time, there is even this latest version of the popular moral idea shared by many, when Dalai Lama suggested that " w]e need these human values of compassion and affection]....Even without religion, ...we have the capacity to promote these things." (WK 2009) The naivety of this popular moral idea can be contrasted with an opposing (critical) idea advocated not long ago by Sigmund Freud (1966), who once wrote that "men are not gentle creatures who want to be...

Is moral goodness really so desirable in the way that its proponents through the ages would like us to believe? For instance, in our time, there is even this latest version of the popular moral idea shared by many, when Dalai Lama suggested that " w]e need these human values of compassion and affection]....Even without religion, ...we have the capacity to promote these things." (WK 2009) The naivety of this popular moral idea can be contrasted with an opposing (critical) idea advocated not long ago by Sigmund Freud (1966), who once wrote that "men are not gentle creatures who want to be...

Is migration really so constructive that, as Ralph Emerson (1909) once wrote, in the context of the New World, asylum of all nations . . . will construct a new race, a new religion, a new state, a new . . . smelting-pot? (WK 2012) This noble lie-the melting pot in the 20th century-can be contrasted with an opposing noble lie of the salad bowl in the 21st century, when those in multiculturalism like Tariq Modood (2007) argue nowadays that multiculturalism is most timely and necessary, and . . . we need more not less. (WK 2012a) Contrary to these opposing noble lies (and other views as will be...

Can transportation really have such a destructive impact on society that, as Jay Holtz Kay (1998) once forcefully wrote, with the automobile industry as an example, that the modern consequences of heavy automotive use contribute to the use of non-renewable fuels, a dramatic increase in the rate of accidental death, social isolation, the disconnection of community, the rise in obesity, the generation of air and noise pollution, urban sprawl, and urban decay? (WK 2012) This negative expectation from transportation, with the automobile industry as an example here, can be contrasted with an...

Is culinary art really so exact that, as Delia Smith once wrote, cooking is an exact art and not some casual game? (BQ 2012) This exact view of cooking can be contrasted with an opposing observation by Tom Jaine, when he argued that, if cooking becomes an art form rather than a means of providing a reasonable diet, then something is clearly wrong. (BQ 2012a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), culinary art, in relation to both ingredients and techniques, is neither possible or impossible, nor desirable or undesirable, to the extent that the...

Is waste (or trash) really so useless that, as William Faulkner once wrote, r]ead everything-trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. . . . If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window? (TE 2012) Interestingly, this critical view of waste (or trash) can be contrasted with an opposing observation by Isaac Bashevis Singer, who once famously said that the waste basket is the writer's best friend. (TE 2012a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), waste, in relation to both uselessness and usefulness is neither...

Are natural resources really so limited that, as Mahatma Gandhi once famously said, Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed? (TE 2012) This limiting view of natural resources can be contrasted with an opposing view by John Maynard Keynes, who summarized Say's Law as 'supply creates its own demand' but then turned Say's Law on its head in the 1930s by declaring that demand creates its own supply, so whenever a demand exists, there will be resources to create the supply. (EN 2012) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the...