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Tag Archives: Philosophy

Philosophy and (Un)Common Sense

Interview with Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski In today’s world, dominated as it is by the ephemeral, the superficial and the inconsequential, it can be hard for a rational, dispassionate observer to make sense of what is going on – politically, socially, economically and philosophically. It is that last aspect that gets the least “oxygen” in mainstream media, in public education and in pretty much all debates and disagreements we grapple with as a society. Perhaps the very discipline...

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Edwin Abbott’s “Flatland”

Goodreads rating 3.81. For someone living in two dimensions and becoming aware of three, it might be easier to think of four than for someone living in three dimensions. The cherished feeling of oneness might be misleading … That Point is a Being like ourselves, but confined to the non-dimensional Gulf. He is himself his own World, his own Universe; of any other than himself he can form no conception; he knows not Length, nor Breadth, nor Height, for he has had no experience of them;...

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Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values”

Quality, not subject or object, as the elementary fabric. ἀρετή. A rehabilitation of the sophists. Some quotes: If the purpose of scientific method is to select from among a multitude of hypotheses, and if the number of hypotheses grows faster than experimental method can handle, then it is clear that all hypotheses can never be tested. If all hypotheses cannot be tested, then the results of any experiment are inconclusive and the entire scientific method falls short of its goal of...

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Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life”

In 12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson argues for the kind of values instilled by a socially conservative parental home: Aim for paradise, but concentrate on today. Meaning is key, not happiness. Assume responsibility. Listen carefully, speak clearly, and tell the truth. And stand straight, even in the face of adversity. Here they are, Peterson’s 12 rules: Stand up straight with your shoulders back Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping Make friends with...

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Julian Baggini’s “Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will”

In his book, Julian Baggini points out that materialism, not determinism, undermines the notion of free will. He accepts that man is subject to the laws of nature but simultaneously seems to argue for a holistic model of man and human choice. He concludes that the concept of free will is consistent with predetermined causes; with unconscious choice; and that it does not require that a choice could have been different. Discussion in The Guardian.

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The Case Against Democracy

In the New Yorker, Caleb Crain reviews the case. It’s a difficult case to make if most voters are uninformed. Jamming the stub of the Greek word for “knowledge” into the Greek word for “rule,” Estlund coined the word “epistocracy,” meaning “government by the knowledgeable.” It’s an idea that “advocates of democracy, and other enemies of despotism, will want to resist,” he wrote, and he counted himself among the resisters. As a purely philosophical matter, however, he saw only three valid...

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