St. Benedict (500s), according to St. Gregory: “Benedict fought valiantly to forget the woman ‘the memory of whom the wicked spirit put into his mind, and by that memory so mightily inflamed with concupiscence the soul of God’s servant … that, almost overcome with pleasure, he was of a mind to forsake the wilderness. But […]
Men: How to cure yourself of women Read More »
On National Socialism, quotations from leading intellectuals. First, what kind of socialism did the National Socialists want? In the 1920s, they were influenced by Oswald Spengler and Moeller van den Bruck. In the 1930s, their top philosopher: Link to text of Heidegger’s speech here. In 1940, an unsympathetic socialist assessed it this way: Link to
German National Socialism: Heidegger and Orwell quotations Read More »
1. “He had delusions of adequacy. “ — Walter Kerr 2. “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.“ — Winston Churchill3. “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.“ — Clarence Darrow4. “He has never been known to use a word
Best Insults in History Read More »
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sounds plausible … but what if you’re a masochist? As a masochist, you would have people beat and humiliate you. So … Or suppose you have a troublesome colleague, and on some days you just wish someone would smack some sense into him. So
The Golden Rule and moral rules of thumb Read More »
Free sample lecture from my Philosophy of Politics course. Starting with why philosophy matters to politics, the French Revolution, and Edmund Burke’s influential interpretation. Full course available here, along with its complementary Part 2. My other courses available here: Logic, Ethics, Metaphysics and Epistemology, Education, and more.
*Philosophy of Politics* introductory lecture free online Read More »
We see variations of this question: What happens when robots can do anything physical better than humans and AI can do anything cognitive better than any humans? What will be left for us? The answer is: Live your life as the human being you are. The better-than-me circumstance already exists. Usain Bolt and a thousand
Life’s purpose after AI? Read More »
Two factors about the long reach of skeptical philosophy and its practical results. Social construction of reality: If influential philosophers teach that “reality” is merely a social construct, then what happens to us in the next, taught generation? We focus primarily on the social — on doing whatever we can to construct social reality according
Arday and downstream postmodernism Read More »
“I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary, and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re 15 and 35 is new and exciting and
Innovation stages socially, according to Douglas Adams Read More »