Marriage is a strange but curiosly persistent and widespread arrangement. How humanity arrived at it, whether by nature or by divine appointment, if there is any sense in making such a distinction from the perspective of the time, isnt really my concern here, and isn’t a question that can be empirically answered. It certainly seemsContinue reading “What the sexes owe one another”
Author Archives: Mr Nobody
An incomplete farewell letter
In the event that I have Coronavirus, and in the less likely event that I die from it, I suppose I had better come up with some fitting last words while I still have the capacity instead of gasping them out in a delirium or making hand gestures while a ventilator keeps my weakened lungsContinue reading “An incomplete farewell letter”
The Jewish odyssey: historical, archetypal, or both?
The description of God in the Bible always seems to run just ahead of the mode of being at the time. So that looking back from each rung upon which his followers reach, they see how what came before makes sense in the greater context. The world slowly opens up. Their mode of being slowlyContinue reading “The Jewish odyssey: historical, archetypal, or both? “
In what sense is religion true?
It’s at least plausible to say that the Biblical stories are psychologically true. I think even great critics of Christianity would agree with many of the philosophical and psychological truths they contain. And it’s not clear that saying they’re psychologically true exhausts all the ways in which they might be true. They certainly get aContinue reading “In what sense is religion true? “
Welcome
Hello and thank you for coming! Let me be perfectly honest us front. There is no coherent structure or purpose to this blog. I’m not especially interested in creativity or authenticity, and I’m not great at producing them. I have a very hard time being brief, and I like to repeat myself a lot. IContinue reading “Welcome”
Fears for the future election
I’ve heard so many smart people discuss so many issues. But here is one question I would love to see addressed. How do you sleep at night? Knowing everything that going on, maybe knowing too much, how? Seeing the madness and tribalism slowly overtaking our safe corners, working it’s way into the people I workContinue reading “Fears for the future election”
Jung and Thomas Sowell
I finally understand, I think, what the archetypes of Jung are. I was thinking of them too much like an English major. They’re like built in concepts hardwired into human psychology. They map onto oract as symbolic representations of something built into the human psyche. They reflect some deep seated conceptual framework or concept thatContinue reading “Jung and Thomas Sowell”
What makes me hard to shock?
From a purely psychological standpoint, how people respond to a crisis or to a traumatic event tells you a lot about them and their belief system. A lot of trauma results from the catastrophic encounter with genuine danger or malevolence (either in the world or in yourself) that you did not believe was posssible withinContinue reading “What makes me hard to shock?”
Peter Enns
I’m not sure what to make of Peter Enns. On the one hand, I can see how a line of similarity might be drawn from my own ideas to his. And I don’t think he’s on to nothing. And I don’t entirely agree with his critics. And yet because I find myself often honking alongContinue reading “Peter Enns”
A cultural holdup
I was listening to the recommendations of critical race theory recently, and it was sounding oddly familiar. If you’re white or male or some other privileged class, shut up, step aside, and hand over your privilege. And I suddenly realized, it’s a cultural holdup. The gun to our heads is the threat of public socialContinue reading “A cultural holdup”
Is morality harmlessness?
There is an idea today that to be moral is to cause no harm. To please yourself, I suppose, and do not harm to others. Now, whether or not those two goals are actually compatible in a complex society is a question for another time. But the essential argument, that agreeability, pleasantness, causing no distressContinue reading “Is morality harmlessness?”
Equality and tyranny
There is a basic fact that explains why any attempt to enforce equality as an outcome of life must always inevitably involve more despotic control, injustice, and force than any system that allows for difference. And it is the fact that neither the world, nor people, are in fact in any way fundamentally. All placesContinue reading “Equality and tyranny”
WAP and women’s empowerment
I was reading this morning various statements people had made about the new song and video WAP. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s a new song by Cardi B and a collaborator. Many women and black media outlets invariably described it as “empowering”. A new anthem for women in the modern age. There were,Continue reading “WAP and women’s empowerment”
A dream
I had a dream. And in my dream I asked why I couldn’t trust my body. And the answer given was, because it will betray you. Your body is only matter, held together by purpose and information. And it can only be held together for so long. That purpose can only be exerted so far.Continue reading “A dream”
Why sex must always be sacred
Sex must be sacred because it is a psychological necessity that it be so. The proliferation of ritual, religious significance, taboos, ideals, legends, and art across the entire world that focus on sex is an inescapable universal phenomenon. We cannot help but turn sex into a temple, a god, a ritual, an idol. It isContinue reading “Why sex must always be sacred “
Choice, agency, and morality
There’s this very odd argument I keep hearing about all kinds of things. It’s a moral explanatory argument. I’ve seen in used in many circumstances, about homosexuality, transexualism, race, economics. It’s a two stage argument. The first stage, typically left unsaid and assumed, is that people aren’t responsible for things they didn’t choose. Moral responsibilityContinue reading “Choice, agency, and morality “
Recreation vs redemption
There is much about humanity that could be complained about. There is much that is harsh, biased, infuriating, and even unjust. It would be nice if there were some other way of being in the world, some other kind of creature that we could be, some new man and new woman. And much of whatContinue reading “Recreation vs redemption “
Why does mimesis work?
The primary guideposts of moral opinions are not arguments but are social acceptability (convention) and exemplars. Both of which work similarly. They save work and rely on consensus of either the group or tan expert. This works because the essential content bearers of moral judgements are not ideas but instincts. People have instinctive value sets,Continue reading “Why does mimesis work?”
Would men care about women without sex?
One thing I sometimes wonder is, what percentage of the love, attention, and respect that men show women is due to their sexual attraction to them? I’m willing to bet that it’s a lot. Looking at how men act toward men, there’s a lot of competition. There’s not a huge amount of personal interest. MenContinue reading “Would men care about women without sex? “
The greatest moral battlefield is our own heart
There are many battles that must be fought in life, many challenges overcome, many difficulties to navigate. But anyone who tells you that the most significant moral struggle you will face in your life is with someone else is not telling you the truth. The nearest, most decisive, longest, most numerous and varied, and mostContinue reading “The greatest moral battlefield is our own heart “
Making Nobody Happy 