We have attempted to correct some of our excesses by living more for ourselves and doing things for ourselves, rather than for the groups or some others. And this is close to wisdom, but misses the mark. It’s an attempt. The closest I think we’ve come in crystallizing the proper way to approach things isContinue reading “Autonomy or tyranny? “
Author Archives: Mr Nobody
The prism of wisdom
Light comes from all directions, wisdom is the jewel where light is gathered and refracted into the places the light is needed. The more facets the prism has, the more complete it is, the more of the light of creation it gathers. God is the source of all light, he is the being of completion,Continue reading “The prism of wisdom”
Relational rather than absolute measures
The ancient measure of the cubit was not absolute but relational. Geometry and relation was more important than absolute values or integers. In large part because a system of absolute values was very difficult to maintain. The important thing was to keep people consistent within their situation. This might be useful to remember as anContinue reading “Relational rather than absolute measures”
Where things are going
It’s very hard not to see our country as being in a slow process of gradual collapse. We have an enormous amount of inherited cultural capital. We have so much infrastructure and so much law, so many systems and institutions that have enormous power and value and utility. We have traditions and attitudes and conventionsContinue reading “Where things are going”
Why should I care about charity during the lockdown?
Let’s be honest, I’m in danger myself, I’m stressed, I’m dealing with employees who are stressed. I’m in need of charity myself right now. I’ve got people to take care of who whose livelihoods are threatened. I had to accept some charity myself recently and figure out how I felt about it. I wasn’t goingContinue reading “Why should I care about charity during the lockdown? “
Facts vs narratives of blame
Facts of blame are useful. They help us identify problems and where things went wrong, and solve them. Narratives of blame organize all facts according to an explanation and an enemy that has already been identified. They do not help you soberly identify or correct real problems. They help assuage your instinct to scapegoat andContinue reading “Facts vs narratives of blame”
Politicization, polarization, and extremity
I have a philosophy degree; we’re used to exploring different ideas and hearing different viewpoints, in fact we demand it. We demand testing and argumentation. We demand refinement and consistency. So I’ve been listening to the views of many opposing sides. I’ve been immersing myself into the arguments of the ideological right and the ideologicalContinue reading “Politicization, polarization, and extremity”
On the appeal of video games
Partly it’s the challenge Partly it’s the fun of exploring fictional world and taking part in them. Partly it’s just the illusion of a productive distraction. When people have leisure they tend to go to exploratory behaviors, testing out new skills and possibilities. Part of it is the illusion of winning and dominance, of beingContinue reading “On the appeal of video games “
The living dialogue of humanity
I had a strange revelation, which I’ve talked about before, when I was suddenly able to see the movement of human thought across time. I saw that the truth was that everyone was right about everyone else. I heard the accusations and warnings of one side against the other. I heard their perspectives. And IContinue reading “The living dialogue of humanity”
Rights and duties
Rights and obligations come into existence simultaneously. The principal function of rights is to protect and preserve our ability to discharge our duties. Duties are like goals in a game. Once they have laid upon us, then we have a right to pursue them. And if anyone interferes in our legitimate pursuit of our goals,Continue reading “Rights and duties”
Differing perspectives on life and suffering
In contrast to many modernist views, the viewpoint of the ancient world was that life, by its nature, was Dukha. Unhappiness, stress, pain, disappointment. That’s what life is, and the goal of religion and philosophy was to address it. The Judaic religions echoed this by asserting the “fallen” nature of the world. The world isContinue reading “Differing perspectives on life and suffering”
My return to social media
Being back on social media thanks to the pandemic is reminding me why I had to get off it in the first place. It was making me so upset, it was reminding me how stupid and annoying everyone in the world is, how much they’re constantly chasing themselves into idiocy, including many of the peopleContinue reading “My return to social media”
On the burden of consciousness
One great difficulty everyone seems to be having, apart from the stress of being stuck at home, is the larger existential dread and fear that comes from reading the daily news. Humans are funny creatures. They have amazing powers, not least of which is their own consciousness, their ability to know what kind of creatureContinue reading “On the burden of consciousness”
A note on the “Chinese Virus”
Most major viruses come from China or India. That’s because they’re the largest groups of humans on the planet. If you’re the largest civilization on Earth, it’s kind of like being the biggest city. You might as well call a disease the “urban virus”, or just “the human virus”, since the conditions for the developmentContinue reading “A note on the “Chinese Virus””
On misogyny and child marriage
That was a great article bringing attention to the work of that doctor. It sounds like she did a lot of great at work helping women. And this is purely a comment about what’s most helpful in diagnosing and fixing problems. I’m not sure it’s enough to label child marriage as misogyny. The cause ofContinue reading “On misogyny and child marriage”
The value of disagreeable things
One might wonder, in a world of perfect ease and freedom and safety, what the value of confrontation and competition and even a certain amount of disagreeableness is. We live in a world that worships comfort and being surrounded with and told whatever makes us feel good. And of course there is immense value inContinue reading “The value of disagreeable things “
On gratitude during uncertain times
It’s funny to reflect on how shocking it is for us to live through something that used to be so common as to be generally assumed as part of life by humanity. Even things we think of as huge one-time events, like when the plague wiped out half of Europe, weren’t one time events. TheContinue reading “On gratitude during uncertain times”
Post-traumatic stress and it’s role in the Republican reaction to Trump
I think one of the primary mechanisms of the Trump Era and how it’s affected Republicans can be partially understood in terms of traumatic stress. Trump isn’t a gentle leader. He doesn’t make it easy to exist in the fringes. He’s a “get behind me or get out, punish anyone who cross you, lack ofContinue reading “Post-traumatic stress and it’s role in the Republican reaction to Trump”
Confrontational approaches to bad behavior
In considering why there should be any special tolerance of stressful, negative, confrontational parenting and discipline behaviors, I think the argument for why this case should be treated differently is essentially the same as why we tolerate and even might value the police. The police are terribly unpleasant. They openly wield force and carry weapons,Continue reading “Confrontational approaches to bad behavior”
Four possible universes
There are four possible universes. Two of them are absurd, and two are reasonable. I divide reality as well as the human mind into two possibilities to create those four options. The main concept is that there’s an underlying reality to the universe and how it works, its purposes, its meaning, its origin, its ethic.Continue reading “Four possible universes”
Making Nobody Happy 