From a letter. I had a question. I dictated this in the car while driving, and I’m afraid it ran away with me. My real question is immediately below. All the background and why I’m wondering it follows. I was wondering how plausible you thought it might be to hypothesize that the archetypes are themselvesContinue reading “Weaponizing archetypes”
Author Archives: Mr Nobody
Rights and the new religious right
At some point rights groups became the new version of the religious right. They’re kind of like the temperance movement now, or the instigators of the “Satanic Panic”. That’s a funny transition to have made, for groups that centered themselves around advocacy for the sociological fringe. I suppose there’s a point at which, if youContinue reading “Rights and the new religious right”
In response to a critique of “On being seen”
After writing this, I thought better of it and never published it, which is why it cuts off abruptly. The person was arguing that I wasn’t understanding Cornell West or his points and thus my criticism had no relevance. They also made some allusions to the Navi from Avatar and their ideas of collective socialContinue reading “In response to a critique of “On being seen” “
On “being seen”
(From an online forum discussing Cornell West, who is especially fond of this phrase) I don’t understand the obsession with “being seen”. Or how much or what kind of being seen it is that would make people happy, or whether that kind of feeling is something that someone else, even magical white people, can grantContinue reading “On “being seen””
A critique of “The Thrill of it All”
I recently watched an old Doris Day movie about a doctor whose wife becomes a TV advertising star. And I couldn’t help feeling that the whole problem was that the characters never had an open discussion and never asked the right questions. And that’s fine, if people did that at the beginning of the storyContinue reading “A critique of “The Thrill of it All””
Knowing when to stop
Open people, creative people, will always want to be on the edge of explored territory. And this can be a problem, if the territory is already quite expansive. They will always keep pushing the boundaries, by nature. There won’t be any logical stopping point. Once whatever used to be fresh and exciting has been fullyContinue reading “Knowing when to stop”
Why fear differences?
People today, for all their talk of equity, inclusion, and diversity seem to be doing so because they’re actually terrified that there might be real, substantive differences between people. Much as the European reaction to nationalistic fears in the postwar period led to a drive toward the dissolution of borders and differences of nationality inContinue reading “Why fear differences?”
Surviving the past and present through sex
One not well-understood way that men and women differ from one another is in their strategies for filling and defining roles. It is often noted that women occupy the great stable middle of social and personal distributions, while men occupy a larger portion of the extremes, both at the top and at the bottom. SoContinue reading “Surviving the past and present through sex”
Doing something
One thing that often gets forgetten in the rush to take action and the moral pressure to “do something” is the historical reality of how much of what we think of as the terrible crimes of the past were committed out of a similar desire to take action and do the right thing. It’s veryContinue reading “Doing something”
The market for art
I know from experience I would get accused of being a philistine, but I think it’s at least worth considering that there’s a kind of intelligence to the enduring popularity of certain art in the world market. Some works of art, like the great cathedrals of Europe, will live forever. You don’t have to convinceContinue reading “The market for art”
Caused or conveyed?
Conveyance is one of the most concepts in human life and psychology. The phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” is a trope simply because of the universal human tendency to do exactly that, to attach causal responsibility to the mechanism that conveys an effect. People also make this mistake positively, chasing the phenomenon that conveys anContinue reading “Caused or conveyed?”
Sports and competition
Competition is fundamental to sports. Even at less conventional displays of athleticism such as the X Games there is still a competitive hierarchy. You just didn’t see the actual competition that eliminated everyone except those four people performing. So it’s more like an exhibition of winners than a competition for winning. People like me whoContinue reading “Sports and competition”
Diversity and estrangement
Diversity is real because differences between people are real. We aren’t all just some generic, interchangeable things. We have actual differences. And those differences are consequential. This is such an obvious fact that virtually everyone will defend it in their private lives, yet people often act publicly as if they can treat other humans asContinue reading “Diversity and estrangement”
Progress and moral relativism
The idea of progress is indefinable and incoherent if there is no fixed value (even in a merely numerical sense) toward which you are progressing. A series of random numbers does not progress toward anything. It merely changes. And there is no essential difference in position between any particular number in the series and anyContinue reading “Progress and moral relativism”
Morality without religion?
One statement I often hear from humanistic atheists like Stephen Fry that I think is obviously false is the claim that you can have morality without religion. I think that claim is not only untrue, but definitively untrue. And recent events should prove that. Sam Harris and Stephen Fry themselves would have to admit thatContinue reading “Morality without religion?”
Ideological pressures in institutions
From a letter to a pastor I’ve written several letters this year to my state reps, to the local paper, to a local TV station, to our school superintendent, and others. They all featured fairly similar content. Concerns about the politicization of the news and schools. Concerns about partisanship and antagonism and ideological pharisaism. MostlyContinue reading “Ideological pressures in institutions”
Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians
There is quite a growing list of “friendly” atheists that Christians have been finding common ground with in the fight against postmodernism. James Lindsay, Jonathan Haidt, John McWhorter. I think you could also add Bret Weinstein and Heather Haying to that list. And maybe Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Summers (if you want a feministContinue reading “Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians”
Decriminalizing incest
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/04/17/consensual-incest-should-be-decriminalized-advocates-say/amp/ If you don’t read the article, the headline contains the essential argument. Consensual incest should be decriminalized. The one thing I can say in favor of this is that is that, yes, they are correct; based on the currently accepted arguments, there isn’t any particularly good reason why consentual incest shouldn’t be legal. OrContinue reading “Decriminalizing incest”
On culture warriors
There are some pundits who are pushing back that are a little too aggressive for my taste. It’s not that they’re wrong, they’re often right as far as they go. But their reactions are strong enough that they become prey to being pushed too far into their own position, and into being too critical (andContinue reading “On culture warriors”
Religious musings
These are not only things that are, they are things that must be. 1. People crave moral legitimacy and moral justification. 2. Sacrifice is continual. 3. You can’t get rid of the need for sacrifice, it just goes somewhere else. We are piñoned between past and future, caught at their intersection. We must be releasedContinue reading “Religious musings”
Making Nobody Happy 