Is it possible that violence is the cheapest price it’s possible to pay for personal freedom? That seems counter intuitive. It depends what you mean by costly, and for whom. A society that allows the greatest extremes of personal freedom would mean a society that involves itself the least amount possible in other types ofContinue reading “The relative value of violence”
Tag Archives: philosophy
Justice (part 2)
What is it about this incorrect idea of justice that is correct? Because Marx wasn’t on to nothing. There is a sense of injustice that he and others like him were attempting to correct. We’ve just shown, and history has also shown, that despite its best intentions, when used as a guiding, defining moral calculus,Continue reading “Justice (part 2)”
What kind of justice should we seek?
There is a problem with justice, in that because the world is what it is and because people are what they are, you can’t get both kinds of justice that people seem to want. People think everyone should have a fair, as in equally advantageous, shot at success. Each person should have as much ofContinue reading “What kind of justice should we seek?”
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”
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”
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?”
The value of discrimination
Discrimination is the foundation of morality. All moralities. All ethics. Business, scientific, sexual, economic. It is the key to survival and to success, to health and sanity. The question to be asked about value hierarchies and discrimination isn’t, do they exist (because they are default bad for us, they’re the foundation of the definitions of,Continue reading “The value of discrimination “
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”
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”
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”
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”
On belief in God
https://youtu.be/TUD3pE3ZsQI A few comments. It’s a long video, but interesting. I don’t agree with everything in it, of course, but it’s interesting. This position sort of comes down to recognizing that, regardless of whether the Judeo-Christian religion is empirically true in all its details, it is at least philosophically, psychologically, and archetypically true, and maybeContinue reading “On belief in God”
On concepts and their limits
The limiting problem with concepts, when we focus too tightly on them, is that they obscure and remove the inherent mysteriousness of actual facts and objects. Concepts can only be themselves, consistent within themselves and in opposition to or complementation to other concepts. But actual things tend to be far more messy. The concepts ofContinue reading “On concepts and their limits “
Why the best teachers don’t give answers
You cannot easily give definitive answers to the deepest problems of life. If you could, they would not be so contentious as they are and provoke so many responses. A good teacher can’t give you all the answers. What a truly good teacher does is to make the questions clearer. The moment of embracing anContinue reading “Why the best teachers don’t give answers”
On atonement
It’s hard to say what my own position on atonement theory is, and I prefer not to share many specific details of what I think. But I’m going to take a stab at articulating it. I suppose I would be classified as a Christian evangelical. But I’m probably overly influenced by people like C.S. LewisContinue reading “On atonement”
Why evolution is hard for average people to swallow
I think the primary objection many people have to the theory of evolution isn’t the process itself or its vast time scales. It’s the attendant philosophy. One of the core tenants of evolutionary theory is that it has no intended goal, no purpose, no design in mind, no ends. It is an undirected process aimedContinue reading “Why evolution is hard for average people to swallow”
Tricky modern terms
The tricky thing about using terms like “marginalized” or “disenfranchised” to describe certain groups of people who aren’t doing as well as some other people, is that it ends a discussion that perhaps needed to be had before the current discussion could even begin. By labeling them as marginalized or victimized or disenfranchised, you’ve alreadyContinue reading “Tricky modern terms”
Making Nobody Happy 