In his essay “What Pragmatism Means” the great American philosopher and psychologist William James (1842-1910) asserts that pragmatism represents the empiricist attitude in both “a more radical and in a less objectionable form than it has ever yet assumed” (see… Read more ›
Here are some notes on Jean-Paul Sartre’s (1905-1980) existentialism that continue, on some level, to apply to the world around me more than any other set of philosophical propositions (for a more in-depth overview of the man and his many… Read more ›
One question to which Aristotle’s conception of friendship has traditionally given rise is this: is friendship motivated by altruistic motives or egoistic ones? Put differently: when we are engaged in the activity of friendship do we act for the sake… Read more ›
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Introduction We sometimes refer to experiences, things, and even people as sublime. In doing so we try to convey something exalted, overwhelming, astonishing, and even infinite about them. We may also try and express feelings of delight… Read more ›
According to philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) we are typically (1) egoists motivated out of self-interest and (2) hedonists who desire pleasure and security over all else. This means we inevitably seek love since it gives us the most intense pleasure… Read more ›
In life we often have to fit in. We need to conform to certain roles in order to make friends, get a job, and be successful. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, a sense of belonging is integral to our… Read more ›
Soren Kierkegaard About 20 years ago I read this entry from Soren Kierkegaard, Papers and Journals (Penguin) and thought it was, well, quite silly: “The best proof of the soul’s immortality, God’s existence, etc. is really the… Read more ›
In chapter 4 of his book Civilization and its Discontents (translation by James Strachey) Freud writes: “Before we go on to enquire from what quarter an interference might arise, this recognition of love as one of the foundations of civilization may serve… Read more ›
When we try to diagnose the many social ills we have in our country it is easy to get bogged down with specifics that lead us to treat symptoms rather than causes. One way to gain some vision is to… Read more ›
Umberto Eco, in his book On Ugliness (Rizzoli, 2007), provides a helpful way to categorize our experience of ugliness. There is (1) Ugliness in itself which gives rise to a visceral, negative reaction. Here we can think of feces, a rotting animal,… Read more ›
Introduction Love, for centuries, has been associated with divine powers. Of course, it is a bit more fashionable these days, and a bit more scientific, to think of love as a function of neurochemistry. But it is interesting to consider… Read more ›
Machiavelli In The Prince (Penguin: 1981), Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote: “There are two things a prince must fear: internal subversion from his subjects; and external aggression by foreign powers. Against the latter, his defense lies in being well-armed and having good… Read more ›
Happy New Year! Go here for my thoughts on the philosophical significance of New Years Day…
A still from Ingmar Bergman’s thoughtful horror film The Hour of the Wolf Aesthetic expressions of horror are produced and enjoyed by people all over the world. But some bemoan such horror and do their best to avoid it. However,… Read more ›
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), in his book Daybreak (1881), wrote: “On Education. – I have gradually seen the light as to the most universal deficiency in our kind of cultivation and education: no one learns, no one strives after, no one… Read more ›