The scientific method is based on the idea that physical objects or events will always behave in the same way under the same conditions. Thus, a scientific law is universal. H20 boils at 100 C without exception but only if the vapor pressure equals the atmospheric pressure and only if there are no minerals orContinue reading “Morality is Not Like a Science”
Author Archives: Dwight Furrow
Epicurus and the Ethics of Pleasure
Posted initially at Three Quarks Daily. If philosophy is not only an academic, theoretical discipline but a way of life, as many Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers thought, one way of evaluating a philosophy is in terms of the kind of life it entails. On that score, if we’re playing the game of choose yourContinue reading “Epicurus and the Ethics of Pleasure”
Christianity and the Belief that Time and Change are Illusions
It is obvious from both modern biology and contemporary physics, as well as our own experiences, that everything changes. There are no fixed substances or unchanging essences underlying reality. Some things change very slowly but they nevertheless change. But that vision of a continuously changing world is at odds with some our deeply embedded culturalContinue reading “Christianity and the Belief that Time and Change are Illusions”
A Challenge for Ethics and Practical Reason (and why I think Deleuze might help)
If philosophy is not merely an academic subject but a way of life, it is because philosophy can guide our judgments about how to live. In this context, philosophy embodies a distinctive form of practical reason. Practical reason is the capacity to resolve through reflection questions about what to do and how one should conductContinue reading “A Challenge for Ethics and Practical Reason (and why I think Deleuze might help)”
On Philosophers and their Lives
“What was Aristotle’s life?’ Well, the answer lay in a single sentence: ‘He was born, he thought, he died.’ And all the rest is pure anecdote” This is how Heidegger introduced a lecture on Aristotle. This is conventional wisdom among philosophers. The life of the philosopher has little to do with his or her work.Continue reading “On Philosophers and their Lives”
Epicurus On Wine Education and Its Perils
Posted initially at Edible Arts The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus not only gave his name to the enjoyment of food and wine. He thought deeply about the nature of pleasure with some lessons that we wine lovers probably ought not forget. The highest aim in life for Epicurus was to achieve a state of mindContinue reading “Epicurus On Wine Education and Its Perils”
A Problem For Practical Reason: There Is Always Something New
Should you sacrifice everything for love; betray a friend to protect another friend; lie on a job application; leave a relationship because vaguely something doesn’t feel right; blow the whistle on a corrupt but dangerous boss; stir the pot just to see what happens; act with cruelty in order to wake someone up; succumb toContinue reading “A Problem For Practical Reason: There Is Always Something New”
Stoicism: Is It Therapy or Philosophy
This post first appeared at Three Quarks Daily. One of the more remarkable developments in popular philosophy over the past 20 years is the rebirth of stoicism. Stoicism was an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy founded around 300 BCE by the merchant Zeno of Citium, in what is now Cyprus. Although, contemporary professional philosophers occasionallyContinue reading “Stoicism: Is It Therapy or Philosophy”
To Quell the Self-Sufficient Machine
In modern life, we have given up God only to worship the self. Staunch individualists celebrate “freedom” by refusing to wear masks or get vaccinated. Large swaths of American society treat with derision the idea that we might be responsible for the welfare of others or share a common fate. We fail miserably to musterContinue reading “To Quell the Self-Sufficient Machine”
Taking Philosophy out of Philosophy as a Way of Life
For Socrates, philosophy was the sole authority for judging what kind of life is best for a human being and how we should implement that philosophical analysis in our own particular lives. But, according to Socrates, a philosophical life is more than just following a set of principles based on good reasons. Philosophical exploration andContinue reading “Taking Philosophy out of Philosophy as a Way of Life”
Thought of the Day
if your political views are the same as the manifesto of a mentally ill teenager who traveled 200 miles to murder ten strangers, then you should re-evaluate your political views.
Is Life Like a Work of Art?
I’m a great admire of philosopher Bence Nanay’s work on perception and aesthetics. But I am less enamored with this brief article he wrote for Psychology Today about the thesis that life ought to be lived as a work of art. Nanay is skeptical of this idea. Taking a quote from Robert Musil as hisContinue reading “Is Life Like a Work of Art?”
Forgetting Aristotle
Originally posted at Three Quarks Daily For many of the ancient philosophers that we still read today, philosophy was not only an intellectual pursuit but a way of life, a rigorous pursuit of wisdom that can guide us through the difficult decisions and battle for self-control that characterize a human life. That view of philosophyContinue reading “Forgetting Aristotle”
We Are Restless
We crave new sensations but quickly become indifferent to them. In the literature on sensation this is called sensory adaptation. We are less sensitive to a stimulus after constant exposure to it. It is why people who live next to the freeway are not bothered by freeway noise. But there is a moral to thisContinue reading “We Are Restless”
The Challenge for Philosophy as a Way of Life
Here is an argument for philosophy as a way of life: P1 Reason should be the dominant capacity for directing one’s life P2 Philosophy is the perfection of reason Conclusion: Therefore philosophy is the best way of directing one’s life The controversial premise is P2. This idea of the perfection of reason is one wayContinue reading “The Challenge for Philosophy as a Way of Life”
Philosophy: A Way of Life 