Originally published at Three Quarks Daily. If we are to believe the most prominent of the writers we now lump under the category of “existentialism,” human suffering in the modern world is rooted in nihilism. But I wonder whether this is the best lens through which to view human suffering. According to existentialism, as theContinue reading “Is Human Suffering Metaphysical or Mundane?”
Category Archives: Ethics
Why I Am Not a Stoic
This quote from a Roman emperor and one of the most prominent stoics in the ancient world should dissuade anyone from Stoicism “Observe, in short, how transient and trivial is all mortal life; yesterday a drop of semen, tomorrow a handful of spice or ashes. Spend, therefore, these fleeting moments of earth as Nature wouldContinue reading “Why I Am Not a Stoic”
Life Is Hard. Can Philosophy Help?
Originally posted at Three Quarks Daily. Does philosophy have anything to tell us about problems we face in everyday life? Many ancient philosophers thought so. To them, philosophy was not merely an academic discipline but a way of life that provided distinctive reasons and motivations for living well. Some contemporary philosophers have been inspired byContinue reading “Life Is Hard. Can Philosophy Help?”
Morality is Not Like a Science
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”
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”
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)”
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”
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”
The Silent Art
We often think of imagination as an ability to invent fantastic images or create original patterns in media such as musical notes, words, or images. But I think this misses the heart of imagination. The most important role of imagination is a capacity to create new possibilities, to create new structures of experience and discloseContinue reading “The Silent Art”
Build a Better Person
Most educators believe that education builds a better person, a person more knowledgeable, more aware, better able to communicate, highly motivated, and more adept at solving the full range of problems that arise in life. I suspect that most educators think this is the primary goal of education. Doesn’t it then follow that the testContinue reading “Build a Better Person”
Philosophy: A Way of Life 