As the years go by so do people…
As the years go by; so do people… How many people have you come to have known since you came into this world after your birth? And how many of Continue Reading
Socrates, Nietzsche, The Will to Power and technological gods.
Pretty soon in the UK we’ll see the arrival of motorcars that know the speed limit and will warn you not to exceed it, eventually these will be replaced by Continue Reading
Epictetus and his crutches
I’ve been waiting for roughly ten weeks to write this piece, the result of a recent accident in which I broke my wrist, causing a permanent disability. It wasn’t the Continue Reading
To the human race, this universe is not yours…
The idea that the world belongs to the human race is not a new one; in the Holy Bible, book of Genesis, it explicitly states: Then God said, “Let Continue Reading
The Flow of Experience…
Experience… Just stay in the present moment and you’ll realise by direct awareness that experience is not episodic. To those practitioners paying mindful attention to the present, they will soon Continue Reading
The psychological reason why you shouldn’t force your religious beliefs on anyone.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s there was a popular saying doing the rounds that went along the lines of ‘never discuss religion and Continue Reading
What is Nihilism?
We’ve all head the term nihilism, sometimes liberally thrown about as a synonym for pessimism or defeatism. But in philosophical circles worthy of the name, it’s an actual philosophical system Continue Reading
What is philosophy for?
Let’s begin by saying something bold, philosophy is first and foremost about using the rational faculty that all human beings possess to determine personal happiness. In order to find happiness, Continue Reading
Monty Python and the Holy Grail of postmodernism
The 1975 film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a classic postmodern film. Making use of its characteristic Pythonesque comedy to subvert traditional storytelling, religion, time and Arthurian myth. Continue Reading
Do I give assent to this?
Among the tools of the stoics is Epictetus’ Discipline of Assent. Now the Greek work for consent or approval is sunkatathesis, but in the stoic context it means agreeing with Continue Reading
Schopenhauer and the striving
For Schopenhauer the will is the thing in itself, all revealed and bare to anybody who looks at the phenomena of every day matter. The will is inherent in Continue Reading
Premeditatio malorum – ‘premeditation of adversity’
We just don’t know for certain what is around the corner as we go about living our lives. When times are rosy, we naturally let our guard down in Continue Reading
Why am I Anxious?
Why am I anxious? Your conscious mind is like an ant that rides on top of an elephant. It might think that it’s in charge, but it isn’t! Continue Reading
What is emptiness?
“When emptiness is possible Everything is possible; Were emptiness impossible, Nothing would be possible.” – Nagarjuna When something is described as empty, what is typically meant Continue Reading
What is a philosophy?
There is a great deal of information present within all of reality, so much so that the sensory input of it all can be overwhelming. Human brains, minds and sensory Continue Reading
No Ship of Theseus
Theseus’ paradox has been a contested thought puzzle throughout the ages of Western philosophy. The Ancient Greek philosophers were known for having heated debates circling in about the ship’s Continue Reading
What is the point of philosophy?
Was a question asked by an unknown student attending Plato’s Academy, who was then promptly thanked for his interest and dismissed from the class which in retrospect seems a little Continue Reading
The ship of Theseus
Theseus’ paradox, more popularly known as the ship of Theseus, is an ancient thought experiment first appearing in the writings of the famous ancient Greek historian, biographer and philosopher Continue Reading