Schopenhauer and Presentism
While reading On the Vanity of Existence, an essay by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, I came across this passage I wish to share: “That which has been exists no more; Continue Reading
A stab in Schopenhauerian pessimism – enjoy youth while you can…
“In early youth, as we contemplate our coming life, we are like children in a theatre before the curtain is raised, sitting there in high spirits and eagerly waiting Continue Reading
The engine of Karma is choice!
Karma cannot be escaped. Karma just simply means ‘your doing,’ and is not the simplistic concept of retribution and revenge that we’ve been fed in the west out of semi-ignorance Continue Reading
What is real?
Mind Vs Matter There are two sides to reality, the objective side of atoms, molecules, rocks, trees, people, places and events vs the subjective experience of the mind. Matter and Continue Reading
Mind, and art imitating nature
(Continuing from The Natural Aesthetic – Nature crafts its own art) Landscape aesthetics This brilliant painting by Ivan Shishkin (25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898), called ‘morning Continue Reading
Are you Evil?
I’ve thought long and hard on this for a very long time, years, in fact, ploughing my way through the moral maze of intent, unintended consequence and much, much more Continue Reading
Fritz Haber, A lesson in Karma
Fritz Haber (born 1868), was a Polish Jew, who received a Nobel prize in Chemistry for his invention of the Haber-Bosch process (a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia Continue Reading
The Pernicious Rise of Anti Natalist Philosophy
Have you ever thought that the planet might be better off without humanity? If so then you’ve been anti-natalist which is a philosophical position that assigns a negative value to Continue Reading
A Tree Falls Down in the Forest…
This is a popular philosophical question, ‘If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ Irish idealist philosopher George Continue Reading
Marcus Aurelius on Death and the Cessation of Being
Like all great philosophers Marcus Aurelius the noblest of the Emperors of Rome also pondered death. Here’s a collection of quotes detailing what he had to say on the subject. Continue Reading
Is the universe conscious?
It’s a question as old as time, and often debated, but is the universe conscious? It depends on how you look at it. Through a materialist lens, the answer is Continue Reading
Mystic Nihilism, Reincarnation in Materialist Form – Part 2
Infinity and nothing are very closely linked. There’s something very strange about ‘nothing,’ because we can conceptualise it and not experience it. It’s impossible to have an experience of ‘nothing’ Continue Reading
Cathars or Western Buddhists?
In the wake of a thrilling conversation with my good friend and collaborator on this site (Epicurus of Albion) the other day I decided to dive deep into the mystical Continue Reading
Meaning, not happiness…
By all accounts Albert Camus was a very happy man, he lived the high life, enjoyed outrageous parties, having a taste for fun and shared the company of many girlfriends. Continue Reading
Hieraclitus, an argument for Dualism
Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher who lived between 535 BC and 465 BC, most famous for his ethical fragments and his doctrine that change was not only central to the Continue Reading
Hierocles and The Cosmopolitan Ideal in the Ancient World.
The origins of cosmopolitanism can be traced all of the way back to the 4th Century BC, to the then much loved (as indeed he still is today) Diogenes of Continue Reading
The Boy With No Brain…
Dear Lord Justice Kendal, my name is William Anderson. My friends call me ‘Billy’ or sometimes ‘Willy’ depending on their moods, older people mostly call me ‘Bill’. I also have Continue Reading
The Existence And Essence Of The Galloping Horses – A Praxis Approach
I really think this is true, namely, If you can apply the tools of philosophy to make sense of the everyday waking world we all inhabit then it becomes a Continue Reading