The Stoic view of Impermanence
Stoicism is not a philosophy with an outlook that sees the world as stagnant and unchanging, but is a dynamic philosophy noted for being keenly aware of change. The Continue Reading
Emil Cioran and his contributions to philosophy.
Emil Cioran was a Romanian-French philosopher, essayist, and aphorist who has written many books on a variety of topics including philosophy, history, and literature. Despite the brevity of his essays, Continue Reading
The influence of Plato’s Apology of Socrates on the history and development of the West
Plato’s Apology of Socrates is one of the most significant texts in Western philosophy. The work is a record of the trial and defense of Socrates, who was charged with Continue Reading
Nietzsche and Zarathustra
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who is known for his criticism of traditional values, including morality and religion. His philosophy is centred on the idea of “life-affirmation,” which involves Continue Reading
Why do enlightened people say that we are one with everything?
When answering this question modern mystics rarely if ever pay any attention to the material world when making the claim that ‘we’re all one thing.’ They tend to consider the Continue Reading
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
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
The Lotus-eaters and the static utopia
Within the entertaining world that is Greek Mythology, there is of course the great classic of Homer’s Odyssey. The story focuses on the titular protagonist, Odysseus, Greek hero of 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 Origin of Love…
We’ve all had those moments when without warning we meet the gaze of a random stranger and time seems to stop. Without so much as a word they empty their 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
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