Tag: philosophy
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Scott Alexander on Postmodernism
Slate Star Codex discusses postmodernism. I think Scott actually does a good job explaining some of these concepts. The metaphor at the end is a bit iffy, but overall a nice example of the Principle of Charity. At the end of the day, the best way to learn postmoderism is to read the postmodernists: Foucault, […]
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The Principle of Charity
First off, there is really only one thing to keep in mind when reading a philosophical text, and it’s the thing that seems to be the most lacking in new readers: The Principle of Charity. It asks that you read a text in the strongest, most persuasive way possible, regardless of whether you agree with […]
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Naval
Reading science, math, and philosophy one hour per day will likely put you at the upper echelon of human success within seven years. Naval Ravikant Of course, it’s no use reading these things if you don’t do anything with the information. This is why I write here: to integrate what I learn.
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February Reading
Currently finishing A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History by Manuel DeLanda. Fascinating re-thinking of history using nonlinear metaphors, but sometimes I wonder if he pushes the metaphors too far; I don’t have enough background knowledge to say either way. I’ve got They Thought They Were Free (via pushcx) from the library which I’ll start this […]
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Learning from History
What can history teach us? From Chapter 1 of Hegel’s Introduction to the Philosophy of History: Rulers, statesmen, and nations are told that they ought to learn from the experience of history. Yet what experience and history teach us is this, that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, nor acted in accordance […]
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I know that I am mortal by nature…
“I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies I no longer touch the earth with my feet: I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia” Ptolemy, Ptolemy’s Almagest
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Occupy Wall Street: Fallacies and Misconceptions
You’d have to be living in a cave if you still haven’t heard of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. After numerous conversations with friends about the protests, I’ve decided to write this article. I’ll cover the origin of the protests, what the protesters stand for and want (as hard as that is to discern), […]
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RIP Christopher Hitchens
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Pride and Cosmopolitanism
Around 170 A.D., Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.” Even in religion, “pride” is listed as the most detrimental of the Seven Deadly Sins. Pride is the insidious parasite that sidles into your consciousness when, […]
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Tyranny—It’s not just for breakfast anymore!
Seven o’clock de la mañana. Tuesday, November 5th. Susan slips out of bed, into her day clothes, and makes for the polls. Today would be the first day she voted. Finally! After all this time! She had been waiting her whole life—she was too nervous to even eat breakfast. A few months later, many people […]