philosophy
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The Lenten Fast: A Platonic Perspective
In contemporary times, the concept of fasting has become something of a trend within the dieting world. We hear of intermittent or time-restricted feeding, the 5:2 diet, alternate-day fasting, and so on. The aim in this case is to either lose weight or improve bodily health or both. In particular, the focus is physical in… Continue reading
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Preparatory to Philosophy
By way of a preparatory, two things are required in the pursuit of truth: The first is a careful examination of the motivations and desires behind this pursuit. These can be divided into two kinds: those that lead us to the truth, and those that lead us into falsity. I call the former well-ordered and… Continue reading
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On Making Decisions
I often find myself struggling to make decisions: what to do, what to write, what path to pursue. But what is involved in any act of deciding? I raise this question for the reason that making decisions has become increasingly more significant to philosophy today. The more uncertain we become, the more uncertainty becomes a… Continue reading
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Does the Soul Matter?
I recently had the chance to reread G.W.F. Leibniz’s 1714 essay Monadology This short work—comprising 90 succinct remarks—offers a compact yet profound treatment of the nature of reality, covering topics ranging from the nature of substance, the soul, free will, God, Science, and more. While reading, I was reminded of a short interview which I… Continue reading
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The Physical and the Non-Physical
To some, sensory experience serves as the sole criterion for determining what is, was, and will be . We might, however, question the assumptions behind this worldview. If a ball is dropped, we may measure its acceleration relative to gravity. Here we discern a fundamental relation: a falling object and an observer measuring its descent.… Continue reading
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Timeless Creations and Cultural Appropriation
From the perspective of world history, we can distinguish between culturally contextual works, which appeal to the specific circumstances, cultural narratives, and unique characteristics of a culture at a particular moment in time without transcending it, and enduring (or non-contextual) works, which go beyond those specifics and resonate timelessly with the entirety of human existence.… Continue reading
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Philosophy and its Literary Forms
While academic philosophy has a place in philosophy, its method and mode of inquiry constitute merely a subdivision—a species or specification—of philosophical inquiry itself. In many cases, academic philosophy even diverges from genuine philosophical inquiry, particularly as it trends toward increasing specialization. There is a sense in which over-specialization erodes philosophical inquiry, as it shifts… Continue reading
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By Word and Deed II
To live “by word and deed” is not merely to do in accordance with one’s declarations. It also serves as a metaphor for the philosophical way of life—or perhaps better, a philosophical way of life, for each life lived is uniquely one’s own. While the particularities of life differ from person to person, the philosophical… Continue reading
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By Word and Deed I
Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word and deed; for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans… Continue reading
Remarks 