Philosophy Now Forum

The King of Comedy Jerry [to Rupert]: Did anyone ever tell you you’re a moron? Other than Rita he means. Jonno [to Jerry]: His name is, uh, uh, Pumpkin. Pumpkin, yes. Do you know a name Pumpkin? Well, sort of, Jonno. Jerry: I have a life, OK? Rupert: I have a life, too. Jerry: That’s not my respons...

Logic "I know that if you don't look for an alternative, Sophos, you certainly won't find one.” Megan Whalen Turner An alternative for what though? “His was not a small mind bothered by logic and consistency.” Robert A. Heinlein Welcome aboard! “An argument in apologetics, when actually used i...

When you consider all of the folks hooked on the drivel that is “reality TV” today – and how many would sell their soul to be a part of it! – you are amazed at just how prescient this film is. The writing here is spectacular. It is bust a gut funny – if you like your humor painful – while giving us ...

Stanisław Lem from Solaris A human being, appearances to the contrary, doesn’t create his own purposes. These are imposed by the time he’s born into; he may serve them, he may rebel against them, but the object of his service or rebellion comes from the outside. To experience complete freedom in se...

The Door in the Floor Marion: I don’t know if they had sex. Thomas, maybe. He was so popular. But, Timothy, he was so shy. That’s all boys want, isn’t it? Eddie: Yes. Marion: Have you had sex, Eddie? Eddie: No. Marion: Well, it’s too hot in here, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t wear the swea...

A tragedy is one thing. But it’s another thing altogether when you figure you played a part in it. Or you figure someone you loved did. It can thump your life up one side and down the other. It can flay relationships…leave them in tatters. I know from personal experience. It just depends on how big ...

The Wild Child [L’enfant Sauvage] Dr. Itard [voiceover]: It was not what I had hoped. Had he said the word before the thing he desired was conceded he would have grasped the use of words. A point of communication would have been established and rapid progress would have followed this initial succes...

First the child was wild. And then he was tamed. Then he alternated between being an “attraction” and a scientific speciman. But it had to be better than “before”. Didn’t it? In a strange way it’s almost like watching The Miracle Worker. All through his “training” though he never lets go of nature a...

Free Will “Free will is the cutting edge of Creation, don’t you see? The word spontaneity derives from the Latin sponte, meaning ‘of one’s free will.’ Spontaneity is the impulse, the purest expression of freedom, and the impulse wants to do whatever it wants to do. But you are afraid of what others...

The Whistleblower Irka [to Kathy]: Please, just let me die! Sometimes it's just the only thing that makes sense. Halyna: What will they do to her? WHAT WILL THEY DO TO HER?! Though sometimes it's more in the way of what they won't do to her. Kathy: Madeleine, they’re bringing them in. I.P.T.F. are ...

Philosophy “Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.” Benjamin Franklin Get this man a kite! “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.” Thomas Jefferson Get this m...

Inspired by true events…in the sick fucking world of sex trafficking. Man’s inhumanity to…children. Girls, in particular. Whenever it is children they see being abused and exploited [and brutalized] many just want to explode. They want to wring God’s fucking neck and demand an explanation for why He...

The Illusion of Illusionism Raymond Tallis sees through a physicalist confusion. Behind illusionism, and the wider project of defending physicalism, is a fundamental failure to see the mystery in the fact that the world is made explicit in consciousness, not the least in the phenomenal consciousness...

The Illusion of Illusionism Raymond Tallis sees through a physicalist confusion. Behind illusionism, and the wider project of defending physicalism, is a fundamental failure to see the mystery in the fact that the world is made explicit in consciousness, not the least in the phenomenal consciousness...

Saving Face Wil: Ma, you can’t give him a paper plate. Hwei-Lan Gao - Ma: Safer this way. Throw it out afterwards. Wil: It’s rude. Hwei-Lan Gao - Ma: I’ll give him two. Whatever works, right? Hwei-Lan Gao - Ma [in Mandarin]: Your neighbor is loud and dark and eats too much soy sauce. Wil [in Mandar...