Philosophy Now Forum

When Fr. Nietzsche said "Mutter ich bin dumm" what was he referring to, eh? The universe sighs and scratches each time someone "quotes" this, mostly in movies, and some corrector rushes in, well, with some delay! This enlightening blog details the interesting point of that there...

My hypothesis throughout this discussion has been that the core values of cultures are extraordinarily stable (...) It is well supported by social sciences, anthropology and history. Living things are integrated and holistic. Just as elements cannot easily be added or subtracted from a peoples cult...

The striking development of Nietzsche's view on Spinoza, from the very positive to the rather negative and even condemning tone, can be better understood through the lens of Nietzsche's understanding of the Dionysian aspects of human existence and his "eternal' struggle against the metaphysical...

... the possibility of a purpose forming simultaneously with the act of finding. So: It doesn't matter whether you had a purpose all along or not; it doesn't matter that you don't know what you're looking for - whatever you find instantly and magically becomes your purpose. That's not what I meant ...

All that seems to do is transferring the discussion of the nature of purpose to a discussion of the nature of choice. Wouldn't having a definition, or image of purpose be prerequisite to finding one? That's not a given. For example if one would argue for the possibility of a purpose forming simulta...

But how we arrive at a purpose, meaning or whatever "in the universe", whether we perceive or conceive of the universe as being purposeful or purposeless, is by the same process: choosing . Whether we base our choice on mathematical formula, rolling dice, connecting dots in the night sky,...

My challenge is the following. What is this about efficiency ? How reasonable is it to base logic on the actuality of there being any apparent efficiency of a process or not? To even start discussing about any efficiency grade of a system, one should first know the system, its purpose and intricaci...

You also need to consider that if there were a meaning to life, and we actually need to spend our lives trying to find it, it makes the system very inefficient. If I have a purpose, it would be a more efficient system if I knew what it was immediately so that I could carry it out to the best of my ...

Philosophy is a disciplined method of identifying, cataloguing, ordering, and assessing thought/belief and statements thereof. Done right, it is a beautiful thing to behold. It can just as well become a method of challenging, upsetting or falsifying a self-congratulating position taken by some. The...

Hi Greta, Would you say the coma patient was at least being aware of the void, was experiencing "voidness" of some kind? In any case, memories of the sensations clearly were being registered somewhere as it was reported on later. Memory would imply some signal or symbol to induce the regis...

Thanks for the concerns Haarbal. There's nothing new under the sun, some preacher suggested once. There are some who voice their particulars, boundaries, conditions and strict demands -- and then there are those who are driven to challenge exactly those just because they're there! But my first conce...

Thinking life or anything can be quite amazingly described and circumscribed by words, pictures or sounds. Realizing anyone's life or death cannot be really captured or expressed by any collection of sentences or senses. Putting that realization in words and find a sudden death by drowning in a deep...

Thanks for the various welcomes. To clarify, I've been discussing topics on forums since the late nineties but last years I find it very hard to find time or place to really get some interesting discussion going. And no, before any wise cracking takes place: it doesn't help waiting six weeks with re...

Since I didn't introduce myself earlier, after years of occasional lurking, but now actually posting: here I am. A few years ago I joined but never came to write anything down. My interest encompasses like the forum title "all things philosophical", with history, sociology and anthropology...

Along these lines I find it an interesting meditation to remember that Europe (the tribal regions of N Europe) were conquered and civilized by Rome. I assume they were similarly unruly and rebellious, at least for a time. That seem like a very shallow, high school reading of history. The whole idea...