Universal Love, Said the Cactus Person
(slatestarcodex.com)
“Universal love,” said the cactus person.
“Universal love,” said the cactus person.
Open Socrates by Agnes Callard review – a design for life
(theguardian.com)
A bracing contemporary account of the philosopher’s age-old prescription for living
A bracing contemporary account of the philosopher’s age-old prescription for living
Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" (2020)
(medium.com)
Oppression can be invisible to the oppressed, but dialog can reveal and name them, compelling action.
Oppression can be invisible to the oppressed, but dialog can reveal and name them, compelling action.
But let us cultivate our garden (2018)
(themillions.com)
“But let us cultivate our garden.” —Candide by Voltaire (1759), translated by Theo Cuffe (2009)
“But let us cultivate our garden.” —Candide by Voltaire (1759), translated by Theo Cuffe (2009)
Alien Truth
(paulgraham.com)
If there were intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, they'd share certain truths in common with us.
If there were intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe, they'd share certain truths in common with us.
Philosophy Eats AI
(sloanreview.mit.edu)
In 2011, coder-turned-venture-investor Marc Andreessen famously declared, “Software is eating the world” in the analog pages of The Wall Street Journal. His manifesto described a technology voraciously transforming every global industry it consumed. He wasn’t wrong; software remains globally ravenous.
In 2011, coder-turned-venture-investor Marc Andreessen famously declared, “Software is eating the world” in the analog pages of The Wall Street Journal. His manifesto described a technology voraciously transforming every global industry it consumed. He wasn’t wrong; software remains globally ravenous.
Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software
(gnu.org)
The terms “free software” and “open source” stand for almost the same range of programs. However, they say deeply different things about those programs, based on different values. The free software movement campaigns for freedom for the users of computing; it is a movement for freedom and justice. By contrast, the open source idea values mainly practical advantage and does not campaign for principles. This is why we do not agree with open source, and do not use that term.
The terms “free software” and “open source” stand for almost the same range of programs. However, they say deeply different things about those programs, based on different values. The free software movement campaigns for freedom for the users of computing; it is a movement for freedom and justice. By contrast, the open source idea values mainly practical advantage and does not campaign for principles. This is why we do not agree with open source, and do not use that term.
The Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell
(reddit.com)
I'm considering doing a podcast episode on the philosophical themes within the anime versions of Ghost in the Shell. Could extend to the manga, though I haven't read them yet.
I'm considering doing a podcast episode on the philosophical themes within the anime versions of Ghost in the Shell. Could extend to the manga, though I haven't read them yet.
An introduction to Plato's Republic (1981)
(archive.org)
Ask the publishers to restore access to 500,000+ books.
Ask the publishers to restore access to 500,000+ books.
4chan became the home of the elite reader
(newstatesman.com)
It’s a Friday in early January and someone on 4chan has invented a new philosophical doctrine: “esoteric Kantianism”. “You must not take Kant’s words at face value,” the anonymous user warns – readers who do so will only take away shallow insights about the half-blind “normie mind”. “You must read between the lines.”
It’s a Friday in early January and someone on 4chan has invented a new philosophical doctrine: “esoteric Kantianism”. “You must not take Kant’s words at face value,” the anonymous user warns – readers who do so will only take away shallow insights about the half-blind “normie mind”. “You must read between the lines.”
Fascists and Rakes (2014)
(reasonableapproximation.net)
It feels like most people have a moral intuition along the lines of "you should let people do what they want, unless they're hurting other people".
It feels like most people have a moral intuition along the lines of "you should let people do what they want, unless they're hurting other people".
The Battlefield Is Everywhere
(doomsdaymachines.net)
The “Proximity Argument,” the revolution in our planetary spatial relations, is forceful enough intellectually to match the horrendous situation. “Are we in a biological crisis of existence?” Yes! “How can we prove that?” Because there are no longer any safe interiors in which our babies can survive the next war. The weapons are up. Reproduction will be impossible. The battlefield is everywhere. Therefore World War III is treason — treason to our species, to say nothing of our nations.
The “Proximity Argument,” the revolution in our planetary spatial relations, is forceful enough intellectually to match the horrendous situation. “Are we in a biological crisis of existence?” Yes! “How can we prove that?” Because there are no longer any safe interiors in which our babies can survive the next war. The weapons are up. Reproduction will be impossible. The battlefield is everywhere. Therefore World War III is treason — treason to our species, to say nothing of our nations.
Spirituality Is Secure Attachment with Reality
(intimatemirror.substack.com)
This series emerges from conversations with friends and Claude AI, drawing deeply from the wisdom of David J Temple's CosmoErotic Humanism, Rob Burbea's Soulmaking Dharma, Steve March's Aletheia Unfolding, Daniel P Brown's attachment theory work, John Churchill's Planetary Dharma, and many insights from Jill Nephew. While their teachings light the path, any limitations in expressing their ideas are my own.
This series emerges from conversations with friends and Claude AI, drawing deeply from the wisdom of David J Temple's CosmoErotic Humanism, Rob Burbea's Soulmaking Dharma, Steve March's Aletheia Unfolding, Daniel P Brown's attachment theory work, John Churchill's Planetary Dharma, and many insights from Jill Nephew. While their teachings light the path, any limitations in expressing their ideas are my own.
Master suppression techniques
(wikipedia.org)
The master suppression techniques is a framework articulated in 1945 by the Norwegian psychologist and philosopher Ingjald Nissen.[1] These techniques identified by Nissen are ways to indirectly suppress and humiliate opponents.
The master suppression techniques is a framework articulated in 1945 by the Norwegian psychologist and philosopher Ingjald Nissen.[1] These techniques identified by Nissen are ways to indirectly suppress and humiliate opponents.
Shallow Feedback Hollows You Out
(nothinghuman.substack.com)
Thinking about Nassim Nicholas Taleb always makes me sad. My brother handed me a copy of The Black Swan twelve years ago and it was a revelation, it blew my intellectual world open - Taleb seemed the perfect embodiment of the gentleman-scholar I’d always hoped to become. He saw through the pseudo-intellectual bullshit drowning the world and was working on the most fundamental questions, working at whatever hours he felt like, flaneuring around cities, reading classics and proving math theorems.
Thinking about Nassim Nicholas Taleb always makes me sad. My brother handed me a copy of The Black Swan twelve years ago and it was a revelation, it blew my intellectual world open - Taleb seemed the perfect embodiment of the gentleman-scholar I’d always hoped to become. He saw through the pseudo-intellectual bullshit drowning the world and was working on the most fundamental questions, working at whatever hours he felt like, flaneuring around cities, reading classics and proving math theorems.
Why Spinoza still matters (2016)
(aeon.co)
In July 1656, the 23-year-old Bento de Spinoza was excommunicated from the Portuguese-Jewish congregation of Amsterdam. It was the harshest punishment of herem (ban) ever issued by that community.
In July 1656, the 23-year-old Bento de Spinoza was excommunicated from the Portuguese-Jewish congregation of Amsterdam. It was the harshest punishment of herem (ban) ever issued by that community.
What is it like to be a thermostat? (1996)
(annakaharris.com)
Let us consider an information-processing system that is almost maximally simple: a thermostat.
Let us consider an information-processing system that is almost maximally simple: a thermostat.
Does Morality Do Us Any Good?
(newyorker.com)
Nothing kills your appetite, they say, like discovering how the sausage is made. In the realm of superhero cinema, origin stories explain our protagonist’s driving motivations. But in the realm of faith and values? I stopped believing everything the tabloids said after I went on a school trip to the offices of my local paper. Others have grown disillusioned once they scrutinized the early history of their religion as historians, not as adherents.
Nothing kills your appetite, they say, like discovering how the sausage is made. In the realm of superhero cinema, origin stories explain our protagonist’s driving motivations. But in the realm of faith and values? I stopped believing everything the tabloids said after I went on a school trip to the offices of my local paper. Others have grown disillusioned once they scrutinized the early history of their religion as historians, not as adherents.