On growing old
“We truly can’t praise the love and pursuit of wisdom enough,” wrote Marcus Tullius Cicero in one of his last works, How to Grow Old (De Senectute; aka On Aging…
philosophy
A New Social Contract: The Parable of the Happy Kingdom
A brief preamble: The old social contract, the last social contract, has clearly broken down. That was the New Deal, which was a compromise between the business elite and the…
Getting Off The Treadmill: Seeking More Through Less
Newer, better, more… Newer, better, more… On and on the circle goes. But when you begin to see through such delusions and self-limiting, self-imprisoning patterns, then the door to true…
Taoist Political Philosophy – Or, How To Not Make The World Worse, By Good Intentions Gone terribly Wrong
The modern world, and particularly the modern Western world, which has now, as of these past few decades, successfully, and tragically, exported itself to become the basis and norm of…
Bring Back the Salons
Today if someone mentions a “salon” you probably think about a haircut or manicure. But in the 18th century, prior to the French Revolution, salons were the focus of civil…
Manners? Civility? What happened to them?
In his book, Walden, in fact in the very first chapter, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” I would offer that today — at least…
What is Philosophy For?
Anyone who’s interested in thinking ought to read Mary Midgley’s last book, What is Philosophy For? I just finished the book last night and felt the need to share it…
Greek Philosophy In The 21st Century: Sanity Amidst The Madness?
Platonist, Aristotelian, Epicurean, Stoic, Skeptic, Cynic or Sophist? None of the above are satisfactory, as ready-made off-the-shelf pre-packaged philosophies, at least. They should be studied; not ingested whole, nor regurgitated…
Science, mysticism and enlightenment: or, the use and abuse of language
Will the real new age please stand up? “Castaneda’s popularity made him the subject of a TIME magazine cover story, published on 5th March 1973 (Vol. 101 No. 10). In…
Core Wisdom: Compassion & Ferocity
I choose compassion because I want others to be happy and not to suffer. That is the intelligent way to live. Not that I am infallible, but I strive. Kindness…
Personal Sovereignty, Body Sovereignty – The Foundation Of A Free Society
All our laws rest on constitutional law. All constitutional law rests on habeus corpus, and “the Great Writ”, the Magna Carta. The central axiom and ultimate foundation of all rule…
The Failure of the Intelligentsia
Intellectuals: what a sad joke. I am very much opposed to the commonplace anti-intellectualism of our society. It is dangerous, it is foolish, and it is self-blinding. However, I am…
Learning About Moral Philosophy Reduces Meat Consumption
A taste of a postsecondary level moral philosophy class can turn you off of tasting meat. It’s been debated for thousands of years if learning moral philosophy actually changes how…
Who Are The CIA?
Who are the CIA? This will tell you everything you need to know. Here’s where things really started to go wrong: 1947, the National Security Act, which created the National…
Culture Shock – and The Culture of Puritanical Excess
I backpacked around Mexico and Central America in 1989. I think I’ve been in culture shock ever since. Since returning to la-la land, that is. I went to Latin America…
Simple, key advice
You have to refuse, categorically, hurry, worry, self-recrimination and blame. You do your best, and live in peace. I had accomplished that state of mind, four years ago. It is…
Can an atheist be a good citizen?
The answer to the headline’s question is no, at least according to the late Catholic priest Richard John Neuhaus in a podcast in the Socrates in the City series (Sept.…
Balance
Oy. Sometimes I just want to bury my head in the sand. The state of things is terrifying and grotesque, especially if you understand what is really happening with this…
Whose Side Are You On?
What side am I on? I’m with the people. By that, I mean all of humanity, and not just one select group, or my own narrow interests. I’m with humanity…
Who’s Side Are You On?
It is very easy to not see the forest for the trees. In fact, it is nearly universal. For example, it took millenia before people broadly began to question whether…