54One should not let oneself be misled:great intellects are skeptics…..The vigor of mind,its freedom through strengthand superior strength, is proved by skepticism.Men of conviction simply do not come into considerationwhere the fundamentals of value and dis-valueare concerned. Convictions are prisons.They do not see far enough,they do not see things beneath them:but to be permitted…
We met again, a circle of lawn chairs in the setting sun, and then in the cool of early evening to discuss Reciprocal Altruism as a behavior germane to evolutionary development among living creatures. The author of the essay which formed the basis of our discussion, cited the symbiotic relationship between cleaner fish removing…
The term is used often by Nietzsche in his writings. I have quoted often, a few longish passages from The Anti-Christ. There is no need for additional quotation here. Nietzsche, living in the late 19th century saw clearly the precursors of Wiemar Republic, the Nazi cultic ideology and war that shortly followed. In his…
For a Monday, why not take a break from the political chatter, from the reports of extensive wild fire damage in California, from reports of twin hurricanes that threaten Texas and Louisiana, and from the propaganda storm about to envelop us? The last is a reference to the Republican Party MAGA convention. Yesterday in…
I watched a 1972 Bob Fosse movie Cabaret last night with my wife. I don’t usually prefer musicals. I confess to a negligible background in music which constrains my appreciation of many varieties of musical expression. This movie impressed me as a layered, complex piece of story telling. The musical pieces, served to show…
Saturday! Here I am at my desk with conflicting emotions of gratitude (I made it to the weekend) and trepidation. Challenges remain ahead. I am sad, feel empathy for those in northern California who are in the vise of climate warming. They watch as the land around them is scorched by wildfires. How awful…
Yesterday, we watched as an old willow tree was removed from the back of our property. The tree was just over our property line, and belonged to the Park District. A neighbor said she remembered when the tree was planted. The top of the giant willow was broken by a wind storm. A crane…
The pressure of circumstances forces choices. Those “choices” are less free than I formerly believed. Free will!? I doubt it. I am aware of the juxtaposition of the impress of past events and encounters within my psyche. Does not the mind reflexively select to act upon the factors offering the best chances of survival? …
48The old God, all ‘spirit’,…all perfection,promenades in his garden:but he is bored.Against boredom the gods themselvesfight in vain.What is he to do?He invents man – man is entertaining…..But behold, man too is bored.God’s sympathy with the only kind of distressfound in paradise knows no bounds:He forthwith creates other animals.God’s first blunder:man did not find…
Summer is waning. In our child-like fantasy, we’d like endless summer. Deceiving ourselves, we forget that in time we’d be satiated with the beauty, the days of amusement and play. Boredom would overtake us soon enough. I entertained these thoughts yesterday while enjoying a “just right” lunch on the patio of the Makray Memorial…
