If you are offended when someone says you are wrong, you have no business claiming to be any kind of intellectual. There is a great difference between a sincerely reasoned argument and an unargued dismissal. As English clergyman William Paley (1743-1805) lamented, “Who can refute a sneer? Such attacks do their execution without inquiry.”…
Unsure of what to write this morning. I thought of posting some recently taken photos of a Porsche GT2RS. The photos of the exotic car which I greatly admired on the day the photos were taken, seem a bit obscene this morning. Showing a $350,000 sports car would be a radical disjunction with my…
The impartiality which,in contemplation, is the unalloyed desire for truth,is the very same quality of mind which,in action, is justice,and in emotion is that universal lovewhich can be given to all,and not only to thosewho are judged useful or admirable.Thus contemplation enlarges not only the objects of our thoughts,but also the objects of our…
Once one has worked through and been suitably impressed by Derrida’s perceptive and witty analysis of Nietzsche’s style, one feels, at the end of all the urbanity, an empty longing amounting to a hunger, a longing for the sense of difficulty and risk and practical urgency that are inseparable from Zarathustra’s dance….. Nietzsche’s work…
While the confrontation has turned entirely on political issues, it’s important to remember the frustrations of Hong Kong’s young people are broader. They live in one of the most unequal places on earth, with an astonishing proportion of the economy controlled by a few billionaires who dominate real estate, retail, utilities, telecommunications, and critical…
The warm cup of coffee comforts. The sky is solid with gray rain clouds. Driving through a stout downpour I was thankful. At last the smaller plants and the trees are getting a drink. More is needed, considerably more. Life and maybe even reality is a matter of maintenance. Rainfall maintains life. Life is…
In the end, I must trust in myself. I have seen men who have beaten from themselves the ability to recognize truth and goodness, and I do not think I am one of them. I can still see the tears in a young child’s eyes and feel pain at his suffering. If I ever…
A few thoughts on Stoicism…. I found James Stockdale’s story a motherlode of lessons — if one is ready to consider and reflect. Stockdale’s foray into politics as Ross Perot’s running mate was fated to fail it seems to me. Success in politics demands that one be a shape-shifter, or worse. One thing that…
Yesterday I planted a Japanese Maple. Highly motivated to find the right tree I traveled for an hour in afternoon traffic, north to Countryside Nursery in Crystal Lake. They had a variety called Crimson Queen, for which I happily paid the purchase price. I transported the small tree home, another hour of stop and…
Yesterday, late afternoon at the Long Grove Coffee Shop I was discussing photography with Bonnie who works as barista at the shop. We both have interest in shooting photos and agreed that it was pleasant to converse with others about the topic. Bonnie drew my attention to the conditions of late afternoon light outside,…
