Many, myself included ask ourselves WTF has happened to us Americans. What happened? What happened to the Republican Party, when they had opportunity to convict this shape-shifting con man, impeaching him and banning him from holding future office? They feared him, feared their actions would anger their own voters. That is what the prosecutor,…
I heard one of the common people say, “he knew me right away.” Then I asked myself: What is it that the common people take for knowledge? What do they want when they want “knowledge”? Nothing more than this: Something strange is to be reduced to something familiar. And we philosophers –have we really…
I believe it was a Reuters or maybe a Guardian report of the battle for a Ukrainian town outside of Bakhmut. A soldier who survived the assault described the kill zones that awaited the advance of his unit. The Ukrainians prevailed but at a terrible cost. I simply felt numb upon finishing the piece. …
Certainly this war photograph provokes a feeling of revulsion. Only the clothes are left. The photo reminds of many things. War brutalizes every participant. Almost every actor involuntarily participates. War dissolves morality. What is morality? What does morality cover up? Now consider the way ”moral man”is dressed up,how he is veiledbehind moral formulasand concepts…
Sunday morning dawns, time enough for reflection. We were guests at a concert last night at the Royal Fox Country Club. Arcada Productions presented the music of Styx and Boston: Boston and Styx at the Fox. Musicians included members of Dennis DeYoung Band and Tommy Decarlo lead singer for Boston. I struggle to find…
The writings of Nietzsche are resisted by many, aware of his assertion of “the death of God” in his parable of the madman. Nietzsche has a reputation for raging against the church, a sworn enemy of priestcraft, opposing veneration for those believing themselves as adepts of divine wisdom, spokespersons for/of life after life… To…
In a nutshell! Nietzsche’s POV of life. Come out, come out of your nook he urges the reader! Live your life, expansively, assertively… Thinking/living to defend is a minor note to the torrent of life… Come out of your human nook, be the lion! But… a scientist should come out of his human nook;…
Today will be another sweltering day. Heat and stifling humidity. One adapts to conditions as one is able, constraints presented by the thermal energy-surge of atmosphere, of ocean currents, a result of millennia of sequestered carbon release since the advent of the industrial age. The “waste” must go somewhere… Wouldn’t you agree? You cannot…
What manner of scholar am I? What is my standard of workmanship? Nietzsche suggests a certain tenor is transmitted from our ancestors way of life. Is there a “prehistory” that haunts the sweep of these blog entries? My father grew up poor, raised by a single mother, helping to support my grandmother and his…
I am amazed that anyone could subscribe to a religion or a quasi-religious movement, such as the Republican (Trump) Party as it now stands. Shiny surfaces notwithstanding, the truth of our time, this first half of the 21st century, is that of existential exhaustion. There is a market for fanaticism, many “takers,” those willing…
