my notes on anything related to philosophy
In his essay “Fundamental Fantasy and the Split of Law,” Slavoj Žižek offers a critique of Jacques Lacan’s thesis that the function of law is to mask the fundamental impossibility of human relationships. Žižek’s argument is twofold: first, that Lacan’s thesis underestimates the role played by fantasy in constituting our social reality; and second, that … Read more
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician and music theorist. Al-Kindi was the first of the Islamic peripatetic philosophers, and is hailed as the “father of Arab philosophy”. Al-Kindi was born in Kufa and educated in Baghdad. He later traveled to Egypt and Syria, and eventually settled … Read more
Charles Bukowski, today known as a celebrated author, found success only in his fifties. In his twenties, he wrote hundreds of short stories. Two of these were published, both of which barely sold any copies. This was during a time when Bukowski traveled across the U.S, and worked several blue-collar jobs. Years later, he nearly … Read more
The busiest people harbor the greatest weariness, their restlessness is weakness – they no longer have the capacity for waiting and idleness.” Nietzsche With Nietzsche, as with any great contrarian, we find quotes that point us towards a truth that is at once counter-intuitive and provocative. Of course, when asked to imagine what it would … Read more
Imagine losing everything you own, your health, and everyone you love. Too depressing, I know. But for the Stoics, this was a daily routine. And not for nothing, the Stoics realized that there was something about human psychology that worked against us. We lose a sense of urgency and relish for life when things are … Read more
Dataism says that everything consists of data flows and the value of any phenomenon or entity is determined by its contribution to data processing. This is not a new idea. Since Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, scientists have seen organisms as biochemical algorithms. And since the Turing Machine, computer scientists have learned to assemble … Read more
The most interesting place in the world from a religious perspective is Silicon Valley, that’s where the promises of salvation through algorithms and genes are. There are two main techno religions, techno-humanism and data religion. Data religion argues that humans have finished their cosmic task and should now make way for new kinds of entities. … Read more
Liberals promote free markets and democratic elections because they believe that individuals are unique and valuable, who’s free choices are the source of authority. In this century, we will see three practical developments that will nullify this belief. 1. Humans will lose military and economic usefulness. The economic and political system will not value them … Read more
Liberalism is like any other religion; in that it is based on factual statements that aren’t scientifically sound. One belief is that voters and buyers do not make their decisions randomly, liberalism acknowledges the existence of external influences but thinks that people ultimately make up their own minds freely. Free Will is an Illusion But … Read more
While the modern deal does not include deriving meaning from a cosmic plan, it does allow you to derive meaning independently – and this is how humanism succeeds what came before it. For ages, prophets and philosophers thought that the death of God would pose a great threat to law and order. But today, Muslim … Read more