my thoughts on anything related to philosophy.
The person who stands accused of escaping is usually the alcoholic or the chronic gamer, the drug addict or the problem gambler, but who cannot be accused of escaping? Do people not escape by doing things that are productive and even socially beneficial? Workaholics are useful, they may even be prosperous and happy, but they … Read more
There is an interesting recording of Alan Watts where he discusses three ideas that touch on the question: What do you really want? Of course, there is nothing original about the question itself. But there was wisdom in the way Alan Watts addressed it. He talked about several concepts worth reflecting on. The first is … Read more
What we learn from this talk is that there are two different ways of thinking about happiness. The father of behavioural economics and Nobel Prize in Economics winner, Daniel Kahneman, explains this dichotomy well. Before explaining what the Experiencing and Remembering Selves are, it is worth quickly reviewing the history of happiness. It would not … Read more
George Carlin once said (roughly): “People who read self-help books should be killed. Life is simple, you wake up, go to work, eat 3 meals, shit, and sleep. You don’t need a book for it. And why is it called Self-Help? You’re reading someone else’s advice. It should be called “Help.”” But really, why should anyone … Read more
Many months ago, “logos” was re-popularized by Jordan Peterson, who has used it as a weapon against atheists. To Peterson, “logos” proves that atheists only think they are atheists – they are just fooling themselves. In a debate he had with Susan Blackmore, Peterson said that “secular” societies are built on top of Christian foundations … Read more
You cannot accuse someone of being dogmatic, because to do so you must be dogmatic yourself. When you accuse someone of extremism in their beliefs, it must be relative to a lack of extremism in your beliefs. But you can be extreme in your lack of extremism. You may believe that those that have extreme … Read more
Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias and while it is not considered a logical fallacy, it is considered irrational. But this is not necessarily true. Intuitively, one would imagine that rational behavior is the same as scientific behavior in that it excludes bias. That is, if you wanted to act rationally, you should … Read more
The Law of Accelerating Returns The Singularity is near is a documentary that features Ray Kurzweil. It tells us about a future that is post biological – when human beings transcend their natural limitations and merge with AI. Kurzweil believes that this will happen approximately around the year 2045. Kurzweil has grown his credibility over … Read more
Peterson vs Dillahunty When Jordan Peterson debated Matt Dillahunty, what unfolded was a fascinating discussion about morality. Peterson didn’t seem very calm during this debate as he usually does, in fact, he seemed a little anima-possessed, constantly interrupting Dillahunty before the latter made his points. In the same way Peterson got stuck with Sam Harris … Read more
If our time is a commodity that we exchange for biochemical impulses that we have as much chance resisting as a drug addict his cocaine, or an alcoholic his whiskey, then we need to think again about the real constraints that being imposed on us by technology. It’s not that the Buddhist appreciates his time … Read more