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Category Archives: Philosophy
All Us Zombies
Lucius and I had a disagreement about zombies. I thought they had become popular for some deep psychological reason. He thought zombies were just a fad perpetuated by unimaginative hacks. Granted that there are many valid ways to look at … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics
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Our Viral Moment
When will we get back to normal? Never. We’ll achieve a new normal, but it won’t be the old one. This is our Red Pill viral moment. In 1999, The Matrix explored our condition metaphorically: the machines would have given … Continue reading
Posted in HIgh Tech, Philosophy, Politics, Social Media, Uncategorized
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Happy liberal New Year!
I have been on Facebook for over ten years now, and my interactions have brought me to a couple points of emphasis in political discussions. 1. Properly defined, as opposed to how it’s commonly misunderstood, liberalism is the fearless pursuit … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Rhetoric
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Religion and Endgame
So three things occasion this post: I watched Avengers: Endgame last night, Will Shetterly posted an observation about fandom and its religious nature, and I stumbled upon an article in my feed from a left-ish site about how new studies … Continue reading
Posted in Evo Psych, Evolution, Fantasy, Philosophy, Religion, Uncategorized
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A Poisonous Idea
“Every categorical statement is political” — I keep coming back to this proposition by my critical theory professor. It’s such a stupid, poisonous idea. It discounts science, art, and the dialectical process. And I see it has caught on like … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Uncategorized
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The Polluted Well of Social Media Discourse
These days, I mostly indulge myself with meta-political posts rather than get in the weeds on a specific issue, and when I do get specifically political on Facebook, I see much more clearly now how stupid I’m being. I cannot … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Rhetoric, Social Media, Uncategorized
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When identity politics trumps all
In a recent Facebook thread on identity politics, I made the following contribution, with some redaction here. I see a dozen online memes an hour speaking to Trump’s “misogyny” and “racism.” These terms have suffered scope creep. They no longer … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Rhetoric, Uncategorized
Tagged Identity Politics, liberalism, Trump
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Liberalism Needs a Housecleaning
After this post, I hope to leave off religion and politics for a while. I’m a liberal and liberal apologist but also a philosophical conservative, meaning I’m more into Adam Smith than Karl Marx, more into Plato and Lao Tzu than Nietzsche. … Continue reading
Posted in Evo Psych, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Uncategorized
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Scalia, Naive Essentialism, and Evolution
I’ve lain relatively low on Facebook this past year, becoming more circumspect. Before posting, I weigh the importance of any controversial statement I have to make, and increasingly I let it go. This seems to have improved my relationships with … Continue reading
Values and the Definition of Religion
In relation to my last post, a friend of mine on Facebook was not clear on my definition of religion in relation to values, so this is how I replied. Sure, Ed, the word “values” is tricky because when I … Continue reading
