I have many ideas for blog posts but there are only so many I can do and research. Here are just a few that I’ve wanted to do but haven’t found the time. Posts about Continue reading Philosophical Thoughts
Category Archives: Philosophy-Popular
The Myth of Closure
A friend alerted me to a new book, The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change. Its author, Dr. Pauline Boss, is an emeritus professor at the University of Minnesota, a family therapist and researcher best known for her work on “ambiguous loss,” i.e., unresolved physical or emotional losses. The 87-year-old Boss, who has lived through many upheavals including World War II, says “When the pandemic subsides, things will not go back to ‘normal’.” Continue reading The Myth of Closure
Writing About Timeless Themes
“Hegel and Napoleon in Jena” (illustration from Harper’s Magazine, 1895)
Lately, I have felt conflicted as I start to write a post. Should I write about timeless topics like the meaning of life and death, cosmic evolution, truth, beauty, goodness, justice, love, etc. or should I pen a short essay about current events, especially political ones? Continue reading Writing About Timeless Themes
Coronavirus: We Are All Interconnected
Vox did its usual excellent job of reporting and analysis in the above video about the origins of the coronavirus. Now that the WHO officially declared the virus a pandemic—and since I live in Seattle, one of the epicenters of the virus—here are a few philosophical lessons that we might relearn. Continue reading Coronavirus: We Are All Interconnected
Is Philosophy Dangerous?
Clockwise from top left – Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Averroes, Confucius, the Buddha
In my last post, I applauded a reader’s search for truth. I concluded that post as follows:
it’s easy to accept the first ideas you’re taught and be done with it. What’s hard is to keep searching and growing and changing, never anchoring as Kazantzakis put it. The search for truth is just so much nobler and humbler than simply affirming the first ideas you encountered.
I still agree with my conclusion but feel compelled to add a few caveats. Continue reading Is Philosophy Dangerous?