There is no non-swimmer’s pool in the study of philosophy. No textbook tells students how to study philosophy. Students learn what philosophy is by themselves. Even the departments of different universities do not agree on what philosophy is, and there is also no consensus within a philosophy department as to what philosophy does. For this reason, each student must make up his or her own mind about why he or she should study philosophy. Theoretical and practical philosophy are separated, with the result that research institutes and academic journals concentrate exclusively on certain areas of ..read more

Timothy Morton (2024). Hell. In Search of a Christian Ecology. Columbia University Press. New York. 306 pages (212 pages of text in the main part of the book). Hardcover: 110 USD, Paperback: 21.63 USD, Kindle: 12.99 USD. Get it here: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Publisher’s website. If you like reading about philosophy, here's a free, weekly newsletter with articles just like this one: Send it to me! A few times in one’s life, even in one as filled with books as mine has been, one encounters a book that has a special magic to it. That seems to be made from different stuff, different words than th ..read more

Most classical Chinese philosophers accepted a moral history of humankind. Humankind, originally, suffered a miserable existence. Life was precarious. Starvation, storms, wild animals, and more contributed to anxious struggles to survive. Things changed with the sages – a series of culture-bearing geniuses who established the practices and institutions of civilized life, like literacy, agriculture, and the elaborate rituals of social life. From then on, life became peaceful and prosperous, a cultural and moral ‘golden age’. This romanticised vision of the past contrasted, alas, with the dire r ..read more

Pessimism today has an ambivalent status. On the one hand, even a cursory glance at the world reveals a depressing abundance of dreadful events, tendencies, and phenomena. Wars, violence, the immense immiseration of human lives, deteriorating democratic systems, the intense destruction of natural environments fill the news. At more personal levels, even relatively good human lives are ones of anxious uncertainty, frustration, overwork, strife, worry and other sources of suffering. Perhaps there are fortunate souls who pass their days in serene calm, but those will be the very few. For the rest ..read more

“Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.” — Karl Barth.  Today is the birthday anniversary of Karl Barth, a Swiss theologian who had a huge influence on 20th century Christian theology. Karl Barth (1886–1968) was born on 10 May 1886, in Basel, Switzerland. He studied theology and later became a professor and worked at various universities in Germany. In 1935, he refused to sign an oath to Hitler, and was deported back to Switzerland, where he taught theology in Basel until his death. Karl Barth (1886-1968) In 1921, Barth published the second edition of his commenta ..read more

I am the giver and taker of lives, I tell myself as Sophie bounces into the chamber on the low gravity. “The big day tomorrow, Newton,” she says, stripping down to her bra and panties, revealing her perfect hourglass. You’ve no idea. Smiling, I usher her into the sleek, black booth but see, now, that she’s shaking. “Just relax,” I say. “There’s nothing to fear.” I’ve died twice and been resurrected both times. I lock her in. Who am I kidding? Every departure could be your last. I should know: I designed the damn thing! At the control desk, I initiate the pre-scan and check the results. Pleased ..read more

Miyamoto Musashi. A samurai turned Buddhist monk In the year 1700 Nabeshima Mitsushige, daimyo (lord) of the Saga domain, passed away. Yamamoto Jōchō, one of his samurai retainers, claims to have intuitively sensed his impending doom. From Kyoto, he rushed home: just in time to witness Mitsushige’s final moments. The death of the daimyo marked the end of Jōchō’s service. He stated a desire to die with his lord by committing junshi: ritual suicide by self-immolation. This might, to say the least, strike us as a peculiar retirement plan. But at the time, it was held to be a supreme expression o ..read more

Christopher Hamilton’s “Rapture” is a very pleasant, well-written, intelligent, and inspiring essay on the many meanings of human lives. On the downside, its essayistic nature also means that it somewhat lacks focus and direction. It can be a wonderful, eye-opening book for the right reader and if approached with the right expectations. Hamilton, Christopher (2024). Rapture. Columbia University Press. 156 pages. Kindle: 9.99 USD, Paperback: 20 USD, Hardcover: 80 USD. Get your copy here: Amazon US — Amazon UK — Publisher’s website If you like reading about philosophy, here's a free, weekly ne ..read more

The advent of new technologies and artificial intelligence, with their profound philosophical, psychological, ethical, political, economic, and social implications, prompts us to reflect on human nature and technology, and to define the horizons towards which we are headed. We are honoured to print an interview with Jean Arnaud, a pioneer of the digital renaissance in the fields of art, philosophy, technology, and education. Jean Arnaud is an educator and entrepreneur at the helm of Nova, a company that develops artificial intelligence to accelerate research and combat disinformation. He is al ..read more

Kant’s ethical system is based on the value of one’s motivation rather than on the outcomes or consequences of our actions. Besides a praiseworthy motivation, a morally right action must also conform to a number of rules, which Kant calls forms of the “Categorical Imperative”: to only perform actions that can be equally performed by all and to treat all human beings as ends. If you like reading about philosophy, here's a free, weekly newsletter just for you: Subscribe! Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is one of the greatest philosophers of modern times. His philosophical interests went in many dire ..read more