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Category Archives: Philosophy
Don’t Mistake Hate for Logic
We’ve probably all made the error of mistaking hate for logic. Of course, we didn’t realize it at the time. But that’s what we were doing. Yesterday’s blog post got me thinking about the problem. On my “Top 10” list … Continue reading
Posted in Epistemology, Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology
Tagged Affirming the consequent, Belisarius, Bias, Byzantine Empire, Empress Theodora, Hate, Hatred, History, Justinian, Logic, Logical fallacies, Loyalty, Modus Ponens, Ostrogorsky, Rationality, Reason, Social Conflict, Syllogism
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Do Great Individuals Shape History?
Is human history driven mainly by the actions of “great men”? It’s called the great man theory of history. Of course, the problem is that word “mainly.” Lots of things cause historical events. To say that a specific person was … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Life, Philosophy, Psychology, Society
Tagged Adam and Eve, Aristotle, Buddha, Calculus, Confucius, Einstein, Empress Theodora, Gilgamesh, Great Man Theory, Greatness, Hammurabi, Historiography, History, Isaac Newton, Jesus, Leibniz, Moses, Theories of History, Winston Churchill
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Two Views of Life — and Government
Your parents lied to you. So did mine. They told us: “You can do anything if you make up your mind to do it.” Nope. Not true. Don’t be too hard on parents. It’s a well-meaning lie. It’s arguably even … Continue reading
Don’t Wait: Be Happy Now
Empiricism is the idea that beliefs should be based on observable evidence. It’s one of the main reasons that our civilization has been successful. Empiricism has given us science, medicine, and technology. It’s given us choices and luxuries that people … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Philosophy, Psychology
Tagged Constructive attitude, Croesus, Empiricism, Happiness, Herodotus, Philosophy jokes, Positive attitude, Positive thinking, Solon, Stoic, Stoicism
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Do WMDs Make Religion Too Risky?
On his blog, philosopher Eric Kaplan posed a serious question (paraphrased here): If our weapons can destroy all life on earth, can we still afford to believe in a God who plays favorites? People sometimes claim that God is “… … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, Psychology
Tagged Aggression, Atheism, Belief in God, Kin Selection, Philosophy of Religion, Religion, Sapolsky, Steven Weinberg, Theism, War
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We Are What We Are
We are what we are. The only question is what we choose to do about it. When I worked on Capitol Hill, I knew a political writer who was a nasty, hateful person. Then he became a Christian. And — … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Human Relations, Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazim, DNA, Evolution, Globalism, Group behavior, Hillel, In-Group, Kin Selection, Moment Magazine, Nationalism, Open borders, Out-Group, Proxy variable, Yoram Hazony
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What You Don’t Know
“Every person you meet knows something that you don’t know.” That was one of my grandfather’s favorite adages. He died when I was quite young, so I don’t remember him well. I remember his appearance, his book-lined study, his beloved … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Adages, Ancient Athens, Ancient Greece, Antigone, Brain Trust, Courage, FDR, Justice, Law, Moral Law, Open-minded, Sophocles, Wisdom
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