Today, I want to share something I found while reading At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell that made my coffee neurons happy. Then, I’ll talk a little bit about a collaboration I did with my blog friend Teagan from Teagan’s Books. Let me start with the existentialist part. No, I’m not turning into an … Continue reading Existentialism, Coffee, and a Story
Tag: Philosophy
AI and the Human Factor
I was planning to post a book review today, but I’ll probably do that next week. My mind kept bringing me back to the content of three great essays I read over the last couple of weeks. One of those essays used Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the writing process, and it was really good. I … Continue reading AI and the Human Factor
Learning How to Read Again
Back when I was starting this blog, I wrote a short book review of How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. In that post, I mentioned that my first attempt to read the book was in 2009, but I wasn’t ready for it. … Continue reading Learning How to Read Again
Book Review: The Last Days of Socrates
I have been focusing part of my reading plan on the subject of philosophy. My main interest is the Stoics, but I took a little detour to examine Socrates. After all, the Stoics considered him a role model and a sage. I read The Republic by Plato, which focuses on justice and what a just … Continue reading Book Review: The Last Days of Socrates
Book Review: The Righteous Mind
“People bind themselves into political teams that share moral narratives. Once they accept a particular narrative, they become blind to alternative morals worlds.” (p. XXIII) Photo by Ed Ortiz In early June, I wrote a post titled The Human Side of Economics. In it, I discussed a review by The Economist of Alvin Roth’s book, … Continue reading Book Review: The Righteous Mind
The Human Side of Economics
I’m currently reading The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Although I am still in the early stages of engaging with the book, I recently read a book review and commentary in The Economist that I found both interesting and closely related to Haidt’s work. The title of the article is “How Should Economists Treat Morality?” … Continue reading The Human Side of Economics
On Justice
“The cardinal virtue that most obviously deals with the social sphere, with our relationships, is ‘justice’ (dikaiosunê). The Stoics use this word to encompass both dealing fairly with others and acting with benevolence toward them, wishing for them to flourish in accord with virtue, Fate permitting.” — Donald Robertson, Stoicism and the Art of Happiness … Continue reading On Justice
Faster, Higher, Richer—But at What Cost?
A while ago, I wrote about the fascination with chasing immortality. People are spending fortunes on an unwinnable battle because our end date is set, and there’s not much we can do about it. In that post, I mentioned the Enhanced Games — a competition where athletes can win $1 million for breaking world records … Continue reading Faster, Higher, Richer—But at What Cost?
Judging the Judges
“A good judge must not be a young person but an old one, who has learned late in life what injustice is like and who has become aware of it not as something at home in his own soul, but as something alien and present in others, someone who, after a long time, has recognized … Continue reading Judging the Judges
The Questions We Don’t Ask — And Why They Matter, Part 7
To answer today’s question, I need to go back to 12 October 2022, the day I sat down with a doctor for my final medical exam before retirement. Until that point, I thought I was indestructible. Sure, there was always a pain here or there, but like we say in the Army, we just need … Continue reading The Questions We Don’t Ask — And Why They Matter, Part 7
