Let me begin with two assertions, and an important distinction. The first assertion is that every human animal possessing a set of undamaged minimal capacities for consciousness, self-consciousness, cognizing, caring and feeling, choosing and acting freely, and rationality, even if they don’t always use those capacities properly or well, is a human person with absolute, … [continue reading]
Monthly Archives: July 2020
On Rutger Bregman’s “Humankind.”
You can also download or read a complete .pdf version of this essay HERE. On Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: Optimism For Realists, Or, Neither Hobbes Nor Rousseau I. Introduction Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History[i] is a brilliant book. It is beautifully written and translated (from Bregman’s native Dutch); clearly and cogently argued in a way … [continue reading]
MORALITY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION, #23–Two Problems for Existential Ethics, & Sartre on Principled Authenticity.
Table of Contents I. Introduction II. The Standard Conception of Morality II.1 The Moral Question and The Meaning Question II.2 How Ethics Relates to Morality II.3 How Morality Relates to Rationality II.4 Six Famously Hard Cases III. Three Classical Challenges to the Standard Conception of Morality III.1 Moral Relativism III.2 Eight Logical Principles of Human … [continue reading]
Meditations & Mediations, #6—Inwardness.
Previous Installments: #5: Recurrence. #4: Movement. #3: Context. #2: In an Instant. #1: Introduction, and On Sources. Section VI: Inwardness Every focal point possesses an infinite inwardness. Every concept or moment in a space of thought can be taken as point of departure and unfold itself infinitely. To explore this inwardness requires an inward attitude: … [continue reading]
Science Is Real, But Not So Damned Real.
You can also read or download a complete .pdf version of this essay HERE. I teach at Harvard that the world and the heavens, and the stars are all real, but not so damned real.[i] In my neighborhood, many people have put up signs that look like this: Now one thing I noticed immediately is … [continue reading]
How To Do Real Metaphysics: 22 Theses.
Thus profound metaphysics is rooted in an implicit geometry which —whether we will or not—confers spatiality upon thought; if a metaphysician could not draw, what would he think? —Gaston Bachelard, Dialectics of Inside and Outside [I]f pure experience means to know things just as they are, then simplicity or passivity are not characteristics of it––the … [continue reading]
THE NEW YORK SPACETIMES, #6–Reflections on Axiality and the History of Science II: Towards a New Critical Theory of Science and a New Kind of Science.
THE NEW YORK SPACETIMES, by Michael Cifone, is a series about philosophy, society, politics, and everything else, starting from New York City and radiating outwards, borderlessly and unboundedly. He has worked on the philosophy and metaphysics of natural science, with a special focus on relativity and quantum theories, and on the philosophy of science more … [continue reading]
MORALITY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION, #22–All About Authenticity.
Table of Contents I. Introduction II. The Standard Conception of Morality II.1 The Moral Question and The Meaning Question II.2 How Ethics Relates to Morality II.3 How Morality Relates to Rationality II.4 Six Famously Hard Cases III. Three Classical Challenges to the Standard Conception of Morality III.1 Moral Relativism III.2 Eight Logical Principles of Human … [continue reading]
Popular Philosophy, “Populist Philosophy,” Mind-Manacled Philosophy, and Real Philosophy.
You can download a .pdf version of this edgy essay HERE. In every cry of every Man,In every Infants cry of fear,In every voice: in every ban,The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.[i] [P]hilosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, … [continue reading]
THE NEW YORK SPACETIMES, #5–Reflections on Axiality and the History of Science I: Kuhnian Themes.
THE NEW YORK SPACETIMES, by Michael Cifone, is a series about philosophy, society, politics, and everything else, starting from New York City and radiating outwards, borderlessly and unboundedly. He has worked on the philosophy and metaphysics of natural science, with a special focus on relativity and quantum theories, and on the philosophy of science more … [continue reading]