Chris Durante asks himself just what makes him the person he used to be. Stepping into a park I had frequented as a little boy, memories of my childhood began to flood my mind, each one a rich story of a distant past. As I continued to reminisce, each story flowed into the next, and […]
A Philosophical Identity Crisis Read More »
Sándor Szegláb decodes the hidden message of the Tractatus. The statements of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus start with index numbers. It is taken for granted that this indexing is used in such a way that 1.1 is a comment on or elaboration of 1, 1.11 and 1.12 comment on 1.1, and so forth. With Wittgenstein,
The Tractatus Code Read More »
Carlos Muñoz-Suárez guides us on a trip down the linguistic rabbit hole. “Most of the propositions and questions of philosophers arise from our failure to understand the logic of our language.”Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 4.03 On 13th March 1919, Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote a letter telling Bertrand Russell that he had completed a book entitled Logisch-Philosophische
The Tractatus… is it so intractable? Read More »
Lucian Lupescu sees how far Kant’s and Marx’s ideals overlap. In 1784 Immanuel Kant described humanity as being in a state of immaturity, which to Kant is “the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another” (An Answer to the Question: ‘What is Enlightenment?’, trans Mary C. Smith). The reasons for this
A New Twist on Old Ideas Read More »
Marianne Talbot tells us how to use the ultimate in transferrable skills. My mug is sitting to my right doing nothing. This is because it believes it is at the centre of the universe, and its desire to be at the centre of the universe is stronger than any of its other desires. I expect you’ll
Critical Reasoning Read More »
Nick Inman wants to know where you’re at. Are you ready for the ultimate trick question? Here it is: Am I me, and are you? That is: do I and you exist? Only a yes/no answer is allowed. It wouldn’t be good philosophy to say that you ‘sort of’ exist, nor that you are a
Ian Smith on why Ockham thought the Pope wasn’t a Catholic. William of Ockham is readily acknowledged as one of the most preeminent philosophers of the medieval period, and is known primarily for his work in metaphysics and logic. But in 1328 it was controversy over his political writings that forced him to flee Avignon,
William of Ockham: Defending the Church, Condemning the Pope Read More »
Three hundred and fifty years ago, Spinoza was excommunicated. This affords Peter Cave the excuse to remind us of this most tolerant philosopher – of his life, metaphysics and humanity. Spinoza’s name does not trip off the lips of many people, and those from whose lips it trips typically know only that he was a
Spinoza: Cursed be he by day; and cursed be he by night Read More »
Michael J. Brown finds assumptions challenged in his Philosophy Club. I had planned on five, perhaps six students showing up – nothing I’d have to prepare too much for; just a few extemporaneous remarks on philosophy and the usual haggling over scheduling a weekly meeting to talk about it. I was surprised, even panicked, when
Of Adolescents and The Aristotle Read More »
Grant Bartley lays down the law in favour of the ‘right’ sort of heresy. “Religions are kept alive by heresies, which are really sudden explosions of faith. Dead religions do not produce them.” Gerald Brenan Thoughts in a Dry Season. “A heretic is a person who offers too good a criticism of the authorities,” Brant
The Truth about Heresy? Read More »