When I started my Nietzsche project, my daughter warned me that one should only take Nietzsche in small doses. Much to my chagrin, I ignored her advice and soon found myself in the deep, dark woods of pessimism and despair. Little did I know that it would be Carl Jung who would lead me out. […]
Category Archives: Philosophy
95. Nietzsche I, The Encroachment of Modernism
The biggest problem I see when discussing Friedrich Nietzsche is that we tend to pull his sayings out of context and use them like aphorisms, especially his more controversial or poignant statements. It’s not surprising, though, that we approach Nietzsche in this way, given that we live in an age of soundbites and we acclamate […]
94. Nietzsche and the Homeric Contest
Many of us who have read the Greek mythological tales have been struck by their vividness and ability to capture and portray the unsanitized human condition with all of its unfettered emotions and brutality. When my high school literature teacher introduced these tales to us, I remember thinking that I had never encountered such drama […]
92. Philosophy in the Age of Scientism
I see Western Civilization as two distinct ages, the of philosophy and age of empirical science. The age of philosophy, starting with the Greeks, spanned from the 6th century B.C. until the birth of Modernism in the 16th century. The age of Empiricism, spanning until the present, began in 1543 with the Copernican Revolution. The […]
90. Plato’s Dialogue Laches, What is Bravery?, Part II
What is Bravery? In an age of feckless leadership in the West, we need to go back to the 20th century to find examples of leaders, such as Winston Churchill, who exemplified courage to an almost unknown degree today. And where did Churchill turn for his inspiration? To none other than the ancient Greeks. One […]
89. Plato’s Dialogue Laches, What is Bravery?, Part I
We usually reserve the term bravery for a selected group of people in our society, whether military, first responders, or an average citizen who intervenes extraordinarily to save somebody’s life. Imagine that Plato invites you for the gathering in home with several other guests, and in the course of dinner, Plato turns to you and […]
87. Plato’s Love-Hate Relationship with the Arts, Part II
Plato sowed the seeds of Western art theory. His brief discussions on the topic, spread throughout his dialogues, give us a glimpse into his ideas. On one hand, these ideas can seem incomplete, fragmented, or even confusing. On the other hand, they can be strikingly profound and thought provoking. Regardless, one thing that Plato’s art […]
86. Plato’s Love-Hate Relationship with the Arts, Part I
One reason why Plato’s perspective on the arts and beauty is important is because it directly applies to modern life. As you know, modernity is often characterized by ugliness. Whether it’s in city planning such as strip malls, or in modern art, much of which can be confusing at best. Part of the journey to […]
85. Plato’s Dialogue ‘Ion’ -Inspiration in Poetry, Human, Divine, or Demonic?
Musical artist Joni Mitchell once said, “Music comes from the muses, and not other musicians,” illustrating that the concept of the muse is alive and well in modern times. Many would say that she was speaking figuratively, but was she? Music comes from the muses. -Joni Mitchell This leads us to the question: where do […]
84. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Divisive Harvard Address, ‘A World Split Apart’,1978, Part 4
This is the final installment of a four-part series on Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He is the man who achieved with a pen what the nuclear arms buildup of the 20th century could not do. He helped bring down the mighty Soviet Union. I left off in POST 83 discussing Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s ideas about the spiritual poverty […]