Apollodorus

I would say it would depend on how we define "attractive". On an "attractiveness-repulsion" scale you may have aesthetic appreciation, sexual appeal, ...

It sounds like you've never heard of freedom of speech. Plus, I never said "unnecessary" and "a waste of time" in absolute terms. Of course their perf...

That was precisely my point. Perhaps not "a lot", but too many assumptions, especially of the unexamined kind. Which would seem to render dialogue a r...

I tend to use "theistic" in the sense of "not atheistic" and "spiritual", if you will. Gerson defines Platonism as consisting of antimaterialist, anti...

Sounds like some secret yoga posture we haven't heard of yet :grin: But the notion of most heterosexual women having "a disgust response talking about...

Correct. I think it is essential to understand that philosophy in general has been theistic from its very beginnings in Ancient Greece until recently....

Well, philosophy as understood by Socrates and Plato certainly was a way of life, far from just intellectual pursuit. A key aim of philosophy was the ...

Absolutely correct. They are right opinion, orthe doxa, which can be used as right guidance, orthe hegesia in our actions. Like knowing the road to La...

Of course not! I never said that, neither explicitly nor implicitly. I said it is unnecessary, a waste of time, and I doubt that it works. Isn't expec...

I think you should try to follow the discussion before you accuse people for no reason. I was simply replying to @Possibility's remark below: @Possibi...

(1) I never said that you can't be curious, (2) I never said anything about "covering up", (3) I never said anything about "gay men", and (4) I never ...

I'll put that on file for future reference.

True. But you are not taxed the whole amount spent on the entire road system, only for a small fraction of it. Personally, I am against excessive taxa...

Exactly. We may not specifically request certain services but still use them. In order to demand exemption from taxation we would need to show that we...

Well, by "group think" I meant a situation where the individual adopts and acts on the views and behaviors of the group instead of his or her own (or ...

I can see how this might work on a purely hypothetical level. However, the fact remains that pop singers and record companies do what they are doing f...

I think that people can be conditioned to enjoy certain things as opposed to others. After all, we are influenced by group think and by the dominant m...

In addition to not having access to the Platonic corpus except in incomplete Arabic translations or commentaries, Maimonides had no interest in Plato....

Correct. Plato's dialogues provide plenty of pointers as to what an examined life may amount to in practice. The problem seems to stem from some peopl...

Well, I'm not sure Donald Trump is the problem. Rather, he exemplifies what happens when the whole system loses credibility. But I don't think it's a ...

Not only that, but if all opinion, including opinion about opinion, is to be perpetually doubted, questioned, and inquired into, no criteria are avail...

Totally agree. If lifelong perpetual doubting, questioning, and inquiring, followed by more doubting, questioning, and inquiring, followed by rejectio...

Well, I never said that she cannot be. What I am saying is that those shows do not have that sort of effect on me. If as you say, male viewers’ assump...

Interesting perspective. However, personally, I don't assume anything about pop singers for the simple reason that I tend not to attend concerts or ot...

Yes, I did mention Augustine in my recommendations from Oxford University Press' series Very Short Introductions, above. And, of course, in the old da...

To my knowledge, Plato's works were available in Islamic Spain only as partial translations or commentaries in Arabic. So, they would hardly make a re...

I can see your point. However, if some recommend that we read a certain author, others may equally recommend not to read another (or the same) author....

Correct. I think human behavior is largely dictated by pressure from society. For instance, if a man is with a group of male friends and an attractive...

I don't think you are mistaken at all. I don't know about "objectifying", I don't believe it is happening to the extent that is being alleged, in any ...

I think that sounds a bit exaggerated. Yes, taxes do seem excessive but the state provides services in return. Without those services you would have t...

Yes. I think the main reasoning there was political rather than ethical. And if it is true that Stalin was preparing to invade Germany, then the Germa...

Absolutely correct. This is why I do not believe for a moment that Socrates was a "skeptic" or "nihilist" and I believe that the likes of Leo Strauss ...

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Hitler's methods of self-examination. Assuming that he did spend quite a bit of time in self-examination as...

I think Labour's fundamental problem is that it was founded by the Fabian Society and trade unions which were two different camps. The agreement was f...

What I am saying is that Confucius and Chinese philosophy do not seem to have prevented Chinese people from killing and eating people for fun. And if ...

Actually, killing (and eating) people because they were different or just for fun was widespread in Maoist China: Guangxi Massacre - Wikipedia So it s...

You mean better than counter-cultural or better than anti-cultural?

I think that is one of the major problems in modern society, and it includes pop stars and social media influencers with psychological issues. There s...

True. However, if insight is awareness of or into the self, then it is the same as self-awareness which is a form of awareness. And awareness seems to...

Yes, but "different" in what sense? Different could equally apply to difference in quantity. The consciousness may still be there, but if it is less a...

Yes, counter-cultural or anti-cultural sounds about right. And anything that serves as a substitute for traditional culture qualifies as "progressive"...

That would depend on which aspect/s of "ancient wisdom" one is interested in. But I think that the introductory booklets on Plato, Aristotle, Augustin...

I think there is a combination of factors. If we judge bodies in terms of harmonious features, then male and female are probably equally “beautiful”. ...

I think the English (and Americans) like using words in strange ways to confuse German spies and other foreigners. Like when they removed street signs...

But if someone can be "highly conscious", "barely conscious", and "unconscious", then this suggests different degrees of consciousness. At any rate, t...

Everything can be ambiguous without an agreed definition. Depending on what we understand by "self", self awareness may refer to awareness of oneself ...

I agree that consumerism, hedonism, etc. are contributing factors in the general decline of civilization and culture. However, I think there are reaso...

I don't think it needs to be less. It may simply be different. Otherwise, what it is that makes them "disabled"?

Well, I for one definitely think that ancient wisdom is better than no wisdom. And it seems to me that wisdom is fast disappearing from both language ...

I've got nothing against Chinese or Indian philosophy but I think that historically Europe has developed its own philosophy. For example, in Classical...