You are viewing the historical archive of The Philosophy Forum.
For current discussions, visit the live forum.
Go to live forum

BC

Comments

"We are a nation of laws." I've heard this said by various pontificating politicians who want to emphasize how civilized we are, or something. Having ...
July 05, 2021 at 23:49
Psychopathic traits, limited enough to allow for normal function in society, enable persons--like high-level managers--to make decisions that make goo...
July 05, 2021 at 00:49
Of course. I don't want to argue in favor of violating treaties. I am not in favor of international belligerence or the US wars in Kuwait, Iraq, Afgha...
July 04, 2021 at 18:09
Lie? Yes, absolutely. Illegal? Interesting concept. War is one of those things that if you can pull it off and you win, then legality won't matter a w...
July 03, 2021 at 23:10
Besides which, Australians have absolutely no business pretending to be cultural critics. When it comes to culture, they generally don't know shit fro...
July 03, 2021 at 03:41
I might be wrong, but no body cares what we old farts think anyway, so fuck 'em. It's not such a minor advantage being old. I definitely look forward ...
July 03, 2021 at 03:38
I agree. Perfectly good motivation. Oh... Yes, I think it is still possible. Most of the world's countries (outside of a small circle of friends and e...
July 03, 2021 at 00:23
Of course it made sense from the senior military POV. Oil was already, and would be even more critical to economic development. Our government wanted ...
July 02, 2021 at 20:25
True enough. Nice governments don't just up and invade other countries, whether they know what they are doing or not, and prudent governments are much...
July 02, 2021 at 19:59
It is not at all clear to me that American firms extracting oil from Iraq was the primary purpose of the invasion. Many oil companies from around the ...
July 02, 2021 at 07:42
I've maintained that our invasion of Iraq was a bad idea because we did not have social, political, cultural, military, or any other kind of expertise...
July 02, 2021 at 05:19
Clarence Darrow, famous attorney, said "'I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." Note, this is usually att...
July 01, 2021 at 07:23
The perfect name.
July 01, 2021 at 03:35
. I lived for 8 delightful months at South Wellfleet, at the Department of the Interior National Sea Shore site. There was a Job Corps there, where I ...
July 01, 2021 at 03:33
How rude to interrupt this elevated discussion of dutch babies with old news about D. Rumsfeld. Unless you are suggesting he is a dead dutch baby?
July 01, 2021 at 03:28
Were the oysters strongly flavored because of the water, or were they for some other reason? Did you not also partake? I do like a good oyster, raw or...
July 01, 2021 at 03:22
As well you should. And so should we all make fun of the Dutch. Didn't the Beach Boys have a song about that? "We'll make fun, fun, fun of the Dutch t...
July 01, 2021 at 03:12
The Netherlands, the 'nether' lands, the lowest or furthest parts of a place, especially with allusion to hell or the underworld. 'Nether', as in the ...
July 01, 2021 at 02:52
Good to hear from you. Have you recently become a medievalist? Indulgences caused a lot of problems; a Martin Luther will arise and shatter our sublim...
June 30, 2021 at 03:24
I live in the large land of milk and honey, all homogenized, pasteurized, and stabilized.
June 29, 2021 at 20:30
Simple solution: let the banned buy their way back in. Added feature: let members pay to keep the banned banned. Still another feature: let members pa...
June 29, 2021 at 20:22
Whether natural or unnatural, several forces are at work. First, population growth. When I was a boy, the population was 2.5 billion (1950); 70 years ...
June 29, 2021 at 01:10
Arguing against trans-ism today is like arguing against gay rights in the 1970s or against BLM last summer. Trans proponents grant across-the-board co...
June 28, 2021 at 07:41
I thought they were all consultants in hell.
June 28, 2021 at 00:35
There is an article in Quillette about how disenchantment and re-enchantment. Here
June 27, 2021 at 06:34
First rate cheese cake, tiramisu, pound cake, etc. are all signs that God loves us and wants us to be happy. So is bacon. Orgasms are proof of God's u...
June 27, 2021 at 03:46
But Clark, all those statements are true! I WANT to be a smart East Coast urban sophisticate, but what with oat chaff in my hair, and bullshit between...
June 27, 2021 at 00:48
Oh yes, very old news. Some people were disenchanted when, for the first time, their haunch of zebra was served roasted instead of raw. They walked ou...
June 27, 2021 at 00:21
EVERYTHING harms poor consumers. That's the trouble with being poor.
June 26, 2021 at 21:37
Where do I stand? I am pretty much a non-believer. Religion has been a long-time interest, and I like liturgical worship and solid protestant hymn sin...
June 26, 2021 at 21:34
Speaking of a loss of spirituality... I haven't seem a bathtub Modanna shrine lately. Its a claw-foot tub, tipped on end; painted blue on the inside, ...
June 26, 2021 at 04:15
Whatever spirituality is. It's a tough term to nail down. I'm never certain what people mean by it. For whom are you speaking? When you or I say "peop...
June 25, 2021 at 21:18
That's not a real dog. That's just a fancy rat.
June 25, 2021 at 01:36
Dump trucks maybe? Here's one with balls; but it seems to have missed its prey. https://images.wsj.net/im-359560?width=1260&size=1.5
June 25, 2021 at 01:33
Santa and Pegasus do not have a material existence but they do exist as symbols . Othello in a play and an opera; Mimi in an opera; Al Parker in gay p...
June 24, 2021 at 23:52
Seems like it.
June 24, 2021 at 18:10
Pray, tell us what this hipper trucker is driving that kept him from getting stuck in the fucking grotesque muck?
June 24, 2021 at 05:21
The biggest tow truck tows the tow truck that tows the tow truck that tows the tow truck that tows the tow truck... and is big enough to stow the thre...
June 24, 2021 at 04:30
And then Baden would have had to cane you for oppressing old people. At least 100 strokes, I should think.
June 24, 2021 at 04:00
This is the kind of insightful observation that sustains The Philosophy Forum.
June 23, 2021 at 22:07
One of the things I have learned over the years is that one never knows when, where, and how disaster is going to strike next. It will strike, however...
June 23, 2021 at 22:05
Does it make a difference what kind of cheese? Roquefort or Velveeta, une telle merde, sacre bleu!
June 23, 2021 at 01:45
Many people who report depression also report low self-esteem. Perfection, in whatever effort they make, is not achieved, further driving perfectionis...
June 23, 2021 at 01:38
Depression might have genetic causes, but maybe not. It might have environmental causes (i.e., other people) but maybe not. Not only do we not know pr...
June 22, 2021 at 22:21
In: Bannings  — view comment
Why, that NEVER happens here! I'm shocked--shocked!--to hear such a thing.
June 21, 2021 at 03:49
Corporations will tear into genetic experiments they think will produce profitable profits. They will probably be as concerned about adverse consequen...
June 21, 2021 at 00:22
In: Bannings  — view comment
Ban in Boston, condemn in Cleveland, and banish from Baltimore as you will, but I thought his discussions with me were OK.
June 21, 2021 at 00:17
True enough, but only in the short run; It's not an irresistible force. In the long run, advertising can shape what people desire, what they think the...
June 20, 2021 at 17:14
To a large extent, advertising is the program. The drama you like to watch, the magazine or newspaper you like to read, the social media you check eve...
June 20, 2021 at 16:55
IMHO, a male cannot be turned into a female (likewise, a female cannot be changed into a male). What can be done is a change of clothing, hair style, ...
June 20, 2021 at 05:09