Ciceronianus

"There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it." And, just for the sake of balance, one for the lawyers: "When you have no basis for an ...

The purpose of my life is to crush my enemies, to see them driven before me and hear the lamentations of their women.

I was reacting to Burke's comment about philosophers, not to conservatism or his status as a conservative icon. Aristophanes famously made similar cri...

Alas, poor Burke. He could be perceptive, but his creepy infatuation with Marie Antoinette, so extravagantly expressed, makes him appear, ultimately, ...

I am a cowboy on the boat of Ra. Also the walrus, when not on the boat of Ra.

In speaking of Heidegger, it's of course entirely appropriate to refer to those initiated and those uninitiated. The same was the case with the ancien...

Don't forget Dewey, dammit.

For all of us, really, unless we've committed ourselves (perversely) to inhuman standards of intelligibility. Many of us have unreasonable expectation...

Our senses deceive us so badly it may not be real, but I think I saw Trump ads on the old site. I suppose it's too much to hope the new owners have an...

They're similar in some respects. Roman Stoicism, though, encouraged participation in public life while Epicureanism does not. And as has been noted, ...

I went to one, sad to say. You missed nothing but bad tuxedos, gowns and music. Heidegger even looks like a Nazi in that photo. Usually he just looks ...

How many proms did this song play during? As many as "Color my world"?

Well, there's nothing wrong with poetry, and poetry can evoke insights which may be considered philosophical and metaphysical. Philosophy is prosaic b...

We're not all criminals, you know.

It's a interesting response. It almost sounds like...a conspiracy. And I was hoping to further indulge my intense, though irrelevant, frustration at t...

To understand Trump supporters it is only necessary to consider what it is to be envious, jealous and xenophobic.

Me as well. In fact, I bet my bottom dollar I'll lose the blues there.

Not as well as it should, but well enough. Getting back to Chicago at all? I'll be wandering around the Loop and River North in a few weeks.

Post when the mood strikes you, when you see something you find interesting; nothing more. Pay no attention to those men, and women, behind the curtai...

The question I have is: What is it I will in general? I never "run in general" as I when I run I do so for a reason. I know what running is, true; how...

Well, he refers to "individual acts of will" which will always have a ground or reason outside themselves, and distinguishes them from what "I will in...

Judging from your quote, Schopenhauer effectively disregards what we want and do in his analysis. Instead, he presumes that there is a "Will" distinct...

I don't think Schopenhauer's Will, if I understand it correctly, is something that can be inferred from the fact that we have wants, needs, or desires...

I would say, instead, that what we would be justified in calling "true" or provisionally "true" or probably "true" is that which the best available ev...

Ciceronianus gets a bit busy now and then; no doubt due to the Will which underlies him, the law, his clients, the court system, and everything else. ...

I tried to note that what I've read of Schopenhauer's Will may be incorrect in some way. If what I've read is correct, though, I think it would be idl...

You should really thank Peirce for the pragmatic maxim, not me. I don't know what other methodologies you refer to. I'm afraid the only work of Schope...

The hope is that in applying the pragmatic maxim, one might achieve some sort of clarity regarding concepts. But it has a negative function as well, a...

When it comes to such as "mind" and "self" and "consciousness" I think we're best off applying Peirce's pragmatic maxim, and then getting on with life...

You used the word "repent" which I associated with acknowledgement of sin and commitment to "sin no more." But if you're speaking of feeling sorry for...

If we're talking about what the law should be, it's not clear to me that whether or not the killer repents should be a factor. That may be good for hi...

An agreement isn't required to establish a partnership. When there is no agreement, the law governs disassociation. In that case, a partner by his/her...

Yes, for good or ill, or perhaps for both, I'm a lawyer. Adultery according to Merriam-Webster Online is (I paraphrase) voluntary sexual intercourse b...

I would say, instead, that the problem is sexual conduct has become preeminent in today's world. It is accorded a value exceeding its significance (wh...

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this...

But I do care about sex; obviously, we all do. I merely don't care about it in the remarkable manner you do. I don't feel it to be taboo, as it seems ...

Since I referenced sexual conduct specifically, your comment makes sense only if equate sexual activity to well being. It may contribute to a person's...

The North Carolina law itself says next to nothing regarding its purpose, or the need for it. Generally, where it's anticipated that a law will be con...

I'm against parades of all kinds. I used to march in them, alternately carrying and playing a trombone. They aren't worth seeing. But they also aren't...

I believe that all people should have the privilege of watching me urinate, and to at least hear me defecate, if they wish to do so.

I must admit that now and then I think it's possible that some, at least, of my dislike of Heidegger may be due to poor translations--a terrifying tho...

You're right. I have wondered whether problems with translation result in confusion and misunderstanding, but perhaps not often enough.

A person's use of the royal "we" always worries me. It strikes me as particularly worrying when used by someone to respond to criticism. I would hope ...

We here in God's favorite country are busy proving that Mencken was right about our version of democracy. The rogues gallery of this crop of president...

Post-Flavian? Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius?

Sorry, but only a god (perhaps he caught himself before he said "Fuhrer") can save you.

Hell hath no fury like a being-lover scorned? Well, "Let be be the finale of seem." We're in the kitchen with the concupiscent curds. Or Dinah; I'm no...

Ah, you wish to make me sad. You want to know what is? Read The Light of the World.

Can't let "being" be, it seems.

Help! StreetlightX is depriving me of my being! But if your concern is whether Quine does or does not in principle limit the question of being to what...