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Erik

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Seems a bit of a non-sequitur. I don't think accepting the malleability of cultural norms precludes one from taking a harsh stance towards specific ch...
March 13, 2018 at 08:16
Yeah I could be overstating the case, but, going off recollection, a connection was made between traits such as that and male psychology. The opposite...
March 12, 2018 at 10:52
These discussions regarding gender differences and gender equality are really confusing to me. Based upon standard depictions of (supposedly) masculin...
March 10, 2018 at 11:31
But Crank, after making that great point about erroneously personalizing nations' behavior you seem to do that very thing by talking about a nation's ...
March 07, 2018 at 07:57
I think one practical reason to pitch empire in humanitarian terms is that it would be much harder, almost impossible in fact (unless the pay and bene...
March 07, 2018 at 07:23
Some clearly do buy into the idea of American exceptionalism, but it doesn't seem nearly as pervasive as it once was. We don't need to, but the assump...
March 05, 2018 at 10:26
Lots of truth in what you wrote there. I think I was just a really dumb kid. Not dumb as in doing stupid things all the time--that came in my late tee...
February 24, 2018 at 10:41
Missed this last time but it's a huge issue. This captures the dilemma of parenting these days when the culture your kids are immersed in will signifi...
February 24, 2018 at 10:15
I agree completely. I think it's safe to assume that the personal example you set for your son is a huge factor in his positive development. This subt...
February 24, 2018 at 09:45
Sounds like you're an exceptional parent who's thought this through a great deal. The way you pitched your parenting philosophy here--specifically the...
February 23, 2018 at 11:11
Ah just noticed your positive response to Sir2u's post, so we're probably in agreement because that was indeed a good one. I took it as articulating t...
February 23, 2018 at 09:47
Boy I'm not so sure I share your confidence when it comes to giving the average 16-year-old the type of complete freedom over their lives it seems you...
February 23, 2018 at 09:31
Hahaha thank you! One of the most memorable posts in my 15+ years over there.
February 16, 2018 at 11:08
This reminded me of the testimonial you gave at the old PF for the role it played in turning your life around -- away from a shallow existence revolvi...
February 16, 2018 at 10:22
Firing Comey seems really dumb, but then again there were tons of leaks coming out during his tenure which seem to have now largely stopped. Coinciden...
February 14, 2018 at 13:13
I find that last scenario to be the most plausible. The first part of it. Many people will take your (Susan Rice's) depiction of events as outlined in...
February 14, 2018 at 12:17
What if this email served as a preemptive attempt to give the appearance that she was doing things by the book? "The lady doth protest too much" sort ...
February 14, 2018 at 11:23
(Y) I will read this and get back to you...
February 13, 2018 at 12:10
I have very modest financial goals, I consider myself second to none when it comes to communicating with customers and dealing with people more genera...
February 12, 2018 at 10:13
Okay I'm in this very situation. I need specific details on how to learn your skill in the quickest and most affordable way possible.
February 12, 2018 at 09:40
The tough thing seems to be that if you really want to do one thing well enough to make a living at it (e.g. writing, painting), then you can't realis...
February 12, 2018 at 09:38
Just noticed the posts above mine. Good, timely topic!
February 12, 2018 at 09:34
No. I've actually had a decent job over the past few years--as far as pay goes anyhow--as the GM of a successful restaurant. I decided to take a break...
February 12, 2018 at 09:32
That's awesome. Working for myself would be my preferred option but I lack the necessary capital and/or the specific skills to go that route, and it's...
February 12, 2018 at 09:17
I hadn't thought about it from that angle but it sounds somewhat plausible. If you're around young children all day five days a week, trying (unsucces...
February 12, 2018 at 08:17
Interesting. I could be mistaken but that would seem to reverse or at least challenge the conventional view linking intelligence (thoughtfulness, self...
February 12, 2018 at 08:09
Yep. I wasn't even upset with the lady (my son's elementary school teacher :D ) putting me on blast like that. I am trying to spend more time around h...
February 11, 2018 at 12:52
One of my Facebook 'friends' posted a link to an article ridiculing a certain segment of the population for being impervious to facts and arguments wh...
February 11, 2018 at 12:24
Yeah I agree with this. This is a good example of what I was getting at because disagreements over immigration policy these days are often interpreted...
February 09, 2018 at 10:27
I'd say laying out the basic features of racism would come first combined with giving reasons for its incompatibility with the guiding cultural and po...
February 09, 2018 at 10:05
I'd suggest tracking down a copy of his Introduction to Metaphysics. Much more readable than Being and Time and it's largely an extended reflection on...
February 09, 2018 at 07:49
(Y) Great contributions to this discussion, especially concerning the relevance of Heidegger's thinking to the subject.
February 09, 2018 at 07:33
Interesting and important conversation. I think advocates of this position should lay out some specific guidelines for determining what types of speec...
February 08, 2018 at 12:00
This is interesting. In broad outlines it resembles my own take on modernity and possible means of overcoming its more damaging aspects on an individu...
February 07, 2018 at 02:00
Good stuff. I'm definitely on the side of the Tibetans when the issue is framed as a contrast between voluntary simplicity vs imposed technological pr...
February 05, 2018 at 09:30
Thank you, I appreciate that. It may be poor taste to discuss these sorts of things--things which adversely affect actual people--in such a detached m...
February 05, 2018 at 09:25
For the record, what I presented was NOT my view. I'm honestly not trying to hide my position behind some fictional teacher. The impromptu talk he gav...
February 05, 2018 at 09:20
Oh yes, I hope I made it clear above that I was skeptical of the simplistic and one-sided narrative that he pushed on us. I present the viewpoint of t...
February 05, 2018 at 08:47
Many years ago I took a class with a professor of Han Chinese ancestry who tried to make a case for Chinese influence in Tibet. This was during the he...
February 05, 2018 at 08:28
I had my first panic attack--assuming that's what it was although it was never officially diagnosed as such--while in the shower getting ready for wor...
February 05, 2018 at 01:07
I haven't read the other answers here, but I can imagine some scenarios in which certain types of philosophy may help ease some types of depression an...
February 04, 2018 at 11:59
Do you think that hypothetical scenario would be compatible with social stability? I think it would instead lead to widespread resentment of that 1%, ...
February 04, 2018 at 10:33
Right. And how you could you possibly get Nietzsche at 92% while also getting Augustine at 73%? Not to mention Kant at 100%. I'd assume there'd be an ...
February 01, 2018 at 08:34
Kant (100%) Aristotle (86%) Augustine (86%) Aquinas (56%) Hume (38%) Sextus Empiricus (15%) Plato (12%) Protagoras (4%) Nietzsche (0%) In light of the...
February 01, 2018 at 08:15
I'm not a fan of Ben Shapiro but why wouldn't he be considered an intellectual? He has a very impressive academic background and also has connections ...
January 30, 2018 at 10:53
Ah got it lol. Seriously though, in addition to all the other problems with grand conspiracy theories, if there were a legitimate secret society--ooh!...
January 28, 2018 at 11:00
Haha but doesn't that violate the club's first (and second) rule?
January 28, 2018 at 10:56
LOL that sounds even more benign than I thought it would. I can't imagine anyone taking that literally and seriously, assuming that if there were a re...
January 28, 2018 at 10:44
I haven't been keeping abreast with the latest developments on this front, but I did hear rumblings about these text messages and some reference to a ...
January 28, 2018 at 10:34
I like to explore thinkers and traditions that seem to embrace a certain element of flux and change. Taoism seems to be in this camp, as does Heidegge...
January 19, 2018 at 11:12