Erik

I'd admit that Wittgenstein seemed much less read than, say, Heidegger or Nietzsche, concerning the main thinkers in the tradition. Maybe his path was...

Well, I'd argue that an influence can be indirect, and can therefore go undetected and unacknowledged. So Witty is working off of Frege, Russell et al...

But can you give a single example of someone who worked in complete independence from other thinkers, Agustino, and still made a significant contribut...

Yeah, seriously, that was a surprisingly dumb comment of Agustino's. What would Kant be without Descartes, Hume, and others? What would Nietzsche be w...

I've toyed with the idea that Nietzsche is a "religious" thinker of sorts who ultimately wants to destroy the entire edifice of modern civilization ou...

Hey there, creative! Apologies for the late response. I tend to be a little flaky at times, and, to be quite honest, I just didn't feel like posting a...

Having read both quite a bit over the years, I think I can say with confidence that you'll find something even more radical and life-altering in Heide...

Good stuff, Willow.

One of the best one sentence summations of B&T I've ever seen.

Yes I think this is at least partly true. I see asceticism as being an inherently aristocratic endeavor, as is genuine Christianity as exemplified by ...

But perhaps we can discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of Nietzsche's thinking somewhere else? Like start a new topic or something. :) I'm not shying...

But intellectual abstractions are operative in this world, aren't they? So even the otherworldy is ultimately thisworldy. Life for us (human beings gi...

What do you mean by otherwordly? I want to make sure we have the same thing in mind before commenting.

What I had in mind was the occasional exuberance he expressed towards life in its entirety, even in its darker and more questionable aspects. A sort o...

As to the latter question, I believe he referred to it lovingly as Life--taken in a metaphysical sense as constant struggle, appropriation, excretion,...

I've noted the seemingly self-refuting aspects of Nietzsche's thought. He clearly felt his was not just one perspective among many possible ones, but ...

Fair enough. But how does one recognize truth if not to actively seek it out? It doesn't seem to just randomly fall into your lap. Seems an acknowledg...

I think Nietzsche at times comes close to this. Truths are simply lies that people believe in. Useful fictions.

So if we give up the idea of objective truth, then there's really no such thing as a lie? Therefore you can pretty much say whatever you want. Not bei...

I think people falsely assume that Trump's supporters know he's lying but don't care, and the profusion of these uneducated, emotionally-driven suppor...

So do Trump's lies require truth, too?

I haven't followed many of your contributions here but I stand corrected. But 'most likely'? Really?

So then, in previous eras politicians did not lie?

But you've admitted that the previous era was not one of truth. So referring to this one as post-truth is misleading. As I mentioned way back in the t...

I feel like there is an important matter at stake here which I've come close to discerning at times, but then lose track of when Trump (and politics g...

Or is there some moral hierarchy among types of liars, those who pretend to tell the truth being superior to those who make no such attempt? I'm hones...

So lies are acceptable as long as they're presented as truths?

It's almost like some are suggesting that what separates this world from the previous one is that, while in the the previous one people did lie, cheat...

Well then maybe this post truth world is paradoxically more honest in its dishonesty than the less overtly mendacious one that preceded it. Assuming o...

Perhaps this is the essence of truth/post truth issue that's being discussed here. Even here on a philosophy message forum, with relatively knowledgea...

I'll gladly concede that Obama seems a far superior human being in almost every way relative to Donald Trump. That acknowledgement doesn't change the ...

I don't see the significance of the point as related to larger issues. Both Thanatos and myself have been consistent in maintaining that we've never l...

That seems a rather purposeful misrepresentation of our positions here, Wayfarer, which is especially ironic considering the topic under discussion. I...

"All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, ...

Spot on this entire thread IMO. (Y)

I think I'm one of the few people here who's extremely receptive to some of your seemingly reactionary social positions! >:) I'd maybe disagree with y...

I was probably an exceptionally naive kid. It also didn't help that I grew up in a very blue-collar household with parents who were both high school d...

This may be my last foray here, at least for a bit, so I'll probably just sit back and try to be as receptive as possible to others' positions. Seems ...

It's true, Agustino, that's what I was taught in school as a child and believed in sincerely up until my college years, when I was finally exposed to ...

Thanks, Michael, I'll check it out.

Agreed.

And to repeat for what seems like the hundredth time, this position implies zero support for Trump. It still seems hard for many people to disassociat...

Socrates was put to death for genuinely searching for truth, largely by challenging the collective illusions/prejudices of his community. Let's be hon...

Yes indeed! This very issue seems a central focus of many of those ancient dialogues.

Those who claim we've moved into a 'post-truth' age assume a (radical) temporal break in which public actors (politicians, journalists, businessmen, e...

I've often thought about this issue. One can love the present even with its perceived imperfections, maybe even because of these from a certain perspe...

Good point, Mongrel. I'd imagine discontent with the the present is a necessary condition for change. I won't say "progress" since that seems a somewh...

Well, those are the guiding values of our materialistic and individualistic commercial civilization. Our politicians, media, educational system, etc. ...

I don't really want to bring this back to Trump, but as much as I dislike the the guy I don't think he can be accused of the extreme position of neith...

Fascinating. Hard to even fathom anyone with such a blatant disregard for truth. It would seem like s/he would still have to maintain the appearance o...