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Jack Cummins

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It may also depend on how different the idea of the exoteric and esoteric are and what they entail. The first person who made me aware of the distinct...
February 06, 2024 at 16:02
I wonder about the nature of doubt even though many have feared it. I was brought up to doubt, but I committed the sin of being the doubting Thomas or...
February 06, 2024 at 15:41
Hegel is often seen as obscure and disregarded. However, his emphasis on 'spirit' in history may overcome the basic dualistic understanding inherent i...
February 06, 2024 at 15:30
The idea of 'nothing', especially in regard to 'something' is complicated because it combines the mathematical with the linguistic. At its basis, the ...
February 06, 2024 at 13:52
I also wonder about the ideas of Hegel on 'spirit' here. His understanding is not simply about the 'supernatural' as separate from the nature of exper...
February 06, 2024 at 12:43
Your ideas on fear may be particularly important because fear itself may be such an essential trigger for thinking and exploration. In itself, fear ma...
February 06, 2024 at 12:38
It does seem that some of us are more inclined to pursue the 'hidden path'. Many ways I do try to avoid it, but it keeps rearing its ugly head. In som...
February 06, 2024 at 11:34
Your emphasis on fear of the unknown is interesting, especially in relation to logic. That is because scientific logic, including materialism may come...
February 05, 2024 at 16:04
Yes, it probably says so much about Western culture and the nature of consumerism and shallowness. It all comes down to money and images for so many, ...
February 03, 2024 at 21:35
Some people do seem to seek for 'enlightenment' or even the bliss of 'Nirvana' as an end. From my perspective, this is a rather narrow perspective bec...
February 03, 2024 at 09:55
The idea of initiation does seem essential to many forms of esoteric thinking, including both secret societies, like the Freemasons, as well as theoso...
February 02, 2024 at 17:16
The idea of known unknowns from Socrates to Wittgenstein may be seen as a form of mysticism. The danger of 'woo' may be more connected with concrete t...
February 02, 2024 at 11:20
Metaphorical thinking may be such an important aspect of human thinking, especially in the use of language, with limits of logic in the scope of ratio...
February 01, 2024 at 20:56
I wonder to what extent ideas of the esoteric and exoteric are 'different'; such as in ideas of rebirth and resurrection of the dead. In particular, i...
February 01, 2024 at 20:47
The whole area of myth, as stories unfolding in human life, is extremely important. Each person is living out mythic aspects of dramas, as as contribu...
February 01, 2024 at 20:36
My understanding is the way in which ideas may come into play would be in the archetypal aspects of life, including the interplay between life and dea...
February 01, 2024 at 20:28
The ideas of David Hume and Hume's fork may be important for making rational sense of what may appear to be irrational. The idea of the exoteric and t...
February 01, 2024 at 20:21
I am interested to read that Graham Hancock is a friend of yours, as I have read several books by him I have found them to be a rather different persp...
February 01, 2024 at 20:10
The idea of the esoteric, secrets and the hidden may be problematic, especially as it involves the mysterious and the unknown. In general, the unveili...
February 01, 2024 at 20:02
Metaphorical thinking may sometimes be dismissed at the cost of deeper understanding. Some may see the basics of logic as the most encompassing unders...
February 01, 2024 at 19:53
Just as an addition to.this area, I would say that it is worth questioning whether the idea of the idea of the esoteric implies a supernatural dimensi...
February 01, 2024 at 19:18
In raising this topic, I am also wishing to raise the questionable area of what may be regarded as esoteric as opposed to mainstream. It may come down...
February 01, 2024 at 19:06
The one aspect which I wonder about so much is going beyond the idea of theism and atheism, and how this may stand in perspectives of reality. I came ...
January 26, 2024 at 23:10
Agnostic atheism may he a means of labelling uncertainty or a,wider spectrum of being open to varying forms of understanding, based on reading and thi...
January 26, 2024 at 21:45
The issue of human essence is particularly complicated, including the ideas of Simome de Beauvoir. Here, the nature of biology and ideas of the 'secon...
January 26, 2024 at 21:37
The 'blind spot ' of science may come down to the means and reliability of scientific measurement. So much may come into play of the role of participa...
January 26, 2024 at 21:22
I wonder to what extent if God does not exist, if as Dosteovosky asks, whether everything is permitted? So, I am left wondering about the limits and f...
January 26, 2024 at 20:26
I am a bit perplexed about how the idea of automobiles may be seen in terms of philosophy. In some ways, it may be about practical ends, even with tho...
January 26, 2024 at 20:19
Having written this thread, thinking about theism.and atheism, I am also left wondering about the differences in terms of mortality and immortality. I...
January 26, 2024 at 19:46
In thinking of human essence, I am wondering about how does this comes down to the raw essentials,especially biology? The debate between nature and nu...
January 26, 2024 at 19:31
I wonder about the automobile as an actual object or a symbolic one. I have never driven a car and am not sure that my eyesight or concentration would...
January 26, 2024 at 19:10
Thanks for your reply and I am not sure what I am generating. The idea of 'what is spirit' may be important here, especially in the question as to whe...
January 26, 2024 at 18:56
I am not sure if the debate between theism and atheism stands, especially in the debate between materialism and idealism. In many respects, physicalis...
January 26, 2024 at 18:47
The idea of nihilism and the idea of 'the dark night of the soul', by writers, such as Thomas More, are an interesting area of comparison and contrast...
January 26, 2024 at 15:02
The loss of hope and autonomy are likely to be connected to a sense of being a mere part in a machine-like system. This brings a political edge to the...
January 26, 2024 at 14:52
As discussed in previous threads, the philosophy of pessimism, optimism, fear, blind faith or hope and existential aspects of courage are a spectrum o...
January 26, 2024 at 14:43
It is interesting to think about the extent to which thinkers, especially the existentialists were concerned with the emotions of depression. Nietzsch...
January 23, 2024 at 20:30
Yes, rumination can be extremely problematic. There may be different sources of a philosophy of despair. In some respects, a philosophy of despair of ...
January 23, 2024 at 19:10
I believe that Jung once said something to the effect of 'I live in my deepest hell and from that, I can fall no further'. Here, Jung may have been sp...
January 23, 2024 at 18:57
I wonder if despair is a result of decline because when everything is going so well it may not occur to one to feel despair, The nature of despair may...
January 23, 2024 at 18:48
It is true 'that you cannot lose what you never had' and it is possible that some aspects of life are not appreciated until you lose them. For example...
January 22, 2024 at 11:36
You may have a point about physical exercise and going outside is probably important too. I know that my bloods showed severe vitamin D deficiency a c...
January 22, 2024 at 11:21
I will try to look into Nussbaum' s philosophy as I had not come across it. The idea of emotions based upon a thinking creature's evaluation does seem...
January 21, 2024 at 23:24
The relationship between nihilism and optimism may vary so much, and may depend on material conditions. If may be so much easier to endure ideas of ne...
January 21, 2024 at 19:58
I am unsure to what extent despair is a state of mind, relating to attitude and mood, or a philosophical point of view or perspective. It is that ques...
January 21, 2024 at 19:44
The relationship between nihilism and despair is complex, especially as it may be possible to be a 'happy nihilist'. Pleasure may be possible in the m...
January 21, 2024 at 19:35
I wonder to what extent despair is a temperament or a philosophical perspective? Also, to what extent is it a chosen viewpoint or one arrived at throu...
January 21, 2024 at 19:09
I was replying to your post, but think that I pressed in the wrong place, so the previous post was my reply to you.
January 21, 2024 at 18:44
Thank you for your reply and I have not come across the ideas of Martha Nussbeim. You mention pessimism, and this may be important in juxtaposition wi...
January 21, 2024 at 18:40