Tom Storm

Hmmm, I think perhaps you're focusing on a narrow and abstracted band of suffering, not suffering per say. Perhaps this OP is more about you wanting s...

Fine to hold that view, but all of consumer capitalism goes against it. Most of consumerism - our current religion - is predicated on comfort and maki...

That's only one interpretation, perhaps yours. They may avoid the topic because they know nothing meaningful can be said about such metaphysics. Sound...

Not all suffering is equivalent. Christianity is a key to this one. Of course - capitalism relies upon a series of stories to stay afloat. One is that...

Not sure that philosophy is the search for 'truth' as such. Philosophy is divided on approaches to truth and some schools deny truth in any transcende...

Agree. He's like an empty vessel that has been filled with the hemorrhaging resentments and dissatisfactions of American cultural life. :fire:

Isn't that how we ended up with Trump?

I have a couple of translations and I can't get through this book. I don't know that I would call it 'unreadable' as the critic Harold Bloom did, but ...

Fair enough. You're right, I do tend to privilege empiricism and don't generally see any merit in speculations which cannot even (as far as I can tell...

Because, as I said, there is no way of knowing if simulation theory is useful for understanding anything. How do you propose demonstrating that simula...

Sure. Me too. But I'm not investing energy plunging down those capacious rabbit holes of possibility.

That's a genuinely interesting response. 'Ultimate story' sounds suspiciously like a grand narrative. But I have to say none of that matters to me. I ...

You need to provide a compelling reason why you would take this seriously first. 'Perhaps' isn't enough. The world is full of 'perhaps' none or many o...

I'm not big on attachment theory but I appreciate the dominant nature of this narrative in theories of trauma. Judith Herman has a lot to answer for. ...

The assumption by many seems to be 'politics is sober and serious, please don't have a life too.'

Or not give a shit - this is always an option, surely? The situation is hopeless, we must take the next step (Casals), We are free to forge our own (p...

I agree with what difference does it make. A movie metaphor is one thing, but are we really going to spend our lives trying to break away from a simul...

I don't think there is a true self. But people do live lives based on what they think others or 'society' or belief systems expect from them. Often it...

or Trumpian. Generally this would depend upon the fallacy people are using to reject it. The generic terms for this is fallacious thinking or non sequ...

Of course. Maybe off topic, but if you are dealing with providing services to people with problematic substance use - people who need support - policy...

I agree in theory, but many people are not even in a position to ask such questions. They are often unaware that they don't know who they are or what ...

I respect that, Javi, and I have read how important this is for you. Bushido - new word for me. :up:

One of the main problems with this is that people frequently have no idea who they are or what they want. The really tough part is working that out. :...

Yep. We need a whole new way of conceptualizing our world, it's not just tinkering with existing systems, or adjusting our priorities. That kind of ch...

And that's actually a great example in support of my argument. As I said, the community is engaged in a conversation about what is right or moral. And...

That might be how some view this, but I don't think this is inevitable or has to follow. I think of myself as a natural element in an environment. I d...

Nice. Yes, I remember meeting with a climate change activist back in the days when it was called the 'greenhouse effect'. He said something like - 'Pe...

That little party looked pretty gauche, but who cares? Trump doesn't dance or do drugs/booze but he's hardly a paragon of virtue or sober leadership.

Can't disagree with any of this. :up:

Although they do seem to call this Platonic realism, so I need clarification. :wink:

Thanks. Ok, I see the confusion. For me if 'the good' is a discovery we can make - like Platonic theories of math, then idealism is surely what we are...

You kids and your pop tunes...

No question. And another big one is doing something for others.

I was commenting on your quote. What examples? Maybe you could just answer if this view implies Platonism or not. :wink:

Indeed. Reason has long been a part of Islam and Christianity. Look at the work of apologist William Lane Craig - Christianity is a religion of reason...

Isn't part of this because they have taken Plato's cave allegory to heart? The assumption being that those illusory shadows are everywhere and that on...

I agree with you about modest empirical matters. But isn't the problem for us the other stuff - values, justification and truth? Seems to me philosoph...

Do you have good reasons to think this is not the case?

This was answered earlier. If we don't know then "no". Not having the ability to prove what might happen means you don't have evidence to justify taki...

He said that here too.

I don't think I've got anything to add to my earlier points. Nice to talk about movies for a change. :up:

Oh. I'm sorry to see him go. Was there a thread that helped inform this decision?

Yeah, I've been wondering that for a couple of weeks.

Is it? Culpability isn't really an issue for me. Marvel films are light entertainment for kids (and adults with a particular taste) and they borrow th...

Perfect. All I've got is the social critic Dirty Harry: "Opinions are like arseholes. Everybody has one."

:up:

If you don't know, the answer is clearly 'no', right? And you can't ever know. Unless you are George W Bush or Tony Blair....

As I said, this is one of those absurd and therefore pointless scenarios, and some philosophers, like Peter Singer, would on this basis say that the q...

Ok, so let me see if I can follow this. I'll simplify it. - A man who might kill millions is amongst a group of 10,000 others. - You have the option t...

The problem with scenarios is that we can always invent some absurd notions that are impossible conundrums. The real world almost never throws up such...