Tom Storm

No, she was an autodidact.

I think we disagree on this. I think it is possible to philosophize alone with no texts. But he didn't say he was Spinoza.

Yes, that resonates with me. I can't even describe coherently what it is to be me if I'm honest. Thanks for this. My mum was a reader of Spinoza - fro...

I see why you would say that but I think this misses something. The OP is very clear about the need to pay attention. This is not easy to do. I would ...

Nicely done.

Yes, I can't disagree with that.

But I don't know I'm god, I just said it for a cheap joke. :wink:

The art market doesn't really hold coherent ideas (In the 1980's I worked for a dealer who traded with Christies and Sotheby's). Things come in and ou...

It's an interesting approach and I see how it works.

Huh?

One answer to this is that they are neither good nor bad. They are whatever the art market a critical consensus decides which varies over time.

I am in fact, God...

Not sure if I have understood you properly. I think the issue of 'inheriting' a veritable worldview of philosophical gifts and ideas as a kind of inco...

I would imagine they want to be seen to be doing something, so some tokenistic outcomes will probably be initiated.

Not having a go at you, Oliver, but I don't like the Seated Woman statue at all. I find it ugly. Rodin I prefer but not the way Gide does.

You're talking about a fictional character (although you neglected to say which one) so it can do whatever any book, preacher or vainglorious follower...

I wish there were a map or diagram outlining these approaches in brief as a kind of primer. A tree of phenomenology.

Is this reading of Heidegger unusual or well established?

Good. And it is this aspect of it I was hoping to tease out a little more.

A degree in philosophy is not really a degree in how to be a philosopher is it? It usually has a much narrower focus and perhaps allows you to have so...

Thank you Joshs, that's useful. Questions to follow.

Thank you for sharing this level of detail with us. Very interesting.

Indeed. Good point.

:gasp: I just thought they might have provided a clue or two - discipline, attitude, hair colour...

I have to say I have never had that experience. I have been struck by extraordinary visual works but never like that. The closest I've come to this is...

Because of what you said. But I was just being flip. Sorry. I guess one unkind reading of a statement like makes it sound like self-involved indulgenc...

Dennett with a tender afterglow.

Wow. I apologize for my reference to French writing. I hope I wasn't out of line.

Indeed so it would be just like the other systems... By the way I was asking the question about befuddlement not insisting it was the case. That's an ...

That description doesn't make it sound much more than a self-involved indulgence.

No brownie points, but it did make me laugh. If you did have what it takes - what is it you are meant to have?

Precisely, because 'deep down Im a vulnerable little child who needs to be seen to dominate because healthy relationships are beyond me and I am afrai...

From what I've read so far the prose is exceptional but dense. Prose is like attraction - you can't help who you are drawn to. Or not. Good to hear. F...

I don't disagree with the history, I disagree with the 'still have a role' emphasis. Most people have no clue about the origin of things. But age and ...

Certainly that is the case in theocracies. In the West it is generally the legal system, no? Which is often at odds with the fading fanaticisms of rel...

That's fine, Jack. :pray:

Just as they would likely accuse you. Re Hart - if sophisticated theology based on scrupulous patristic sources counts as atheism, so be it. :grin:

Jack that's not what I wrote. Sorry Bud. I have met many people experiencing suicidal despair and emptiness with a perfectly intact sense of transcend...

By restless I meant... restless :smile: - needing to be constantly on the move, and active in order to manage anxiety. Sitting still is hard for some ...

Indeed. To the (insert magical thinking system of choice) the powers of their (insert spurious belief of choice) are very real. Yes... and therein lie...

I do understand this point but Alan Watts is a great example of physician heal thyself, hey? Anxiety ridden, addicted to booze. Really he was a mess. ...

I hear you, Cobber. (Australian term of affection)

I have nothing against people who follow contemplative paths. Who am I to get in other's way? And naturally there are sincere and good people involved...

That's so true. Good line.

I think so. We know that things become valuable when they are hard to obtain and rare. Time is limited to humans and thus intensely valuable. A human ...

Bit of a tantalizing statement, TC. I can almost hear the terse response - 'But how do you know the world without philosophy!?' Your Kafka quote remin...

When I was young I spent 15 years respectfully trying to understand revealed wisdom and higher consciousness, spending my time in the company of theos...

OK. I'm not sure this provides evidence for your claim but I get what you are saying. My own experience is many people I know turn down money or oppor...

Arthur Schopenhauer is a heck of a writer, and that's certainly the correct reading, but I believe he is wrong about this for reasons I already mentio...

A side issue: but thanks largely to Nietzsche and an abundance of Christian and Islamic apologists, the idea that a void is opened when religion has g...