Category Archives: Philosophy/Ethics

Philosophical Thoughts

Here’s the thing with me and my philosophy of life: I have one and I don’t know or care much what one calls it. By the time I was in Middle School, I didn’t believe in much.  I think by … Continue reading

Posted in Life, Morality/Ethics, Philosophy/Ethics | 5 Comments

Everything Has Two Handles

“Everything has two handles, the one by which it may be carried, the other by which it cannot.” – Epictetus, The Enchiridion, (43) I need to acknowledge that I appear to be going through an existential crisis after the General … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Our Perception of Reality

All across the world – where such things are permitted – there are demonstrations against the outcome of Tuesday’s election. It came to me that people appear to believe that throwing a hissy actually works, possibly because it has worked … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy/Ethics, Politics | 4 Comments

My Post-Election Rant Regarding Political Engagement

“Every nation gets the government it deserves.” Joseph de Maistre , Correspondance diplomatique, 1811 We live in a democratic republic. People always respond to that by telling me that our government has morphed into something else, but whom do we “blame” … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Where Our Heads Are At

One of the things that I encounter throughout the day now is the near-constant chatter about polls and what they all mean. Of course, this is entirely self-inflicted – if I stopped listening for actual news, I wouldn’t be exposed … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Entitlement

Day before yesterday, Sunday, a friend I know to be kind and generous reposted the screed about how it makes no sense that we provide assistance to “others” while “our own” have unmet needs, and it hurt my heart. I … Continue reading

Posted in Philosophy/Ethics, Rant | 2 Comments

Thoughts on Nature from the Stoic Perspective

Today is a bit of a toughie for me. The Stoic idea of nature is a bit of a challenge for me to grasp, and I’m going to lunch this afternoon with a friend and that very much goes to … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Resilience

Stoicism teaches that instead of thinking about the bad luck that has befallen us, we might better reflect on our capacity to survive and recover from it. Again, I think I got a head start on this with an ingrained … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Relationships

This is going to be kind of a cheat because I have no intention of leaving my apartment today. Any work on relationships today will be theoretical, involve people knocking on my door, or via e-mail. Stoicism, as we commonly … Continue reading

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Stoic Thoughts on Virtue

Folks who knew me back in the day might have a problem picturing me trying to be virtuous, but Stoic philosophy teaches that the only thing with real value is what they call “virtue” or excellence of character. Oh, I’m … Continue reading

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