Tag Archives: philosophy

Blogging with Narcissus

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

It’s summer in these parts. In the last few days, I’ve heard at least five people saying they’ll have less time for blogging in the coming weeks or months, either by choice or because they’ll go places without instant internet … Continue reading →

Posted in sceptic | Tagged , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

To catch a falling tree

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

It’s a nice, hot summer evening and I’m sitting here, inside, looking at my computer screen. I could have gone out to catch some of the wind that just manages to move the leaves and the smallest branches on the … Continue reading →

Posted in sceptic | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

The rhythm of life

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

“In Western societies, the arts tend to occupy a special niche of their own, as if they might be a luxury rather than a vital part of human life. This has made it possible for the unenlightened to argue that … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, sceptic | Tagged , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Stargazing

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

Yesterday, I saw a television documentary about Richard Feynman. At the very end, his sister describes him, lying in a hospital bed, dying of cancer. She saw him gesturing with his hands and the nurse said: “He is making involuntary … Continue reading →

Posted in sceptic, science | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Bottom-up morality

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

Many christians still argue that we can’t be good without god, even though there is a variety of secular moral frameworks. Primatologist De Waal turns this debate on its head by saying we invented god to help us live the … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, book review, science | Tagged , , , , , | 63 Comments

Doing nothing

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

Wei wu wei It’s a taoist concept, translated as the action of nonaction. Lao Tzu describes it: “Thus, the wise man deals with things through wu-wei and teaches through no-words. The ten thousand things flourish without interruption. They grow by … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, sceptic, zen | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments

Meet the real sceptics

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

Originally, the word sceptic meant “One who looks.” As mentioned in the famous quotation from Sextus Empiricus: “And the sceptics, they are still investigating.” In this quote, he compares sceptics to dogmatists. There are positive dogmatists: people who know the truth. … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, sceptic, zen | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Hardcore romantic

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Pipteinpteron

I was sixteen. In our philosophy class, our teacher had just told us the Hindu story of a woman who found the heads of her husband and his best friend had been switched. He left us to ponder the question … Continue reading →

Posted in atheism, book review, sceptic | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments