5 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 31: Sartre and Existentialism Touchstones: Anxiety, Consciousness, and Bad Faith Jean-Paul Sartre arrived in the Material World on June 21, 1905. Born in Paris to a modest family. Sartre, the chain-smoking existentialist who frequented Parisian cafes, is most remembered as an activist writer and for his idea of “bad […]
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7 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 30: Nietzsche and Nihilism Touchstones: Nihilism, Übermensch, and Eternal Recurrence Friedrich was born on October 15, 1844, on the 49th birthday of the Prussian King, after whom he was named. In 1869, at the age of 24, Nietzsche was appointed as a professor of classical philology at the University
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9 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 29: Mill and Utilitarianism Touchstone: Harm Principle John Stuart Mill was born on May 20, 1806, in London, to James Mill, a Scottish-born philosopher and economist, and Harriet Barrow. His Greatest Happiness Principle lies at the core of utilitarianism, advocating for actions that maximize utility, generally understood as producing
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16 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 24: Locke and Natural Rights Touchstones: Natural Rights, Due Process, The Social Contract, Checks and Balances, and Law John was born on August 29, 1632 into a Puritan family in England. During his life, John Locke was focused on empiricism. He goes on to become a key figure in
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17 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 23: Roger Williams and Liberalism Touchstones: Separation of Church and State, and Liberalism. Pictured: None exist of Roger Williams. This artist impression represents his fond relations with Native Americans. Roger Williams was born in England around 1602, in Smithfield, situated at the heart of London. Williams officially founded Providence
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17 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 22: Descartes and Cartesian Dualism Touchstones: Mind-Body Dualism, Idea Modeling, and Pragmatism René Descartes was born into minor nobility in the Kingdom of France on March 31, 1596. In 1637, Descartes published “Discourse on the Method,” he sought to identify certain knowledge by using doubt to strip away uncertain
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18 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 21: Galileo and the Scientific Revolution Touchstones: Relativity, the Infinitesimal, and Modern Cosmology Pictured: Portrait circa 1638, Galileo was about 74. Galileo Galilei, more of a scientist than a traditional philosopher, forever altered our understanding of nature. He was born on February 15, 1564. Galileo was a great scientist
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18 Generations Ago Francis Bacon was born on January 22, 1561, in London to a prominent and influential family. The young Francis Bacon received a comprehensive education, attending the prestigious Trinity College, Cambridge, at the age of 12. Bacon is the Father of the Scientific Method, but notice he is not the inventor. Bacon laid
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Invented by Newton in the 1660s (pub. 1687) and independently by Leibniz in the 1680s (pub. 1684). Both built on Galileo’s popularizing the idea of the infinitesimal. Calculus, the mathematical study of continuous change, introduced the concepts of differentiation and integration, providing tools to model and analyze motion, growth, and the infinitesimal. Newton, working primarily
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From Baroque music and paintings to sculptures and archicture. The dawn of the 17th century witnessed the birth of the Baroque era, marking a transformative period in the history of art that spanned from circa 1600 to 1750 CE. Originating in Italy and spreading across Europe, the Baroque movement represented a significant evolution in artistic
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13 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 26: Voltaire and Modern Journalism Touchstones: Fourth Estate and Journalism Voltaire was a French Enlightenment philosopher born François-Marie Arouet. He was an advocate of civil liberties and satirized intolerance, and religious dogma in a time one was punished with censorship, jail, banishment, or worse. Some of my favorite Voltaire
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12 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 27: Hume and Skeptical Empiricism Touchstones: Skeptical Empiricism, The Problem of Induction, and Hume’s Fork The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian Hume was a leading exponent of empiricism. The belief that all human knowledge derives solely from experience. Some of my favorite Hume quotes: “A wise man proportions his
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16 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 25: Spinoza and Monism Touchstones: Monism and the Material-Spiritual Framework The Dutch philosopher Spinoza was a lens grinder by profession, a proponent of Rationalism, and an early founder of Enlightenment. My favorite concept of Spinoza’s is that God is nature, and nature is God. For me, whenever I read
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20 Generations Ago (from 2020 CE) Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. In addition to furthering skepticism, he also extended stoicism. He also extended literary style by promoting the essay format and by breaking norms of his day. For example, talking about himself in his own writing. My favorite translated Montaigne
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12 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 28: Kant and Kantianism Touchstones: Transcendental Idealism and Categorical Imperative The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a central figure of the Enlightenment which put reason as the tool of choice when discussing God, nature, and humanity. Some of my favorite translated quotes
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Starting in 1931 with the invention of the electron microscope, the nanoworld became visible to us. The nanoworld contains items as small in diameter as 1 micrometer (1 micron) to a diameter 1,000 times smaller, a diameter of 1 nanometer. The nanoworld includes the smallest single celled organisms, the smallest bacteria as well as viruses,
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With the invention of the microscope, humanity became aware of the microworld which is defined as 1 to 1000 microns. A micron is equal to one thousands of a millimeter. A cell is about 10 microns wide. Paper is about 100 microns thick. The unaided human eye can see items as small as 50 microns,
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5 Generations Ago In 1905, radiometric dating was discovered. It is a method used to date rocks and other objects based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes. This technique is used to date rocks. Paleontologists regularly order discoveries in chronological order and estimate their age. Knowing the age of rocks allows paleontologists to assign known
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In 1946, Willard Libby created the method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a newly discovered radioactive isotope of carbon. This dating technique provides objective age estimates within a few decades for carbon-based objects that originated from living organisms.
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The Mayflower Compact set out rules for self-governance for the English settlers who traveled to Colonial America aboard the Mayflower ship in 1620. Of the 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower only 41 were Pilgrims. It was this minority body that established the rules for which they tried to force on all. The majority of passengers
Explore insights into science, philosophy, and history. This community features the writings of Mike Prestwood, a natural philosopher. This throwback title signifies his dedication to weaving together science, philosophy, and history. Engage in insightful discussions in a moderated, safe space where the realms of the irrational and unknowable are respectfully acknowledged but left at the doorway. Ready to connect with like-minded thinkers?
