George Orwell
George Orwell wrote about how corruption starts when language is twisted, facts are manipulated, and authority demands loyalty over reality.
Rational
Rational ideas that are not historical stories nor empirical observations. Things like algebra and logic which help us indirectly describe the empirical. Also, things like the rational idea that dinosaurs once existed which is based on empirical evidence like fossils.
Authentic Recipe: Nietzsche’s Five-step Approach
30 Phil, Chapter 30: In this telling of Nietzsche ideas, we take a new look at it and forge it into a five-step authentic recipe. Step one is the Übermensch. It is often translated as the “Overman” or “Superman.” It is a call to individual empowerment and liberation from societal norms and traditional values. Step two
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Descartes Thought Experiment
30 Phil, Chapter 22: In this new look at Descartes thought experiment, we first take a look at his hyperbolic doubt, and then run his thought experiment a second time using rational doubt transforming his thought experiment from the irrational to the rational.
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Epicurean Happiness Toolkit: A 4-Step Structure
30 Phil, Chapter 11: The new look at the Epicurean Happiness Toolkit refines Epicurean tools into a clear 1-2-3-4 structure: one goal (pleasure), two types of pleasures, three categories of desires, and the Four-part Remedy (Tetrapharmakos). This presentation emphasizes pleasure as the ultimate aim, specifically ataraxia (peace of mind) and aponia (absence of pain), while replacing
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Heidegger’s Existentialism
Heidegger’s existentialism centers on the concept of “being-there” (Dasein), which refers to the unique way humans exist and relate to the world. Heidegger explores the nature of being and emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s own existence within the context of time and space. His philosophy delves into the idea of being authentic by confronting
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Sartre’s Existentialism
Sartre’s existentialism emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility. It posits that existence precedes essence, meaning that individuals are not defined by any preexisting essence but instead create their own essence through actions and decisions. Sartre’s philosophy focuses on the concept of “bad faith,” where people deny their freedom by conforming to societal expectations, and encourages
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Bad Faith
30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 80: Bad Faith. Bad faith is the idea of living a lie; it is the act of denying your inherent freedom and responsibility associated with self-awareness. When you go along to get along, you are not yourself, you are being a rock, you are a “being-in-itself.” To live for
Consciousness
30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 79: Consciousness. Consciousness is a continuous, self-aware state of existence, an incessant ebb and flow of perceptions, ideas, and emotions. Consciousness is part of your worldview with two basic states: awake and asleep. It’s a complex spectrum of levels while awake, and stages while asleep.
Anxiety “Angst”
30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 78: Anxiety. The birth of modern psychology: In existentialism, anxiety is the result of confronting the inherent freedoms and responsibilities of human existence. It is not necessarily about fearing specific outcomes or events but rather the realization of the vast possibilities and choices one faces in life, and the
Eternal Recurrence
30 Phil, Chapter 30, Nietzsche, Touchstone 77: Eternal Recurrence. The Eternal Recurrence is a thought experiment that urges you to live as though your life will repeat itself infinitely. It is designed to awaken a sense of urgency and existential responsibility. The potency of this idea lies in its call for radical responsibility; it compels
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Übermensch
30 Phil, Chapter 30, Nietzsche, Touchstone 76: Übermensch. The Übermensch, or superman, is the ideal person who transcends societal norms and self-imposed limitations. They overcome the existing values and moralities of society, creating their own values, and living in a way that is true to themselves.
Nihilism
30 Phil, Chapter 30, Nietzsche, Touchstone 75: Nihilism. Shake off societal pressures: Nihilism is a tool to examine and potentially overcome the problem of illusion in reality. You use the idea that life lacks objective meaning, purpose, and intrinsic value to break free of the illusions of life like social constructs and pressures. This updated
Harm Principle
30 Phil, Chapter 29, Mill, Touchstone 74: Harm Principle. You’re free to do what you want, as long as you don’t harm others. It delineates between self-regarding and other-regarding actions as a basis for when societal intervention is justified. Self-regarding actions are those that primarily affect the individual who undertakes them. Other-regarding actions have broader
Categorical Imperative
30 Phil, Chapter 28, Kant, Touchstone 73: Categorical Imperative. The Categorical Imperative says you should act only in a manner that you would be comfortable seeing transformed into a universal law.
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Transcendental Idealism
30 Phil, Chapter 28, Kant, Touchstone 72: Transcendental Idealism. The Split and Three-Tine Fork: Transcendental Idealism is Kant’s view on epistemology. His distinction between phenomena and noumena and his three-tiered approach to knowledge. Kant introduced a crucial distinction between phenomena—the world as we see and understand it—and noumena—the world as it exists independently of our
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Hume’s Fork
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 71: Hume’s Fork. Hume’s Fork is a philosophical tool that categorizes meaningful statements into two distinct types: relations of ideas and matters of fact. It offers a clear demarcation between different kinds of truths. Relations of ideas are statements that are necessarily true, such as “all bachelors are unmarried.”
The Problem of Induction
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 70: The Problem of Induction. The logic behind induction is inherently circular, hence, the problem of induction. We expect future events to be like past events because this has generally been true in the past. This justification itself is inductive, making the whole process circular and self-referential. Although induction
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Skeptical Empiricism
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 69: Skeptical Empiricism. Skeptical Empiricism challenges the idea of innate knowledge, asserting all we know stems from our experiences.
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Journalism
Public truth needs more than stories; it needs reporting. Journalism helps turn you turn what “people say” into “here is what we can show.”
Fourth Estate
You need a fully free press because public truth needs watchdogs, not just officials and institutions.