Adding philosophical depth to anything and everything
My parents taught me that everything in life is a struggle. An odd song from the 1990s is teaching me to overcome it. In my childhood family, under the thin veneer of suburban tranquility, was my parents’ constant tension from their unhappy marriage. Their frustration permeated everything and I picked […]
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Martin Buber on Encountering Others “When we encounter another individual truly as a person, not as an object for use, we become fully human.” – Martin Buber As a philosopher, my main research focus is on human relations, specifically the theory of recognition. To recognize another person is to value […]
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The Problem With Humanity The problem with humanity is that we hear far more “me” and “you” than “we” and “us.”
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To understand the heart and mind of a person… To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do. – Kahlil Gibran Note: The gender exclusive language was a product of Gibran’s time. We keep it […]
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Blaise Pascal on Light and Darkness “There is light enough for those who wish to see, and darkness enough for those who are otherwise inclined.” – Blaise Pascal Pascal is best known for the misnamed “Pascal’s Wager,” his easily misunderstood argument on personal decision making. In this quote, Pascal gives […]
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If You Aren’t Embarrassed If you aren’t at all embarrassed about how you used to be, you haven’t grown.
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The Best Teachers “The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” – Alexandra K. Trenfor As a teacher, I love this quote. It brilliantly and succinctly delineates the difference between good teaching and bad teaching. Good teaching is the art […]
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Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. – Khalil Gibran Be natural. Be real. Do not hide or block yourself or your body from the Earth that sustains you.
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At the Gorge of Lu, the great waterfall plunges for hundreds of meters, its spray visible for miles. In the churning waters below, no living creature can be seen. One day, Confucius was standing at a distance from the pool’s edge when he saw an old man being tossed about […]
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No petty tyrant is more petty or more tyrannical within their petty domain than a troll who somehow finagled their way into becoming a forum moderator.
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