Category Archives: Philosophy

Assault on and Rejection of Reality

Posted on Friday 11 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic on how things are much worse than a misinformation crisis; Meteorologists notice that ignorance is becoming socially acceptable — but this has always been true, as C.P. Snow noted; The Republican conspiracy theory that children … Continue reading →

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Consensus Reality Is Disappearing Before Our Eyes

Posted on Wednesday 9 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

No matter how dissociated from reality something a politician says is, there are people who will believe it. People who think everything (such as Hurricanes) must happen for a reason are debating between God’s wrath and Deep State weather control; … Continue reading →

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Today’s New Insight

Posted on Sunday 22 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

What ‘woke’ means, to different people; How the ancients overcame biases in understanding the world, in order to discover and navigate the world; How moderns have tried to overcome cognitive biases through constitutions and “political correctness” and being “woke,” and … Continue reading →

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Deutsch Infinity, Ch 1

Posted on Sunday 25 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The next big science tome I’ve begun reading is THE BEGINNING OF INFINITY, by David Deutsch, his only other book following THE FABRIC OF REALITY in 1997, which I reviewed here. This second book was published in 2011. (There’s no … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science | Comments Off on Deutsch Infinity, Ch 1

Examining The Techno-Humanist Manifesto

Posted on Saturday 24 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a piece that challenges my challenge to the assumption, especially in America, than more is better, that the economy must always expand, that the population should continue to increase indefinitely. My point has been that this literally cannot continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Philosophy, progress | Comments Off on Examining The Techno-Humanist Manifesto

Sebastian Junger: FREEDOM

Posted on Wednesday 21 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Then I looked over my shelves to see if there was some other memoir type book, preferably short, that I could read before returning to another big science tome. I found this, by the same author as TRIBE, which I … Continue reading →

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Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 1

Posted on Saturday 3 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve mentioned this book several times over the years (it was published in 2020), most recently here in early June, when I sat down to read it all the way through. I finished in mid-July. Subtitled: “Mind, Matter, and Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Philosophy | Comments Off on Brian Greene: UNTIL THE END OF TIME, post 1

Understanding Human Nature

Posted on Sunday 23 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Ultimately, everything in the daily news makes sense through an honest understanding of human nature. (It is not there are two legitimate “sides” to every issue.) Two thought pieces for today, then a bunch of shorter items. About how macaques … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy | Comments Off on Understanding Human Nature

A Table of Moral Polarities, Initial Take

Posted on Saturday 11 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve been making notes over the past month for a table of moral polarities, in order to align and summarize some of the concepts and the many news examples I’ve compiled lately. Recall how I’ve mentioned that certain attitudes, especially … Continue reading →

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Trust in Science, Bertrand Russell, and Religious “Truth”

Posted on Tuesday 7 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An item about restoring trust in science, which doesn’t say very much except to improve education; A reading from Bertrand Russell, about religion, morals, and science; How a religious thinker thinks historians should only tell history that is “inspiring and … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Trust in Science, Bertrand Russell, and Religious “Truth”