Philosophy

These posts deal with philosophy, and more broadly the question of how to live a good life
Sep
01
Elevated view of rooftops in the city of Lisbon, Portugal

124 - On Reason Of The Well-Ordered Mind - Moral Letters for Modern Times

If you sometimes felt I have given you new burdens by asking you to think and to study, you now know it was to free you of the burden of accepting what everyone else does.
4 min read
Aug
30
Peripatetics (by Panagiotis Perysinakis)

Peripatetics (by Panagiotis Perysinakis)

Walking became more than an excuse for physical exercise. It became an effortless and very natural exercise in meditation. And it proved a soothing ritual in helping me prepare to face, and then face and process the exodus of my father from this life.
4 min read
Aug
29
Red-roofed white houses in Lisbon, with the sea in the background

123 - On Thinking For Yourself - Moral Letters for Modern Times

What the Stoic rejects is conformity to the illusion that pursuing luxuries will bring satiety, that desiring more will ever bring about the condition of feeling one has enough.
6 min read
Aug
25
Whitewashed houses lining a dramatic cliff above the Mediterranean sea

122 - On Being A Nonconformist - Moral Letters for Modern Times

No matter how difficult the world becomes when you speak the truth, do you really think it will be better if you tell yourself and others lies instead?
6 min read
Aug
22
Pastel-painted castle in Sintra, Portugal

121 - On Instincts And Archetypes - Moral Letters for Modern Times

We have the capacity to respond to our circumstances, and some responses will bring better results than others.
4 min read
Aug
18
Cobblestone street fronting a row of Mediterranean-style stone houses

120 - On Divining Virtue - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Repeated observations do not necessarily lead to firmer conclusions, because we are unreliable, biased observers, and inconsistent in our thinking.
6 min read
Aug
15
Skyscrapers lining Central Park in New York, with a view of the Essex House

119 - On Nature As A Guide - Moral Letters for Modern Times

A need arises naturally and is satisfied naturally. A luxury is fabricated and requires an elaborate system to create and maintain.
4 min read
Aug
12
Don’t Worry About Greed (Newsletter 059)

Don’t Worry About Greed (Newsletter 059)

Fairness is relative and situational, which means that what we think is fair changes over time and changes depending on who is doing the comparing.
6 min read
Aug
11
A lake, bordered by reeds, with bare trees in the background. Autumn yellow and brown

118 - On Stepping Off The Treadmill - Moral Letters for Modern Times

It is certainly good to be confident in what you are doing because self-doubt is destructive of peace of mind. But it is better to first be self-critical and to reflect on what you are doing.
4 min read
Aug
08
Pine trees in foreground with brown-hued alpine mountains

117 - On The AI Philosopher - Moral Letters for Modern Times

Wisdom consists not just in making a correct decision, but in making it with understanding of the reason why.
4 min read