Essays and Thoughts
The most mysterious founding myth of the West is the fall. "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: … Continue reading The Temporality of The Fall (Genesis III)
We all know the thing about chaos—a chaotic system is sensitive to initial conditions, where the effect of a minor variation grows exponentially. But it has just occurred to me what it means for personal responsibility. It is often said that a feature of modernity (late capitalism, as Marxists would say) is the increasing "bureaucratization" … Continue reading Chaos and Personal Responsibility
Courage is to understand all that is horrible in the world and still love it. Courage is to experience all the evils in men but still embrace them. Courage is to be hurt again and again, but still keep on trying. It is different from naivety. The naive and the courageous act the same. But … Continue reading Courage or Naivity?
There are 3 types of sadness. Grief (mourning). Melancholy. Depression (in the non-clinical sense). Each signifying a relationship to the loss of an object. Grief is sadness over the loss of an object that I once had. It is when something is taken away from me. When someone dies. When some situation changes. It is … Continue reading Grief. Melancholy. Depression
That title, from Pascal's Pensées, summarizes the modern experience. All significance seems to be drowned out in all that we know and discover. The greater our power to explore, the more efficient our technology to build, the more insignificant all these operations seem. We have lost paradise. And here, the paradise lost a second time … Continue reading “The Eternal Silence of These Infinite Spaces Terrifies Me”
(I was to do some research on Berkeley. But, as usual, I ended up procrastinating. This time I found some old writing for UChicago Uncommon App that I've abandoned—because I was rambling too much and for too long. But I do really like it. I've added the last half from jouissance onwards. Hope you find … Continue reading Movement
As usual, a message from my friend provoked a long, unnecessarily obtuse response from me. But perhaps that is interesting, and perhaps relevant, to read. So here it is. [NOTE: This is not word for word. I have edited for literary effect.] Friend: Hi/I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO/my mom told me today "dont get … Continue reading The Freedom Under Predestination (Taken from Žižek)
(This will be, as usual, a loosely scattered set of reflections. But I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the featured image.) Hegel tells a Dick joke in the Phenomenology, illustrating how the contradiction of the spirit is that the most sublime resides in the most base. He goes—the penis is both for urination (the most basic … Continue reading The Beautiful (and the profane)
As you know (or perhaps you do not know) I am currently in the ridiculously tedious process of applying to Uni. Cambridge, of course, has one of the best philosophy departments in the world, and I really have no choice but to apply to it. The problem is just this: It is very Analytically biased. … Continue reading On BORING Philosophy (which is driving me crazy)
Chaplin did not disappoint. The Great Dictator is profound. It would be an ordinary, though terrifically executed, political satire without the mysterious last scene, where Hynkel (i.e. Hitler)'s benign double, the Barber, gives a benign humanitarian speech? And this seen really is enigmatic. Though it seems to be a triumph of speech from its dimensions … Continue reading The Great Dictator
Warren's Brain Dumps 