A Writer's Diary (By Warren Zhu)
Philosophy, Literature, Essays, and Thoughts
It is exam season again for me. I am delaying my (dreaded) revision by writing this reflection. I am exhausted. This exhaustion is an empty of one's soul that stems out of futile labor—the understanding that what one does is completely worthless, but to be forced to do it. There is a lot to analyze … Continue reading Reflections on Revision (And Exams)
An answer to the essay question: Does social media make us more lonely? (Turns out that it does and does not—in true Hegelian fashion!) I. Introduction Two qualities distinguish social media from previous technologies: egocentrism and democracy. Social media is more egocentric than previous technologies because, rather than consuming information selected by others and for … Continue reading The Saving Power (and destroying power) of Social Media
I am melting, My skin is keeping my form. I am melting, The white flame is scorching my soul. I want to scream, Scream: “I am melting!” But what can they do? The weather is the weather, And it doesn’t. I am melting. The sweet melting ice cream of summer days, Dropping down, splashing onto … Continue reading Melting
This is my new project: Reading through the Nicomachean Ethics, add notes, add my own thoughts to it, and publish it to help others who want to study the classic work (and wonderully enjoyable work too). Nicomachean Ethics Book 1 The good is that which everything aims at, strives towards, pursues. Distinction between activities where … Continue reading Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1
(This is a short story written for a competition. Discussion about love and meaning. Enjoy.) Hi. Ben here, I just want to talk to you for a bit. Not for anything substantial really. Still, I’ve been thinking about these things for quite some time now, although I’ve never gotten around to saying them to you. … Continue reading Notes
This is taken from Hannah Arendt's brilliant book, Responsibility and Judgement. What is the most central moral question, the one that holds itself against evil's banality, is never the imperative: 'thou shalt' (either in the commandments or from Kant), nor the normative: "I ought", I "should", but the I can't, which stems from the categorical: … Continue reading The One Moral Question
These are frantic, unorganized notes that I types onto my phone. Enjoy. I took the ideas about Augustine and Dun Scrotus from Arendt's Life of the Mind. “Love seeketh not Itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care; But for another gives its ease; And builds a Heaven in Hells despair.” To Augustine, love … Continue reading Love as a Human Faculty (Some Sketches)
(Hi. This is an essay I wrote for a competition. Hope you enjoy.) Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,And death shall have no dominion. —Dylan Thomas It would be prudent to first clarify what the word ‘wise’ is before setting out answering the question: Wisdom is not intelligence—the ability to solve mathematical … Continue reading Is Epicurus right that a wise person does not fear death?
(Context: This is a part of a longer essay that I am currently writing on The Odyssey and The Iliad. After the analysis of Nostalgia, the second part would be an analysis of Home. Following that is an analysis of the portrayal of Greatness in The Iliad, and typing them together in an exposition of … Continue reading Home, Nostalgia, and The Odyssey
Some helpful suggestions if one wishes to read that horrifying work of Heidegger's.
