Category Archives: Philosophy

Stalwarts? Traditionalists? Tribalists? Cultists? Some Evidence

Posted on 5 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First, I’d thought to post a summary review of the third short philosophy book I’ve read recently — Bertrand Russell’s THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY — but as the day turned out, I had time only to do another round-up of … Continue reading →

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Will Durant, THE GREATEST MINDS AND IDEAS OF ALL TIME

Posted on 1 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve read three short books about philosophy recently; this is the second. Each is quite different from the others. If the first book (review here) was an overview focusing on the big questions that philosophy asks – What should we … Continue reading →

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Those Who Believe Things that Are Not True, and Those Who Try Not To

Posted on 30 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s a spectrum of people from those who settle into narratives, believing things that are not true, and those who try to escape those narratives and try to perceive the real world; Paul Krugman on how MAGA is not grounded … Continue reading →

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Edward Craig: PHILOSOPHY: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION

Posted on 25 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Proceeding with my foray into philosophy a bit discursively — not yet one of the big histories — I begin with the ‘very short introduction’ I displayed in my initial philosophy post back on 12 January. This is a volume … Continue reading →

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Einstein’s Rules; Arranging Books; Who Owns the Moon

Posted on 17 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today let’s do three substantial topics, and push items about politics and religion to the end. To the fringe. Einstein’s 7 rules for a better life; A peculiar Guardian article about arranging “curated” books; Adam Lee on religious taboos and … Continue reading →

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Backing Into Philosophy: Stipulations

Posted on 12 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I do have another batch of links about current events, but I’ll save them for this weekend and instead spend tonight’s blog post jotting down thoughts about philosophy. I mentioned back on Jan 6th that one of my resolutions for … Continue reading →

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Addendum to Yesterday; Daily Dressing

Posted on 7 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today. First, I added a few paragraphs to my philosophical speculations at the end of yesterday’s post. Second, another life hack post (following the one yesterday about phone call etiquette). Slate, Fortesa Latifi, 7 Jan 2024: Wear the … Continue reading →

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Phone Calls, Denials, and Reading Philosophy

Posted on 6 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Phone call etiquette; Denial of the Jan. 6 Insurrection, despite receipts; How denial of evolution resembles current efforts to deny democracy; And some thoughts about reading philosophy. Still under the weather; perhaps by Monday I’ll have the energy to get … Continue reading →

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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 4

Posted on 28 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is my fourth and likely last post, following this one in March and this one in June, and this one eight days ago, in which I consider the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep … Continue reading →

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I Don’t Know. Not Everything has Meaning. And Nihilism. Not What You Think.

Posted on 27 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Essay by Anne Lamott about what she’s learned at age 69; NYT’s Brad Stulberg about traumatic experiences and finding, or not, new meaning; A summary of my recent thinking about the narrative bias, metaphor, and “meaning”; Considering what “nihilism” is … Continue reading →

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