Category Archives: Meaning

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

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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How “Meaning” is just another example of the Narrative Bias

Three pieces from Big Think. How history is told by story-tellers, and cannot be taken literally; How philosophy advances science by asking forbidden questions; How questions about the “meaning of life” reveal the narrative bias. —— Three sciency links, all … Continue reading

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Odds and Ends from Recent Weeks

Today I’m catching up on numerous items from recent weeks that I want to note even though I haven’t had time to thoroughly read or comment about them. A couple of them, at least, I will revisit, because I need … Continue reading

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A New Book About Humanity’s Future, and Meaning

Cautiously considering the new book by Marcelo Gleiser, which seeks meaning where I think none exists; Items about Mike Pence’s Biblical cherry-picking, how Tennessee is the “worst state for voting rights,” and two takes on Vivek Ramaswamy: “spouting nonsense” and … Continue reading

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The Lies that Bind

How the Christian curriculum ACE lies about science; How some people are happy to submit to tyranny; Wondering if it matters children are lied to about reality, and concluding that it doesn’t, given certain purposes of life; And reflecting again … Continue reading

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Quote of the Day: Recovering from Madness

Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet who lived from 1818 to 1889. He was the author of the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, in 1841.

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Denying the Denialists? and Bros

Just time for one Reading today, then some comments about seeing a movie in a movie theater for the first time in nearly 3 years.

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Two Essays About Current Events: by Connie Willis and Heather Cox Richardson

Connie Willis is one of the most beloved science fiction writers of the past 40 years. As a writer she’s won many awards, for works often humorous but at times tragic, at times building human stories based on the weirdness … Continue reading

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Ls&Cs: Meaning and Happiness

Kant’s take on happiness; Arthur C. Brooks’ three bite-sized dimensions to the meaning of life; Thomas B. Edsall on whether conservatives are happier than liberals.

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Links and Comments: Conspiracies! Conspiracies!

Over the past several weeks there’s been an outbreak of stories and articles in the various legitimate media (New York Times, NPR, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, et al) about conspiracy theories related to the coronavirus pandemic. So many articles! … Continue reading

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