mostly philosophy
Recently I mentioned the connections between art and philosophy — a branch of study referred to as aesthetics. On this point, which deals with beauty and taste, I’m content to go with the conventional wisdom that says beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. You like what you like. I like what I like. Sometimes […]
Imitation or Representation – Art Philosophy
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard of Bitcoin and the term cryptocurrency. You probably haven’t heard of decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchains, and decentralized data storage. If you have, it has probably only been through the grapevines. You intuitively know, however, that all of this is related to our technological and […]
Digital Populism and the Future of the Humanities
The Greek word “cosmos” meant initially universe/nature but also beauty and harmony. According to ancient Greeks, nature in its wide sense is the archetype of beauty and harmony. Therefore, all what an artist had to do back then is to copy the natural harmony in their work. No outrageous creative ideas, no artistic experimentation beyond what is out there, art had to imitate nature. The artistic value of any work of art depended on the imitating skill of the artist.
The obsession or faithfulness to the archetype of harmony pushed ancient Greeks to create and develop geometry, not only theoretically but practically too. Cities were built upon geometrical plans. Geometry and symmetry bring out intellectual and urban harmony.
So how did this quest for harmony reflect on philosophy and the human body?
Since Socrates – who took a different philosophical path than pre-Socratic philosophers – philosophy had an ethical goal. One would learn philosophy in order to live a better life on both individual and collective levels. Ethics was believed to be the order and the harmony for the soul.
Greeks understood that the human body had to be aligned to the multilayered harmony. This is why philosophers preached moderation in everything, which pushed the invention of the Olympic Games. It was clear to them that sports maintained the natural harmony of the human body, hence its best picture in Greek sculptures.
Not at the table, not at work, not with your family, not in public, better yet, just don’t do it. Be political, that is. “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”(-Eleanor Roosevelt) A political mind knows who he is talking to and entertains that person as the politician meets his/her […]
A-Political
Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and visual artist. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao Tzu. Gibran is one of the most celebrated literary hero. His best-known work is The Prophet, a book composed of 26 poetic essays. It is it one of the bestselling books in […]
Beautiful Quotes By Kahlil Gibran
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor. He is widely regarded as both the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. His plays remain highly popular and are […]
10 Most influential Quotes By William Shakespeare
My philosophy discussion group has been pursuing the topic of what constitutes a good life. We started our quest with a look at ethics and moral philosophy. Wow. In case you’re wondering, there are no real answers in the realm of moral philosophy, even fewer answers than in other fields of philosophy, if that’s possible! […]
Instead of achieving the good life, how about a good-enough life?
Is academic philosophy dead? Is philosophy itself dead? Is it even worth bothering about? Rep. Rick Santorum, R-PA, argued years ago that the study of welding would give you a bigger payoff in terms of earning power than the study of philosophy. A lot of political leaders, business executives and college administrators have endorsed that […]
The survival and future of philosophy
“Is the mind not as, if not more, important than the body? Something as ephemeral as flesh should not compare to the eternity of the mind. If we regulate what restricts the body from its freedom, then we should do the same for the mind.” – Modern Romanticism There are the similarities, and then there […]
Philosophy – “Place Laws upon Cameras, if upon Guns” – 4/11/2021
Originally posted on The Victor Negro: There are some happenings around you that will make you think that you are being wasted, being finished. You are living your life and doing what ought to be done to the best that you can, but something seems to be undermining you, something seems to be in resistance,…
Dark Regions of The Country of The Mind
