Category Archives: Philosophy

50 life altering rules from the Stoics

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Jim deMaine
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Eudaimonia and Aristotle on Virtue Theory

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Jim deMaine

Here’s a fun quick course on Virtue Theory for the philosophers among us

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Five Great Things Biden Has Already Done

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Jim deMaine

by David Brooks in the NYT Many of our best presidents have been underestimated. Truman was seen as the tool of a corrupt political machine. Eisenhower was supposedly a bumbling middlebrow. Grant was thought a taciturn simpleton. Even F.D.R. was … Continue reading →

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Life or shadow?

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Jim deMaine
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Flowers and philosophy

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Rosemary W.

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What Makes Us All Radically Equal

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Jim deMaine

by David Brooks in the NYT Around New Year’s 2017, a community organizer named Chris Lambert leased a soon-to-be-empty school building for $1 in one of Detroit’s poorer African-American neighborhoods. The plan was to pour $5 million into remodeling the … Continue reading →

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Childrens’s answers to the great questions

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Jim deMaine
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The moral philosophy of David Brooks

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Jim deMaine

David Brooks is quite honest in his latest book. He became a workaholic and his marriage fell apart six years ago. His Quest for a Moral Life is a message to us all about personal responsibility for our actions, and … Continue reading →

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Hope springs eternal

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Below is from Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man. Though Pope isn’t talking about the folly of Mariner’s Mania, he does remind us to “drop into thyself and be a fool.” Know then thyself, presume not God to scanThe proper … Continue reading →

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What would Lincoln do?

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Jim deMaine

By David BlankenhornSpecial to The Los Angeles Times Abraham Lincoln, who was born 210 years ago this month, was president during an era even more rancorous and polarized than our own. Yet he managed to navigate it — not in a … Continue reading →

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Reach out, listen, be patient. Good arguments can stop extremism

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Jim deMaine

From Aeon: “Many of my best friends think that some of my deeply held beliefs about important issues are obviously false or even nonsense. Sometimes, they tell me so to my face. How can we still be friends? Part of … Continue reading →

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To be happier, focus on what’s within your control

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Jim deMaine

Ed Note: One time I flew into to JFK from my overseas post and went to the airline counter to check on my transfer flight to Austin. She kind of cringed and said, “I’m sorry sir there’s been a mistake, … Continue reading →

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The nomadic life of London piano tuner who values freedom over possessions

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Have you ever in your life wanted to simplify like this? Or after reading Walden in college decided to follow his ways, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Watch the … Continue reading →

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Who is the “Unmoved Mover”

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Jim deMaine

Ed Note: After taking courses in philosophy and religion in college, I found Aristotle and his logic appealingly difficult. Of course, none of us can get our heads around infinite space and time; a beginning to everything; or where does … Continue reading →

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The philosophy of coffee

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Jim deMaine
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Can the Stoics help us rise above anger?

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Jim deMaine

Massimo Pigliucci is professor of philosophy at City College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His latest book is How to Be a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living (2017). He lives in New York. In … Continue reading →

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Human evolution lectures now on streaming video

Posted on March 12, 2017 by William Calvin

https://plus.google.com/collection/0IJzmB All five lectures are collected at that URL.

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Humility and Wisdom

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Jim deMaine

“Wisdom is perceiving that the things in which you are wise are scarcely anything compared with the things in which you are not.” Emanuel Swedenborg 1688-1772

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