SOUL O who shall, from this dungeon, raise A soul enslav’d so many ways? With bolts of bones, that fetter’d stands In feet, and manacled in hands; Here blinded with an eye, and there Deaf with the drumming of an ear; A soul hung up, as ’twere, in chains Of nerves, and arteries, and veins; … Continue reading A Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body By Andrew Marvell
Mind in its purest play is like some bat That beats about in caverns all alone, Contriving by a kind of senseless wit Not to conclude against a wall of stone. It has no need to falter or explore; Darkly it knows what obstacles are there, And so may weave and flitter, dip and soar … Continue reading Mind By Richard Wilbur
[H]istory is ‘for’ human self-knowledge. It is generally thought to be of importance to man that he should know himself; where knowing himself means knowing not his merely personal peculiarities, the things that distinguish him from other men, but his nature as man. Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a man; … Continue reading Collingwood: The Idea of History
For years I saw my father stretched thin because of his schizophrenic delusion. When I was taking abnormal psychology at the university I painfully nodded my head at the symptoms while reflecting on his tough life sentence imprisoned in his own mind. The remarkable thing though--besides my father's will to live--is that at that moment, … Continue reading The Mechanisms Involving a Schizophrenic Delusion
“How did Greece become the first civilization to have the means to examine themselves?” asked Soren. “Where they lived had a huge impact on the invention of philosophy. They had to trade with foreign people, with armies much larger than themselves, with gods that gave a different logos. They were continually shown their way of … Continue reading How the Greeks Invented Philosophy
As a hopeful agnostic, who refuses to take the leap of faith, I am unwilling to have this theological form of agape based on the belief of something alien to me. However, there is this agape, or general love of mankind, in my chest because of the dignity in mankind. Sometimes it's hard to see … Continue reading The Dignity In Mankind
The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. …agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of … Continue reading On Agape by Martin Luther King Jr
Alone in his flat, flashes of memories flooded his cave of creativity. He closes his eyes and imagined what it must be like to be an atom or quark with some sort of fundamental consciousness as it travels through space and time. Lost in the thought of passing particles crashing and colliding, then thoughts of … Continue reading Know Thyself
Leonardo DaVinci's dying last words were, "I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have." What he strived for his entire life, and believed never to be achieved, was the pure symmetry of the ancient Greeks.
Don’t you see that is how people must be shaken out of their dogmas? We’re like fish in water, never knowing what water is like, that it is wet. Something must force one out of the water, kicking and screaming, until that being finds what water is like, what they are like, and what the … Continue reading Beauty Is All the Power We Should Wield in the World.
Friedrich Schiller, In his Aesthetic Education of Man, writes that, “Man is never so authentically himself as when at play." Play is what we do to be free. The chief source of play is through the productions of art. Take a fly fisherman for example. His attention focuses, time is arrested, and he can stave … Continue reading The Idea of Play
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who was born and lived in Königsberg, Prussia. He grew up in a Lutheran Protestant household that focused on the literal interpretation of the Bible. This religious upbringing is taught through the lens of humility and devotion. He enrolled into the University of Königsberg at the age of … Continue reading Immanuel Kant: The Critique of Pure Reason (Rough Draft)
When we're young of age we begin to take in information from our parents without question. It's the principle of credulity we cling to as a child. We believe everything. As we get older, with the bricks of knowledge we've already laid to construct a foundation, we strengthen our beliefs with friendly facts. The wall … Continue reading The Brick Wall Effect
Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), a Victorian poet, completed his In Memoriam in 1849 where he wrestled with the contradictions between the idea of a providential god with the evolutionary and materialistic science of the day after the death of his best friend. The poem is divided into 133 cantos. He was son to a clergy … Continue reading Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H.
"The stakes of philosophy are often high. How we answer the three fundamental problems of philosophy: the problem of knowledge, conduct, and governance governs our way of life for those that live according to their own philosophy. Aristotle began his treatise titled Metaphysics with this: All men by nature desire to know. An indication of … Continue reading Thomas Reid: Common Sense (Rough Draft)
