2026 I may as well make my predictions for the coming year, for what they are worth (sixpence perhaps). I think collective insanity will continue to increase, particularly on the right but also on the left. The descent into savagery will continue (just look at Abby Phillip’s nightly show). I think Me Too will suffer […]
Locating Meaning Where is meaning? Where is it located? This is a good question, because not easy to answer; maybe answering it would give us some idea of the nature of meaning. Is it in the external world, or in the mind (conscious or unconscious), or in the soul (immaterial substance), or in the body […]
Trump’s Christmas Yesterday was a holiday—from Trump. Nothing on the news about hm. No one killed or deported or insulted or demeaned or defamed. It was a welcome relief. But it set me wondering: when will he re-name Christmas “Trump Christmas”? When will he monetize it? He clearly envies Santa his popularity and there is […]
Lolita’s Tennis I make it a habit (a ritual) to (re-)read a chapter of Lolita every Christmas day. Yesterday was no exception; I chose chapter 20, in which Lolita’s tennis game is lovingly described. Here we are told of “the indescribable itch of rapture that her tennis game produced in me—the teasing delirious feeling of […]
Brain Belief We have beliefs about our mind, but do we have beliefs about our brain?[1] That is, do we have beliefs about our brain without knowing anything about our brain? To be more precise, we have de dicto beliefs about our mind, but do we also have de re beliefs about our brain? If […]
Administrative Expertise I never fail to be impressed by university administrators. They are so wise, so knowledgeable, so insightful, so virtuous. And all without any formal training. Not only do they know about a wide range of academic subjects, they are experts in interpersonal relations—psychology, psychiatry, the ways of the human heart. They are also […]
My Sins Come Christmas time, a man might be forgiven for dwelling on his sins and showing remorse. In that spirit I find myself reflecting on my past misdeeds, and it turns out there are many. For there have been many occasions on which I have formed warm and friendly relationships with students that I […]
Brain Perception I am going to adumbrate a new theory, quite an eye-stinging one. It says that you perceive your own brain. To be more specific, pain is the perception of C-fibers firing. It isn’t C-fibers firing itself but the perception of that.[1] The relation between pain and C-fibers is like that between seeing a […]
Abby and Jasmine Who are the two most fearsome people in today’s politics? Abby Phillip and Jasmine Crockett. And what do they have in common? Oh yes, intelligence.
Christmas Speaking personally, there is not much about Christmas I like. I am not conventionally religious, still less Christian, so that angle carries little appeal for me. It is also quite exclusionary to dwell on this aspect, given that many people are not Christian and it is meant to be a holiday for anyone who […]