What, Why & How do we Know ?
I’ve been racking my brains for a day or two as to how I came to be reading Sean Carroll’s 2016 “The Big Picture – On the Origins of Life, Meaning and the Universe Itself”, indeed how I came to buy it in the Spring of this year? I can’t read every book by every … Continue reading “Poetic Naturalism – Sean Carroll”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Flow Theory Architect, Hungarian-American Psychologist, Dies Aged 88 (hungarytoday.hu) “Architect” of the “flow” idea, who died recently and who was a common interest to those of us who got into philosophy via William James via Bob Pirsig. The “Zen” enlightenment of true engagement with the current task. I’ve often used “flow” implicitly attributing … Continue reading “RIP Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi”
Mentioned being impressed with Carlo Rovelli’s references in Helgoland to Aleksander Bogdanov. I considered Bogdanov an entirely new source to me just earlier this year. [Holding post – collecting links etc.] I’ve also mentioned previously, as a “social-democratic liberal” type myself, being very impressed with (Marxist) Paul Mason’s “Project Zero” in his Post Capitalism. What … Continue reading “Bogdanov”
As ever I’m stacked-up with things I really must get round to doing, and others I will simply settle for feeling less guilty that I may never get round to doing. Either way, it’s a long distracting list. Home – Currently top of the list priority-wise is the intent to move house, downsize and simplify. … Continue reading “Works in Progress”
Author Michael Lewis lists “the books that made me” including: The book that changed my life Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig Interesting selection … I did fully read both Cervantes and Tolstoy. With me it was Anna Karenina that gave me many false starts until I read beyond the dysfunctional Karenins … Continue reading “ZMM – The Book that Changed my Life”
Somewhere in my recent past, since this 2011 post, I have conflated Ray Tallis with Galen Strawson in my mind, not having read the original work of either other than their reviews / opinions of others. Doubly weirdly, I’d completely forgotten Jack Klaff had been the host / chair, someone I follow closely on Twitter … Continue reading “Galen Strawson – Mistaken Identity”
Watched all 6 parts of Ken Burns “Hemingway” documentary. Despite finding his legend intriguing and having previously noticed his crossing of paths with Pirsig via Northrop here in Finca Vigia, Cuba, I think I’ve only read first hand his “Old Man and the Sea”. And I say that as someone who has visited the Key … Continue reading “Hemingway”
Mark Hammond mentioned in a comment the idea that as well as Dante’s Divine Comedy, 2021 was the centenary of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus and maybe I should highlight that. Somewhat dismissively I noted that was surely the reason why there were so many new Witt-related pieces (and books) being published in 2021, and that 2022 would … Continue reading “Centenaries & Coincidences”