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Continue reading →: David Hume and Moral Judgements
Morals excite passions, and produce or prevent actions. Reason of itself is utterly impotent in this particular. The rules of morality, therefore, are not conclusions of our reason. — David Hume Today in history is David Hume’s birthday. Hume was a 18th century Scottish philosopher who’s writings have gotten more attention lately…
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Continue reading →: Remembering Shakespeare and the Arts
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts. — William Shakespeare Today is the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. I was reminded by a New Yorker piece I…
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Continue reading →: Strive to Belong to the Community of Creators
Where joy is, creation has been. — Henri Bergson While skimming through my favorite old philosophy textbook, I had the pleasure of discovering these comments in the book’s preface: There are great multitudes of good and decent people out there in the world who belong to the category of creators…
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Continue reading →: Chesterton’s Fence & The Intelligent Reformer
There is no shortage of people calling for more “deregulation” or for the dismantling (“the doing away with”) of entire government agencies. There is always a natural agitation to clear away rules and governing oversight, any “fence” that stands in our way. But most laws, rules & regulations, and…
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Continue reading →: Tolstoy’s Calendar Of Wisdom
One of the most fascinating figures in the history of literature is Leo Tolstoy. Unlike most people, who discover Tolstoy through his novels and short stories, I was introduced to Tolstoy through his religious writings. Many years ago I remember reading William James’s book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. As…