Category Archives: Philosophy

Notes on the Prospect of Immortality

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Max West

At Counter-Currents, Jef Costello has a nice essay ruminating on the existentialist choices surrounding suicide. I wrote a long comment to the piece, which I’ve reproduced here: I’m in full agreement about the importance of living with a sense of … Continue reading →

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Frank Allen: “The Other JQ: The Jazz Question”

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Max West

At Counter-Currents, Frank Allen has a very good essay on “The Other JQ: The Jazz Question”. As a big jazz fan myself (especially the harder East Coast style), I found this to be a very good orientation of the contours … Continue reading →

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Wolfson – The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow: Heidegger, Nazism, and the Jewish Other (2018)

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Max West

The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow: Heidegger, Nazism, and the Jewish Other (2018) By Elliot R. Wolfson Published by Columbia University Press (2018) Publisher Summary: Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is considered one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century in … Continue reading →

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Christof Koch on ‘What is Consciousness?’

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Max West

In Scientific American, Christof Koch (a giant in the field of consciousness studies) summarizes the latest status of neuronal correlates of consciousness (NCC) research, as well as the Integrated information theory (IIT), which has been the most significant theoretical development … Continue reading →

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Russell’s Mind

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Max West

“Many years ago I visited Bertrand Russell in his rooms at Trinity College and he showed me a manuscript of his in which there was not a single correction for many pages. With the help of his pen, he had … Continue reading →

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Bryan Magee Interviews Bernard Williams About René Descartes

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Max West

There used to be a time when things like this were on TV. My head almost exploded from just the title card alone:

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Being, Place and Living Authentically

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Max West

Here’s a nicely produced video short with various AR figures discussing the Heideggerian sense of place and its central role in forming authentic ethnic identity and the rootedness of Being. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=TRNMhZr9Ry0

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Rothman on “Virtual Embodiment”

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Max West

For those interested philosophy of mind (how can you not be?) and the possible directions that VR will take, Joshua Rothman has a good piece titled “Are We Already Living in Virtual Reality?”. Rothman visits and experiences firsthand experimental lab … Continue reading →

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The Deniers

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Max West

Esteemed philosopher Galen Strawson has a very good piece on the poverty of materialism as an explanation for consciousness (“The Consciousness Deniers”). He traces the lineage from early behaviorism to Dennett-style functionalism, leading to the absurdity that is reductive materialism: … Continue reading →

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Axiomatic Conservatism vs. Holistic Conservatism

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Max West

I recently read Michael Oakeschott’s very influential long form essay “Rationalism in Politics” (1947), which properly argues against the Axiomatic Rationalism underlying various ideologies from Marxism to Libertarianism. The attempt to build a system of governance from the ‘ground up’ … Continue reading →

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