I dislike the idea of being courageous. Sure, it's a virtue and all, but what are we really saying when we speak of courage? Obviously, it means to act in spite of emotional resistance. However, although courage opposes fear, it is still defined in relation to it. Why accept the emotional conceptualization in the first place? Why not rather think in terms of tasks and volitions? "I act not because I have courage, but because I do what I want." These are not the same. What I like is the idea of … [Read more...]
Against Living Recursively
He who speaks of the Way is not walking it; but he who walks moves ahead. The True Will is no different: the more I speak of it, the less I do it. Unspoken it is done. — Yet may it be my Will itself to speak of it? Oh, it would consume itself, waste itself, in vain recursion! Hence I say no more. … [Read more...]
Great Minds Discuss Ideas, Great Men Also Discuss People
On great minds and great men Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. I used to like that quote because it was often effective in stroking my ego. My natural inclination has always been to debate ideas, to devalue stories, and to detest gossip. Oh, what a great mind I must be! Yet what disposition of curiosity is actually revealed here? Apparently, I'm highly interested in abstract thinking, less interested in concrete events, and least interested … [Read more...]
Are You Using Your Strengths? (A Six-Week Plan to Improve Your Character)
Character strengths are positive traits that are vital for living a good life. They exist in all cultures, have moral worth, and manifest in a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. According to Peterson & Seligman (2004), the 24 universal character strengths, grouped by six core virtues, are: Wisdom: Creativity, Curiosity, Open-Mindedness, Love of Learning, Perspective Courage: Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest Humanity: Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence Justice: … [Read more...]
When Reason Needs Emotion: The Problem of Rational Foresight
You are on a good path in life when you do your true will (what you truly want), leading you towards eudaimonia (long-term well-being). Your rational true will aims at a goal and listens to reason, which calculates the outcome probabilities of actions. You use reason to estimate how potential actions will affect eudaimonia, and then you choose the path of action with the most desirable consequences. This is how you make good life decisions, right? Well, not quite... The problem of rational … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 25
- Next Page »