Mindcoolness

A Cool Mind for a Full Life

  • Blog
  • Glossary
  • About
  • Contact

The Ultimate Principle of Human Life

June 8, 2022 Dominic Reichl

An affect, which is a passive state, ceases to be a passive state, as soon as we form a clear and distinct idea thereof. — Spinoza, Ethics, pars V, prop. III The ultimate principle of human life is to be present in it—to act out of awareness. What this means and what the alternative would be is pointed at by the following table: activitypassivityawake, aware, mindfulasleep, unaware, mindlessdoing what you truly wantdoing what you happen to be wantingdriven by reasondriven by … [Read more...]

Blog philosophy

How to Misuse Facts

March 8, 2022 Dominic Reichl

Facts can be useful because the truth helps us to navigate the world better than falsehood, but: A fact used to argue does not solve a problem. A fact used to be right does not help anybody. A fact used to offend will not promote the discussion. A fact used to distract will not reach intelligent ears. A fact used to rationalize diminishes one's character. A fact used to excuse weakness kills motivation. Communicating effectively with others and oneself requires more than … [Read more...]

Blog philosophy

What Is Reality? Science Vs. Spirituality

August 1, 2021 Dominic Reichl

what is reality

For a useful working concept, we can define reality as that which is qualitatively experienced by an aware mind and quantitatively modeled by science. Accordingly, we can describe reality as a spectrum that spans in two directions: one way into the more abstract, quantitative, and objective; the other way into the more concrete, qualitative, and subjective. At the one extreme, we have pure mathematics and a conceptualization of the world as a mathematical object—perhaps an intricate quantum … [Read more...]

Blog philosophy

Extending the Map Metaphor of Truth

May 15, 2021 Dominic Reichl

map metaphor of truth

Truth is the reliability of a map of reality, the usefulness of a model of the world. Maps which abstractly represent reality can be created in different languages (natural or technical) and at different levels of description (e.g., pedagogic, cultural, high-level scientific, or low-level scientific). Scientists are the most reliable mapmakers, and their most detailed maps are low-level and math-heavy. Spiritualists are the least reliable mapmakers, creating maps based on crude … [Read more...]

Blog philosophy

How to Live Without Free Will

May 1, 2021 Dominic Reichl

Originally, I wanted this article to be titled Answers to Stupid Questions #2: Do We Have Free Will?, but in contrast to the truly nonsensical concept called 'meaning of life' (Stupid Questions #1), the freedom of will cannot be dismissed a priori. Sure, if we understand 'free will' to mean I could have acted differently had I wanted to act differently, then we can reject it as a mere semantic confusion, because in this case the meaning of 'free will' coincides with that of 'will'. However, … [Read more...]

Blog philosophy

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 20
  • Next Page »

Latest Post

Newsletter

Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

Copyright © 2023 • Content Disclaimer • Privacy Policy • Affiliate Disclosure • About
Dear reader, this website uses cookies for analytical purposes. We'll assume you're ok with it, but you can opt-out if you wish.
OK Give me more information.
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT