Philosophy
Having friends is a wonderful thing. No one would deny that. But is having friends necessary for a well-lived human life? Could you have a full and satisfying life without friends.
The question does not ask whether one could be a happy hermit. We can assume that humans are social beings and that we require interpersonal interactions. But does that necessitate friendship relations exist within those relationships? Suppose you were, say, say, a substitute Good Humor man, moving from place to place, never seeing the same folks twice, but everywhere you go having pleasant interactions with people, all of whom are glad to see you. In this case, you chat with folks all the time and you would enjoy your passing, fleeting moments you spent with each of them. Could that be enough? Is the depth of friendship needed as well?
- Fricking Fracking Fixtures
Two questions from Michael Schmidt. First, "Frack" a suitable substitute for the expletive "fuck," and "frickin'" (or "frikkin'") is a suitable substitute for the participle "fuckin'". Why, then, is "frick" rarely used as a substitute...
- Is Addiction Itself Problematic?
I had lunch yesterday with my editors from Johns Hopkins University Press and one of them who ordered a cup of coffee was making light of her supposed caffeine addiction. It leads to the question whether such an addiction would be a problem. ...
- High Maintenance As A Moral Category
We had our senior thesis presentations the other day and one of our seniors wrote on the moral responsibilities that stem from friendship relations. She took an Aristotelian sort of approach and during the Q&A section, a colleague raised the...
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...
Philosophy
Are Friends Necessary?
Having friends is a wonderful thing. No one would deny that. But is having friends necessary for a well-lived human life? Could you have a full and satisfying life without friends.
The question does not ask whether one could be a happy hermit. We can assume that humans are social beings and that we require interpersonal interactions. But does that necessitate friendship relations exist within those relationships? Suppose you were, say, say, a substitute Good Humor man, moving from place to place, never seeing the same folks twice, but everywhere you go having pleasant interactions with people, all of whom are glad to see you. In this case, you chat with folks all the time and you would enjoy your passing, fleeting moments you spent with each of them. Could that be enough? Is the depth of friendship needed as well?
- Fricking Fracking Fixtures
Two questions from Michael Schmidt. First, "Frack" a suitable substitute for the expletive "fuck," and "frickin'" (or "frikkin'") is a suitable substitute for the participle "fuckin'". Why, then, is "frick" rarely used as a substitute...
- Is Addiction Itself Problematic?
I had lunch yesterday with my editors from Johns Hopkins University Press and one of them who ordered a cup of coffee was making light of her supposed caffeine addiction. It leads to the question whether such an addiction would be a problem. ...
- High Maintenance As A Moral Category
We had our senior thesis presentations the other day and one of our seniors wrote on the moral responsibilities that stem from friendship relations. She took an Aristotelian sort of approach and during the Q&A section, a colleague raised the...
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...