Philosophy
Too often professional philosophers remain safely within the canonical offerings when discussing ideas, leaving lesser known writers to fade from the discourse. Today, I would like to reintroduce a few of these more obscure figures from the history of thought:
Mediocrates: A classical Greek rhetorician generally not considered wise enough to actually be a sophist. He was most famous for his semi-anthropic epistemological principle: "Man is the measure of a few things."
Marcus Nottrelius: A Roman skeptic whose arguments were so incredibly successful that, even today, no one believes he existed.
Heinrich Rottmann Puffenschtuff: A 19th century German romantic ethical nihilist who, being deeply influenced by the anti-rationalist undertones in Mozart's The Magic Flute, was led to argue that "one ought not do a little, as one cannot do enough."
Hermann Neutiks: A German philosopher of the early 20th century who contended with a raised eyebrow that everything appears meaningless unless it is all read at one time in its entirety in the original Greek. His writings were roundly dismissed, except by those who claimed with a raised eyebrow that they were deeply meaningful if read at one time in their entirety in the original Greek.
J.J.C. "Jean Paul" Smartre: A mid-20th century thinker who tried to bridge the analytic/continental divide by combining Heiddeger's notion of being with Carnap's analysis of time only to arrive at the idea of "der Neonsein" in which one experiences an alternating blinking in and out of existence.
- Anachronistic Literary Comparisons
Last week a friend made the claim that Stephen King will be remembered as the 20th century's Charles Dickens. The trivial comparison, of course, would have been to say the 20th century's Poe, but when you think of commercial success and...
- Universalizing Art And Constricting Philosophy
Gwydion asks, Are there any objective, universal assertions that can be truthfully and correctly made about the nature of creative endeavors (writing, for example, or painting) for all creative practitioners? In other words, is there anything that is...
- Continental V. Analytic Philosophy: An Exposé
Philosophers can be easily divided into one of two categories: analytic or continental. Knowing what these categories actually mean is extremely important for you in understanding your philosopher. Every once and a while, you may encounter a philosopher...
- Western Philosophy
Greco-Roman philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy may be divided into the pre-Socratic period, the Socratic period, and the post-Aristotelian period. The pre-Socratic period was characterized by metaphysical speculation, often preserved in the form of grand,...
- Some Einstein Artifacts
Einstein's Nobel medal "It will perhaps be pleasanter and more understandable if instead of making a speech I play the violin." "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy." This is interesting--the only...
Philosophy
Little Known Philosophers
Too often professional philosophers remain safely within the canonical offerings when discussing ideas, leaving lesser known writers to fade from the discourse. Today, I would like to reintroduce a few of these more obscure figures from the history of thought:
Mediocrates: A classical Greek rhetorician generally not considered wise enough to actually be a sophist. He was most famous for his semi-anthropic epistemological principle: "Man is the measure of a few things."
Marcus Nottrelius: A Roman skeptic whose arguments were so incredibly successful that, even today, no one believes he existed.
Heinrich Rottmann Puffenschtuff: A 19th century German romantic ethical nihilist who, being deeply influenced by the anti-rationalist undertones in Mozart's The Magic Flute, was led to argue that "one ought not do a little, as one cannot do enough."
Hermann Neutiks: A German philosopher of the early 20th century who contended with a raised eyebrow that everything appears meaningless unless it is all read at one time in its entirety in the original Greek. His writings were roundly dismissed, except by those who claimed with a raised eyebrow that they were deeply meaningful if read at one time in their entirety in the original Greek.
J.J.C. "Jean Paul" Smartre: A mid-20th century thinker who tried to bridge the analytic/continental divide by combining Heiddeger's notion of being with Carnap's analysis of time only to arrive at the idea of "der Neonsein" in which one experiences an alternating blinking in and out of existence.
- Anachronistic Literary Comparisons
Last week a friend made the claim that Stephen King will be remembered as the 20th century's Charles Dickens. The trivial comparison, of course, would have been to say the 20th century's Poe, but when you think of commercial success and...
- Universalizing Art And Constricting Philosophy
Gwydion asks, Are there any objective, universal assertions that can be truthfully and correctly made about the nature of creative endeavors (writing, for example, or painting) for all creative practitioners? In other words, is there anything that is...
- Continental V. Analytic Philosophy: An Exposé
Philosophers can be easily divided into one of two categories: analytic or continental. Knowing what these categories actually mean is extremely important for you in understanding your philosopher. Every once and a while, you may encounter a philosopher...
- Western Philosophy
Greco-Roman philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy may be divided into the pre-Socratic period, the Socratic period, and the post-Aristotelian period. The pre-Socratic period was characterized by metaphysical speculation, often preserved in the form of grand,...
- Some Einstein Artifacts
Einstein's Nobel medal "It will perhaps be pleasanter and more understandable if instead of making a speech I play the violin." "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy." This is interesting--the only...