Almost Composed

Meditation and curiosity

Things as they are

March 29, 2014

Last night I read a fascinating essay in the LA Review of Books on Donald Richie, an expatriate writer in Japan. I was struck in particular by this quote from Richie’s The Inland Sea: “The innocent does not look for reasons behind reasons. He, secure in the animal nature that all of us have and only […]

categories: philosophy, reflections

Kant, and Peter Singer’s Practical Ethics

March 14, 2014

I’ve started Peter Singer’s Practical Ethics MOOC on Coursera. I’m probably most sympathetic to Kant’s thought, particularly his idea that we should… Always recognise that human individuals* are ends, and do not use them as means to your end. – Immanuel Kant Singer gave two objections to this which he framed as being fairly mild problems […]

categories: essays, philosophy
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Thinking time

January 24, 2014

When you pause to think about it, time is obviously a measure of change and not a cause of change. Holding my infant son and pacing the bedroom to keep him from screaming, I looked at my wife’s bedside clock and tried to guess when I could reasonably expect to get some shuteye. Maybe it […]

categories: philosophy, reflections
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Philosophising The Stanley Parable

November 10, 2013

I spent all of last night exploring The Stanley Parable. If you haven’t played it, I’d recommend doing so before reading on. The Stanley Parable is a computer game that does something no other artistic medium could do so well. Early in the game, you are presented with two identical doorways. Before you can decide whether to […]

categories: philosophy, reflections

You have to throw the book against the wall

August 3, 2012

I’ve just finished reading Margaret Craven’s I Heard the Owl Call My Name. For a novel that’s 133 pages it took me a long time to read. It’s about an Anglican priest who is unaware that he has only three years to live. The bishop is told this by the priest’s doctor and sends the […]

categories: philosophy, reflections
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