Philosophy and ethics

One of my online communities recently experienced a thread of emails complaining about ‘experts’ and the problems they cause.

I offered another perspective…

Part of the problem lies not with the experts, themselves, but with the role expected of them (or assigned to them) by others.

Too often they are asked to provide THE answer, because we want clarity and simplicity where it doesn’t exist.

Is sex binary? The answer to this question depends on who is asking, and why.

There is a classic taboo against discussing politics, religion, and money at polite social gatherings.  These days, one probably needs to add sex and gender to that list. 

(Sex and gender are not the same thing. My commentary here is limited to biological sex as a category and does not address the social construct called gender.)

Is religious belief inevitable? Is it useful?

People forget two important facts about Nature:

• Nature does not deal in binary categories.

• Nature depends on diversity for survival.

• Read more about Optimism
• Log in or register to post comments

A recent Boston Review has a good article on close reading.

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a really persistent one.” (Albert Einstein)

Here is an image that illustrates the central concept of this essay: things are seldom what they seem. Almost everyone who views this image describes it as red strawberries:



Even when told there are no red pixels in the image, almost everyone still sees the strawberries as red.

My family likes to complain that I am a pessimist and tell me I would be happier if I were more optimistic. They don’t understand. Some of the unhappiest people I know are optimists, because they falsely assume that optimism produces good outcomes. Their optimism feels to them like a magical talisman that will protect them. When their positive thinking does not shield them from bad outcomes they feel betrayed by Fate, often taking it personally, and sometimes becoming bitter.