On the sublation of passionate living and philosophy “The Net (18)” started with a reflection on the concepts of “God and Being” through the work of Heidegger and Marion, and noted that ultimately the distinction between say “being and nothing” occurs in the realm of “traditional metaphysics,” where today we…

The power of repetition to change, the power of circling cyphers, and how hope, faith, and love relate, how the triad relates to truth, beauty, and goodness, and how both relate to time. I was very taken by the format in which Guy Sengstock, John Vervaeke, and Chris Mastropietro explored…

On Showing “ ‘A/(A-isn’t-A)’ is ‘A/(A-isn’t-A)’ (without B)” If “On ‘A Is A’ ” by O.G. Rose is correct, humanity has erected ontology and logic on a foundation that leaves humanity out and treats unique and subjective experience as if they’re non-essential. And yet subjectivity is through what ontology and…

How to avoid the death of a creative life. I doubt there is any question more destructive to creative and philosophical work than asking, “Has it already been said?” Indeed, I wonder this all the time as I work, but I have also found that there is no way to…

Connecting Nietzsche and Hegel, and distinguishing “good infinity” from “bad infinity” in terms of “over-coming.” During “The Net (16),” preparing for the second Philosophy Portal on Nietzsche, we discussed the topic of “true infinity” and “spurious infinity,” as brought up by the brilliant Dimitri. For Hegel, a “spurious infinity” (or…

Modeling, Mimetics, Sacrificial “Givens,” the Non-Zero Sumness of Apprenticeship, and Desire as Seeking Flow There is no doubt that René Girard in his theory of mimetic desire gave us a powerful predictive tool: if you had to wager, it’s better to assume that two nations that become like one another…

The reductionist shift of a classic philosophical quest. During “The Net (5),” Alex Ebert made an interesting point on how today people just seem interested in “the gist of things,” not the details, particularities, or idiocrasies. He made the example of people watching classical movies on super high-definition settings, and…

Sections XII-XVI — XII Before advancing in the main argument, I would like to highlight some points that should be considered, ones that elaborate, clarify, and possibly deconstruct the model laid out in this paper. Even if deconstructed, I still think and hope the expressed logic might prove useful, but I wanted to…

Sections IX-XI — IX Since Physics is a foundational Vector, we should expect to be able to find ways in which “higher Vectors” end up “embodying” The Leibniz Oscillation. Leibniz shows how this occurs in Mind, and I think Girard and Darwin can provide ways to understand it in Biology and Culture (with…