tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post8401563899159357108..comments2023-11-02T07:30:03.967-07:00Comments on Cassandra Does Tokyo: "Cassandra"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17412381249313151515noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-47036281416886520252016-03-16T15:17:46.928-07:002016-03-16T15:17:46.928-07:00Not a Robot -
Thank you for the thoughtful reply....Not a Robot - <br />Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I do not believe there is any evidence of inherent meaning in life, or any meaning inherent in life, outside what we ourselves attribute to it. As humans we both adopt others' meanings and share with others those we create. This is benign at worst, and healthy , magical and beautiful at best (whether illusory or not). Problems arise "Cassandra"https://www.blogger.com/profile/17412381249313151515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-27056164422216744132016-03-16T07:59:30.110-07:002016-03-16T07:59:30.110-07:00I would recommend a read of Charles Murray's l...I would recommend a read of Charles Murray's lecture to the AEI on "The Happiness of the People". You will likely disagree with significant parts of it, but the central thesis is compelling. Key quote:<br /><br />"That mentality goes something like this: Human beings are a collection of chemicals that activate and, after a period of time, deactivate. The purpose of life is toI Am Not a Robotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-80924662991839612632016-03-15T15:50:45.812-07:002016-03-15T15:50:45.812-07:00Vlade...viewed through that lens, in this corner, ...Vlade...viewed through that lens, in this corner, the reigning heavyweight champion: greed, and in the far corner, communitarianism. Both "fantasies" seemingly lacking... <br /><br /><br />Mercury,<br />Post-enlightenment thought is but an infant in the historical time-line, and while it makes fodder for the academy, it is a mere punctuation-mark in its consumption of the common man ("Cassandra"https://www.blogger.com/profile/17412381249313151515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-81768710687926160262016-03-15T11:04:39.696-07:002016-03-15T11:04:39.696-07:00You’re missing the larger picture here I think. A...You’re missing the larger picture here I think. Although some will claim you can’t have the later without the former, the decline of Judeo-Christian faith in people’s daily lives is less significant than people’s decline in faith in Western Civilization’s values, traditions and institutions. Western Civilizational Values (broadly defined but more specifically those established after the GloriousMercurynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-56800514361756186482016-02-27T19:44:36.373-08:002016-02-27T19:44:36.373-08:00So Donald Trump is a natural progression...So Donald Trump is a natural progression...Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15333565680808748761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-78543672605920871832016-02-24T07:57:43.320-08:002016-02-24T07:57:43.320-08:00TBH, I can see where Potok came from, when he saw ...TBH, I can see where Potok came from, when he saw hedonism as replacing religion. But, to be honest, I doubt it. Not because I'd have any trust in the humanity goodness (I don't), but because there's a few traits that humanity does have. <br /><br />One of them is that it's not the pleasure per se that we crave (although we often say so), but the expectation of pleasure, the vladenoreply@blogger.com