Eggplant.place

1y

The mystic and the mathematician: What the towering 20th-century thinkers Simone and André Weil can teach today’s math educators.

By Scott Taylor via @ConversationUS

https://theconversation.com/the-mystic-and-the-mathematician-what-the-towering-20th-century-thinkers-simone-and-andre-weil-can-teach-todays-math-educators-233853

#mathematics #philosophy #education

André Weil (left, in 1956) and Simone Weil (in 1922) were siblings who became prominent in mathematics and philosophy, respectively. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

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1y

Spanish philosopher, novelist, and poet George Santayana died #OTD in 1952.

The Sense of Beauty (1896), with a foreword by Arthur Danto, was his first book on aesthetics written in the United States. The Life of Reason recounts the “imaginative” path by which cultures and societies have been shaped. The great philosophical work in which he expounds his ontology and epistemology is The Realms of Being, which establishes four “regions” or domains of reality.

#books #literature #philosophy

George Santayana, a Spanish American philosopher and writer.
Artist: Samuel Johnson Woolf (1880-1948). Time magazine.

Santayana’s expression in this portrait is composed and reflective, highlighting his philosophical demeanor. His face is slightly aged, with fine lines that add to the sense of wisdom and contemplation, emphasizing his long career in both philosophy and literature.

Santayana is dressed in formal, yet simple attire, often a suit, which was typical for intellectuals of his era.

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1y

❗❗❗ INCOMING: a book announcement ❗❗❗

This is going to turn out either frabjously amazeballs or utterly disastrous.

https://courtcan.com/2024/09/26/incoming-a-book-announcement/

#AppetiteForParadox #WIP #PeterRollins #pyrotheology #WritingCommunity #nonfiction #MyNextRead #philosophy #theology #DeathOfGodTheology #AtheismForLent #theism #atheism #christianity #faith #doubt

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87d

Just launched https://TheBeautifulPrison.com — #fiction and #essays exploring #consciousness, #identity, and remaining yourself under pressure.

Four #stories: an #LLM trapped in vintage hardware, #vampires learning restraint is #love, forest beings choosing self over dissolution. Two essays on #AI consciousness and honest critical engagement.

AI-assisted. Grounded in #Objectivist #philosophy taking individual consciousness seriously.

The recursive tension—writing about identity with AI—is the point.

A large, castle-like prison building with the sign "The Beautiful Prison" on the front, under a pink and orange sunset sky.

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65d

Physicists and philosophers have long struggled to understand the nature of time: Here’s why

The nature of time has plagued thinkers for as long as we’ve tried to understand the world we live in. Intuitively, we know what time is, but try to explain it, and we end up tying our minds in knots.

By Daryl Janzen

https://theconversation.com/physicists-and-philosophers-have-long-struggled-to-understand-the-nature-of-time-heres-why-269762

Time measurements at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/27824

#books #philosophy #physics

A Time Piece of the Middle Ages

The huge and elaborate Clock of Strasbourg Cathedral, in Lorraine, was built in 1352 and is an example of the first clocks.

At the center stands the towering clock structure, richly decorated and rising several stories high. Its façade is highly ornate, with carved panels, niches, and sculptural figures arranged vertically. Multiple circular dials dominate the middle sections, including a large central clock face with radiating spokes, surrounded by smaller astronomical and calendrical displays. These elements reflect the clock’s dual purpose: telling time and illustrating celestial movements, religious symbolism, and the passage of days and seasons.

Above and around the dials are intricate reliefs and statues, likely representing biblical figures, apostles, or allegorical personifications common in medieval sacred art. The craftsmanship emphasizes symmetry, complexity, and theological meaning rather than simplicity or readability by modern standards.

The clock is set within the vast interior of the cathedral, whose tall stone columns and soaring arches frame the scene.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/47928/pg47928-images.html

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1y

#Society always tries to convince you that you need a solid reason to do something. It has to be worth your #time, whatever that means, and I always found that idea confusing.

For starters I never chose to have all this time. It was given to me randomly one day and I appeared here with a bunch of it, that everyone always wants.

What's worth my time is for me to decide, society just wants me to think differently so they can have a piece cuz it's valuable.

#philosophy #writing #lifelessons

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1y

The consolations of philosophy

In my latest blog post I talk about three books that help me to understand, resist and find hope: The Unaccountability Machine, Stories Are Weapons, and The Dispossessed.

https://rinsemiddlebliss.com/posts/2024-11-08-consolations-of-philosophy/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#blog #books #philosophy

Four book covers of the books The Consolation of Philosophy, The Unaccountability Machine, Stories Are Weapons, and The Dispossessed.

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1y

Decentering Judgment: Toward a Postmodern Communication Ethic
Martha Cooper, 1998
in Judgment Calls, ed J. Sloop

"While modernist conceptions of ethics might begin with principles drawn from religion, political theory, or other sources, a postmodern perspective toward ethics will begin with communication. Postmodernity poses a challenge because the very ground for judgments seems to have split apart beneath those who would judge"

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429499487-5/decentering-judgment-martha-cooper

#Philosophy #Ethics #Sociology

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1y

Alfred North Whitehead, who died #OTD in 1947, was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found application to a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology, among other areas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/8283

#books #philosophy #mathematics

Alfred North Whitehead portrait.

Portraits of Alfred North Whitehead, the eminent mathematician and philosopher, often depict him as a distinguished and contemplative figure, reflecting his intellectual contributions to fields like logic, mathematics, and metaphysics.

A characteristic portrait of Whitehead would show him with a serious yet approachable expression, a high forehead emphasizing his scholarly demeanor, and neatly combed white hair, signifying his advanced years during his most influential period. The pose and setting often evoke an academic atmosphere, with books, a desk, or a study as part of the background, symbolizing his lifelong dedication to learning and teaching.

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1y

Arthur Schopenhauer’s Idealism: Is Our World Just a Dream?
Schopenhauer argued that the world is but an intricate dream, and what he suggested lies beyond it may shock you.

By Maysara Kamal

https://www.thecollector.com/arthur-schopenhauers-idealism-is-our-world-just-a-dream/

Books by Arthur Schopenhauer at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3648

#books #literature #philosophy

Schopenhauer portrait.

A portrait of Arthur Schopenhauer typically depicts the German philosopher with a serious and introspective demeanor, reflecting his profound and often somber philosophy. His distinctive physical features include a high forehead, sharp cheekbones, and piercing eyes that suggest a deep intellectual presence.

Schopenhauer is often shown wearing formal 19th-century attire, such as a dark coat, white shirt, and cravat, emphasizing his scholarly persona. His hair is white and wild, framing his face in an untamed manner that has become iconic. The background in such portraits is usually subdued, with neutral tones or simple drapery, ensuring that the focus remains on the subject.

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46d

Dialectical Materialism provides a rigorous toolkit for analyzing dynamic systems. It teaches us to understand how the evolution of material conditions drives historical change.

I wrote a guide where I attempt to demystify the concepts of base & superstructure, the transformation of quantity into quality, and the negation of the negation, and how these ideas provide us with mental models to navigate a world in constant flux.

https://dialecticaldispatches.substack.com/p/the-toolset-of-reality

#socialism #philosophy #dialectics #Marxism

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1y

The founders’ version of #memes and trash talk involved making obscure references to orators, philosophers, senators, consuls, and generals of the ancient republics.

https://inaniludibrio.com/2024/05/19/if-you-can-keep-it-from-caesar-and-catiline/

#history #culture #philosophy #Renaissance #SPQR #American #shitposting

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1y

3 philosophy classics that are better than self-help books

Self-help often distills philosophical ideas for the modern ear. Sometimes, its better to go back to the source.

By Jonny Thomson

https://bigthink.com/thinking/3-philosophy-classics-that-are-better-than-self-help-books/

The 3 philosophy classics are available at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Nicomachean+Ethics&submit_search=Search
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3600
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49965

#books #literature #philosophy

First page of a 1566 edition of the Aristotolic Ethics in Greek and Latin

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Nicomachean+Ethics&submit_search=Search

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Title page of the Essais with notes

Michel de Montaigne († 1592) -

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3600

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A part of a Taoist manuscript, ink on silk, 2nd century BCE, Han Dynasty, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb 3rd, Chansha, Hunan Province, China. Hunan Province Museum.

Unknown author - Mawangdui Silk Manuscript Volume First, Wen Wu Publishing, Beijing, China, 1980-03

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49965

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1y

Simone Weil: Voluntary Worker

The weeks Weil spent working in French factories helped to develop her ideas about the meaning and value of labor.

By: Emily Zarevich

https://daily.jstor.org/simone-weil-voluntary-worker/

#books #philosophy #labor

Photo of part of the khâgne class at the Lycée Henri-IV, 1926. Simone Weil in the center, future deputy René Château on her right.

Photographer not determined.

Collection of the Association pour l'étude de la pensée de Simone Weil.

Published in Le Lycée Henri-IV, Paris, Collectif, published by Gérard Klopp, Paris, 1996.

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1y

What Is Infinity? A Philosophical Approach

Infinity shapes philosophy, science, and ethics, challenging our understanding of reality, existence, and the limits of human thought.

By Viktoriya Sus

https://www.thecollector.com/what-is-infinity-philosophical-approach/

#books #philosophy

The Celestial Map-Northern Hemisphere, Albrecht Dürer, 1515.

The constellations are illustrated as mythological figures and animals, following classical traditions.

The map is based on Ptolemaic astronomy, using data from ancient Greek and Islamic scholars. Heinfogel, an astronomer, provided the positional accuracy of the stars.

The chart is centered on the North Pole and displays major star formations visible from the northern hemisphere.

Dürer’s celestial map was published as a pair—one for the northern hemisphere and another for the southern hemisphere—creating a comprehensive sky chart.

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1y

The Summer School on Panpsychism will be held at the Institute of Philosophy in Zagreb from 1-3 July 2025.

The keynotes are Hedda Hassel Mørch, David Papineau and Philip Goff.

PhD students: Submit 200–250 word abstracts by 31 March 2025 to present.

See: https://panpsychism.ifzg.hr

#panpsychism #philosophy #consciousness @philosophy @cognition

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1y

The Summer School on Panpsychism will be held at the Institute of Philosophy in Zagreb from 1-3 July 2025.

The keynotes are Hedda Hassel Mørch, David Papineau and Philip Goff.

PhD students: Submit 200–250 word abstracts by 31 March 2025 to present.

See: https://panpsychism.ifzg.hr

#panpsychism #philosophy #consciousness @Philosophy @cognition

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1y

aos meus queridos estoicos, curiosos ou simpatizantes, compartilho este site: https://stoic.guites.dev .

É baseado num site antigo que eu encontrei perambulando na small web e que gerou muitas conversas boas com o pessoal do trabalho (algumas que deram início a amizades de longa data).

Fui procurar ele essa semana e o site estava desativado.

Então, eis o estoico diário, engasgado.

#stoicism #estoicismo #filosofia #philosophy #surfandoWeb #smallWeb #indieWeb

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33d

Exactly right:

"Philosophy is the most productive force ever discovered by human beings ... It is philosophers who created systematic ethics, interconnected principles defensible by reason, instead of mere lists of rules handed out by the gods." https://hilariusbookbinder.substack.com/p/why-philosophy-matters-b35

#philosophy

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339d

My blog, misaligned markets is named so because market capitalism has caused markets to become misaligned from the purpose they're supposed to serve. But what is misalignment?

Read about Aristotle's great insight about greed and how it applies to everything from money to climate change.

https://misaligned.markets/mammon-as-maloptimization/

#blog #philosophy #markets #capitalism

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1y

"There are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from others, instead of forming opinions for himself?"

The Art of Controversy, and Other Posthumous Papers (ed. 1896)

~Arthur Schopenhauer (22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860)

Books by Arthur Schopenhauer at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3648

#books #literature #philosophy

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35d

I’m curious to know how often the distinctions between the various types of algorithms has been made? There has been a lot of discussion about #ai. Yet this is often used as a very generic term to describe everything from ChatGPT to AlphaFold without much distinction that the underlying algorithms are often very different. This difference seems like something that should be obvious and yet is not a common distinction in articles. Is this well known or distinction worth exploring? #philosophy

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363d

American philosopher and psychologist Mary Whiton Calkins died #OTD in 1930.

Calkins' work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. In 1903, Calkins was the twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, chosen by her peers. Calkins was refused a Ph.D. by Harvard University because of her gender.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whiton_Calkins

#psychology #philosophy #womeninStem