Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Aphorisms and Observations

  • Courage

    One can always get through one day to the next — except for one day.  And one will get through that one too. Thus an aphorism of mine. In the vicinity of the same sentiment, here are a couple of lines from a verse found in Goethe's literary remains: Mut verloren — alles verloren!Da wär…

  • Are We Here to Amass Wealth?

    Whatever we are here for, if anything, we are not here to pile up loot.  Unfortunately, our predicament is such that we cannot even agree about this!

  • Precious Metals

    In soul-trying times, 'lead' joins gold as a precious metal. …………………………………….. Addendum on the Art of the Aphorism.  Elliot comments, Your aphorism sparked my thinking. After reading the aphorism, it occurred to me that there are at least two interpretations: one material and one spiritual. The material interpretation is that 'lead' refers to the metal,…

  • All Sins of the Spirit

    All sins are of the spirit, even those that are of the flesh.

  • A Paradoxical Materialist

    And then there is the materialist who, believing himself to be body all the way down, neglects what he believes himself entirely to be and lives as if he is a—pure spirit.

  • Limitation

    Little by little, one comes to understand — a little.

  • If You Deny that There is Political Correctness . . .

    . . . do you also deny that American talk radio tilts decidedly to the Right?  If you deny either of them then I am the present king of France. Related articles Denying that There is Political Correctness . . . Acronyms, Initialisms, and Truncations

  • Grammar School

    Time was when one actually learned grammar in grammar school.  How many today can distinguish an adverb from an adjective, let alone a gerund from a participle?  Grammar is propadeutic to logic.  It is logical pre-school, a sovereign prophylactic against the nonsense of . . . I feel a rant coming on.  I think I'll…

  • The Curiosity of the Heart

    If base desire is the heart's curiosity, the need to know is the mind's noble aspiration.

  • The Pot Belly

    The pot belly is an outer sign of an inner lack of self-discipline.  We should be grateful that our sexual excesses do not have a corresponding physical manifestation.

  • Leftist Enablers as Useful Idiots

    Having lost their heads, they are in danger of losing their heads.  ………….. Addendum 1/9. It is a nice literary question whether the above formulation is superior to Having lost their minds, they are in danger of losing their heads. I like both formulations but prefer the first because it exploits  an equivocation on 'lose…

  • Memory, Matter, Mind

    Memory loss points to the materiality of mind while memory's exercise points to its immateriality.  Mind is mysterious, but memorial mind is even more so, situated as it is at the crossroads of intentionality and time.

  • Rethinking and Second Thoughts

    To rethink one's position is not necessarily to abandon, question, or revise it.  One can rethink without having second thoughts.

  • The Aging Philosopher

    Both animal and thinker, he faces two sorts of threats.  Among the first, hardening of the arteries.  Among the second, hardening of the categories.  Which is worse depends on your categories.  Either way, categories rule.

  • The Part-Time Monk

    The part-time monk saves his spunk for the marital bunk.