Category: Blogging
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Some Notable 2016 Maverick Philosopher Entries
The View from Mount Zappfe: The Absurdity of Life and Intellectual Honesty. On one day alone, it drove traffic to 10,695 page views. Is Moral Relativism Dying? Propinquity and Social Distance Is it Rational to be Politically Ignorant? Making America Mexico Again On the Status of Thomistic Common Natures Christopher Hitchens, Religion, and Cognitive Dissonance The…
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The MavPhil Make-Up Principle
Any day on which blogging is 'light' or nonexistent must be followed by a day on which blogging is 'heavy.' The only exceptions are those times of Extended Unplug when the sane blogger retreats within the Inner Citadel for rest and recuperation. Related articles Tenured Professor Loses Job over Blog Post Andrew Sullivan Gives…
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3,290 Page Views Yesterday
Why the surge? I have no idea despite scrutiny of my referral list. I have been averaging 1600-1800 page views per day. But yesterday's spike was nothing like the one this site received in late February of this year: 10,695. I figure that that was due to my post about the Norwegian anti-natalist, Peter Wessel…
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I Used to be a Human Being
Andrew Sullivan recounts the perils of life in the information superhighway's fast lane. But our man certainly is verbose. One would have thought that all that smartphone use and all that manic tweeting and updating would have induced a bit of pithiness into his writing. I love the Internet and use it everyday except when…
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The 2016 Summer Retreat Starts Today
When this crazy world is too much with us, we can and should retreat to the inner citadel. Starting now, I will unplug from this hyperkinetic modern world for a period of a month or longer. How long remains to be seen. I will devote myself to such spiritual exercises as prayer, meditation, spiritual reading,…
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Not Blog-Worthy
A good blogger exercises restraint as to what he posts. Too much of the merely personal makes for a boring blog. Facebook is the place for narcissism. But a blog bare of all traces of the personal is not a blog either, by my definition, one with which you are free to disagree. Here is…
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Zapffe Must be Popular!
This weblog averages about 1,350 page views per day. But yesterday it snagged 10,695 views, and now at 6:20 AM local time it has already racked up 3,200 or so. What explains this? Reddit got hold of my Zappfe post, scroll down a bit, and that must be driving the surge. Perhaps we philosophers need…
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Maverick Philosopher III Passes 3.5 Million Mark
This, the third main incarnation of MavPhil, commenced operations on Halloween, 2008. Since then it has racked up 3,501,215 page views. Daily average: 1,321.21. Total posts: 6,357. Total comments: 8,775. Here are the entries for 31 October 2008. Will I ever hang up the keyboard? I've been at this, almost daily, since May of…
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A Note on Civil Courage
Responding to a commenter who states that one exposes oneself to tremendous risk by speaking out against leftist insanity, Malcolm Pollack writes: Most bloggers who write from a contrarian position about these things seem to use noms de plume. In fact, I do have another blog I’ve set up for this purpose, but I almost never…
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Seventh Typepad Anniversary
This Halloween marks the seventh anniversary of MavPhil's transition to Typepad in 2008. It has proven to be a good service with an extremely reliable server. Current stats: 3, 346, 643 Lifetime Pageviews 1, 309.33 Pageviews/Day 6, 163 Total Posts 8, 036 Total Comments I thank you for your 'patronage.' And remember: triple your money back if not completely satisfied. Any…
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Why Write?
Why Do I Write? I write to know my own mind, to actualize my own mind, and to attract a few like-minded and contrary-minded people. The like-minded lend support, and the contrary-minded – assuming that their criticisms are rationally based – allow me to test my ideas. Dialectic is to the philosopher what experiment is…
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The Big Unplug Starts Today
Starting now, I will unplug from this hyperkinetic modern world for a period of days or weeks. How long remains to be seen. I will devote myself to such spiritual exercises as prayer, meditation, spiritual reading, hard-core philosophy and theology pursued for truth as opposed to professional gain, and the exploration of nature. I will…
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Why Write?
A reader sends me the following quotation from a Richard Mitchell: I have never yet written anything, long or short, that did not surprise me. That is, for me at least, the greatest worth of writing, which is only incidentally a way of telling others what you think. Its first use is for the making…
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Quirky Spam Filter Warning
A commenter asked me to check if a comment of his had been sent to the spam corral there to languish in cyber-obscurity for all eternity or until the demise of this site, whichever comes first. Sure enough, there it was cheek-by-jowl with other good comments some of them from commenters whose other comments got…
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Lift Up Thine Eyes
My referral list this fine morning alerts me to the fact that Patrick Toner has a blog. He is a very sharp young analytic philosopher, and politically incorrect to boot, one indication of which is an interest in Norman Rockwell. You read that right, boys and girls. Toner's political incorrectness and independence of mind more…