Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Virtues and Vices

  • On Books and Gratitude

    Occasionally, Robert Paul Wolff says something at his blog that I agree with completely, for instance: To an extent I did not anticipate when I set out on life’s path, books have provided many of the joys and satisfactions I have encountered.  I am constantly grateful to the scholars and thinkers who have written, and…

  • Once Again: The Importance of Self Control

    A post from last year applicable to the Michael Dunn case.  Like Trayvon Martin, Michael Dunn has ruined his life by failing to exercise self control. ………….. There is so much to learn from the Trayvon Martin affair.  One 'take-away' is the importance of self-control.  If Martin had been taught, or rather had learned, to control…

  • The Afterlife of Habit upon the Death of Desire

    Desire leads to the gratification of desire, which in turn leads to the repetition of the gratification.  Repeated gratification in turn leads to the formation of an intensely pleasurable habit, one that persists even after the desire wanes and  disappears, the very desire without whose gratification the  habit wouldn't exist in the first place.  Memories…

  • The Parable of the Tree and the House

    A man planted a tree to shade his house from the desert sun. The tree, a palo verde, grew like a weed and was soon taller than the house. The house became envious, feeling diminished by the tree’s stature. The house said to the tree: "How dare you outstrip me, you who were once so…

  • Two Cures for Envy

    To feel envy is to feel diminished in one's sense of self-worth by the positive attributes or success or well-being of another.  It is in a certain sense the opposite of Schadenfreude.  The envier is pained by another's success or well-being, sometimes to the extent of wanting to destroy what the other has.  The 'schadenfreudian,'…

  • Machiavelli, Arendt, and Virtues Private and Public

    An important but troubling thought is conveyed in a recent NYT op-ed (emphasis added): Machiavelli teaches that in a world where so many are not good, you must learn to be able to not be good. The virtues taught in our secular and religious schools are incompatible with the virtues one must practice to safeguard…

  • The Pope is a Buffoon When it Comes to Economics

    There is too much buffoonery in high places. It would be nice to be able to expect from popes and presidents a bit of gravitas, a modicum of seriousness, when they are instantiating their institutional roles.  What they do after hours is not our business.  So Pope Francis' clowning around does not inspire respect, any…

  • Why Would Obama Say He is not Ideological?

    Ed Rogers speculates: The president’s belief that little of what he does is ideologically driven suggests he is living with a pampered, unchallenged mind. He has been told he is so smart for so long that he sees only clarity in his actions and unchallengeable reason in his conclusions. The president’s belief in his own…

  • Promise or Lie? Falsehood or Half-Truth?

    Some pundits and journalists keep referring to Obama's signature "If you like it, you can keep it, period" as a promise.*  This is an incoherent  use of 'promise.' Suppose  a loan originator hands you a mortgage contract and says, "I promise you that this loan is not callable." (A callable loan is one in which…

  • For a Lie to be a Lie, Must There be an Intention to Deceive?

    Tully Borland writes, You host my favorite blog on the internet.  I can’t believe I didn’t find out about it until just a few months ago.  May you blog forever. Here’s a counterexample to your latest definition which still includes an “intention to deceive”, i.e. here is a case of a lie where there is…

  • More on Lying

    Chad McIntosh e-mails: Here are some thoughts on your recent post on lying. You offer the following definition: A lie is a false statement made with the intention to deceive. I wonder if more should be said about what counts as a statement. You leave open the possibility that there are other ways of tokening…

  • Annoying Habits of Some Philosophers

    Herewith, a partial catalog of some habits that I at least find annoying.   1. Calling an opposing view with an impressive pedigree a 'mistake' as if the opposing view can be simply dismissed as resting on some elementary blunder.  Here is an example by a distinguished contemporary: . . . it is possible to distinguish between the being…

  • Temptation

    A striking one or two sentence formulation taken from a wider context is not an aphorism, strictly speaking.  But I'm in a loose and liberal mood.  So I present for your consideration and delectation the following sentence from Paul Ludwig Landsberg (1901-1944).  It is from his essay "The Moral Problem of Suicide," translated from the…

  • A Moral Paradox

    Moral success can lead to pride, a form of moral failure. Moral failure can lead to humility, a form of moral success. Related articles True Detachment Moral Responsibility in Dreams The Putative Paradox of Forgiveness

  • Arrogance and Superiority

    'Arrogant' is an adjective applied by the envious to the superior.