“[That the universe is spatiotemporal in its fundamental nature] is in doubt in present-day physics and cosmology…. Note that if temporality goes, i.e. not just spacetime but temporality in any form, then experience also goes, given that experience requires time. One of the fine consequences of this is that there never has been any suffering.… Continue reading

Don’t you just love people who precede an “h” word with an “an”? This is not complaining. But this term I’m teaching over 240 students in all, distributed subject-wise among Metaphysics, Kant & the 19th Century, and an Humanities Breadth Course (“Civilization”). Just the book-keeping end of things is running me ragged. But, as I… Continue reading

Let’s first assume determinism is true, at least with respect to all human actions. Next, let’s agree that we inevitably talk and think about what we could do, or could have done, even if we end up doing or having done something else. That’s what deliberation is: mapping out what we could do, predicting results,… Continue reading

My friend Kleiner has been trying for years to get me to understand what final causes really are supposed to be. When I’ve talked about them in various classes, I’ve always called them the ‘pulling cause’: a final cause pulls the little acorn into becoming an oak, pulls the embryon into becoming a human, etc.… Continue reading

For whatever reason, I’ve felt the need lately to try to articulate my broader philosophical view. And that’s always fun to share, especially when someone points out problems. So here goes. CH’s principles of philosophy 1. My metaphysics ought to be continuous with science. I don’t deny that there are significant controversies within science, nor… Continue reading

… and then there are the beautiful ones: Continue reading

The canal running behind my home is now closed forever, due to the tragic collapse this summer. But nature is finding new uses for it. Continue reading

Graham Parkes, author of Composing the Soul (perhaps my favorite book on Nz), presented what was to me easily the best address of the conference. The first half of his presentation was a discussion of the links between Nz and meditative practices in eastern philosophy. Nz hiked and walked extensively, claiming that he didn’t trust… Continue reading

I thought I’d share some of my impressions of some of the papers I attended. The conference featured seven plenary addresses, which everyone attended, and three groups of concurrent session. I’ve recounted now, and I guess I only heard 16 papers in all (counting my own), not 19 as I had thought. I don’t have… Continue reading

It appears I haven’t posted in about a month. What’s up? Well, a cluster of little things. There’s been painting the house, the kids starting school, me starting teaching, etc. I have been rewriting a paper on Nietzsche for the upcoming “Nietzsche on Mind and Nature” conference at Oxford, and arranging travel, etc. That’s next… Continue reading

“Philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men.” – John Dewey, quoted by Menand, Metaphysical Club. Continue reading

I’m working on a paper on whether Nz is a naturalist, so I’ve been forced to think about what naturalism is. I don’t think it’s enough to simply say “it’s the denial of supernatural stuff” (since then I need to know what “supernatural” is) or to say “it’s what physicists/chemists/biologists presume for their theories” (since… Continue reading

Leszak Kolakowski. Wish I’d met him. See my posts about him here. UPDATE: The Times has a good obit. Continue reading

I’ve been thinking about Michael Drake’s post over at Strange Doctrines on Nihilistic Meaning. As anyone who knows me would suspect, I’m very skeptical of a human life being meaningful in virtue of playing some role in a deity’s big plan. (Indeed, that seems to me a recipe for absurdity.) So I usually fall back… Continue reading

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Just got back from a conference in Big Sky, MT, where we read and then discussed Emerson and Nietzsche. (The view above is from our hotel window.) It was a great conference. Much of the discussion seemed to center around the notion of liberty — how you get it, according to each philosopher. Views differed… Continue reading

Went for a hike yesterday on Powder Mountain, a ski hill, with a group of old and new friends. We came across Hidden Lake, which afforded an opportunity for wading, swimming, and plummeting from a rope swing. The valley seen in the distance is where we live, Cache Valley. Continue reading

Mike raises the following question: From Nz’s perspective, what was the world like before the death of God? The best answer I have at the moment is The Gay Science #84 the last paragraph. Maybe that’s *way* before the death of God though or maybe that’s basically what it is. I don’t have GS handy,… Continue reading

You decide! Continue reading

Genius of the Heart is available in Kindle form now. I have yet to hold/use a Kindle, but I hear they’re pretty great. Also: if you, dear reader of Huenemanniac, have read the silly book, would you consider posting a review? Note that I’m NOT saying “post a review only if you have kind things… Continue reading

… though in a modified fashion. Went a full 100+ miles on Saturday, and about 50 today, so the total is still what I promised. It was an interesting ride. I was by myself, floating in and out of riding conversations, with plenty of solo time to stew over philosophical questions (like, “Are there any… Continue reading

My apologies for the dearth of postings lately. My attention has been scattered by an essay on Spinoza, closely reading Emerson and Nietzsche for an upcoming conference, and a conference paper on Nietzsche, and a book project on Spinoza — and a family vacation to DC, which was a blast. Anyhow, in the meantime, here… Continue reading

So far, not much to report. Continue reading

I have been trying to get a good understanding of Spinoza’s advice for handling the passions. My understanding seems to require stories and analogies, so I ended up with this one: Imagine taking a group of very special kids on a field trip. Each of them is enormously sensitive to different sorts of stimuli, and… Continue reading

This one lives in Paradise. No kidding. Continue reading