Plato's Cave, and Escaping the Prison of Ignorance
Plato opened up a series of questions — about philosophy, knowledge, truth, politics and ethics — that have preoccupied philosophers down to the present-day.
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Latest news, writing, essays, thoughts, fragments, explorations etc.
The Opposite of Work? All About Idleness (Work #5)
Is idleness a bad thing? Or does taking idleness more seriously offer us new possibilities for human liberation?
Creativity on the Academic Margins: Podcast
A podcast interview about writing, creativity and the challenges of teaching in multilingual environments, with Dr Tim Hannigan.
Spiritual Damage: How Work is Bad for Us (Work #4)
In the last piece, we explored the idea that work might just be the thing that saves us. But what if the reverse is true?
New Book Chapter: A Rude People Subjected to No Restraint
A new book chapter, in Travel Writing in An Age of Global Quarantine edited by Gary Fisher and David Robinson.
7 Ways of Reading Philosophy: #3 Reading self-interestedly
Why be a dutiful reader, when you can read self-interestedly?
The Goodness of Work: Virtue, work, and salvation (Work #3)
Work, according to Thomas Carlyle, is a purifying fire that saves us from all vices. But is Carlyle right? And is work really a path to virtue?
The Zhouyi – a Tool for Invention
A copy of my talk from the third Zhouyi summit forum in Wuxi, China (with Chinese translation).
Maya Philosophy, and How to Give Shape to Time
The Maya philosophers were preoccupied the question of how ritual shapes time, and brings the world into being.
Spring, Like Us, Grows Old
A Poem about ageing and loss, written by one of China’s greatest women poets, Li Qingzhao
The Life of Activity: Work, Labour and Action (Work #2)
The philosopher Hannah Arendt provides an incisive account of work, labour and action. This week, we see how Arendt can help us think better about work.
Mozi and the Challenge of Universal Love
Mozi, one of the most influential early Chinese philosophers, proposed a society based on universal love, protected by a system of rewards and punishments.