-
Attend to What Matters: Willpower
My earliest pre-philosophical application of the idea was ‘willpower’. As a younger person, caught up in the lust for admiration that is characteristic of some younger people, I was very motivated to be physically fit, strong, and attractive. To this end, I understood the need for diet and exercise. But these are difficult things to do, requiring a degree of discipline and a willingness to subject yourself to suffering. read more
-
Attend to What Matters: Introduction
‘If I attend properly I will have no choices and this is the ultimate condition to be aimed at.’ (Iris Murdoch) I believe this to be true; and if it is true, then it is very important. Possibly few ideas in philosophy are more important, since in this idea you will find the ultimate aim and purpose of philosophy, and in that something that points to the finest way that a human being can live. read more
-
One Year On, Part Three: The Hypocrisy of the Ironic Philosopher
This website is nothing but words and I am all talk. And this from someone who says that ethics is best shown by conduct and not by words; that philosophy ought to be shown and said, in such a way that the inner meaning and outward appearance are as one. But what do I show, here, except the continuation of so many ironic contradictions? read more
-
One Year On, Part Two: Philosophy Applied to Public Debates
I’ve lost a measure of faith in the idea that philosophy can be ‘applied’ to the various debates of our times. In most cases, most people wouldn’t understand the arguments because they lack the requisite ‘preparation’; and so if you have a cause to fight for then that would be better served by appeal to other means of persuasion, such as one celebrity endorsement. read more
-
One Year On, Part One: Philosophy as Therapy
This website is one year old. One year on, I think and feel very differently about things: this shows it’s done its work. read more
-
The Allegory of Martial Arts, Bad Fortune, and the Sceptic
Philosophy is routinely dismissed as good-for-nothing: an old and out-dated discipline that serves no useful purpose. It is not alone. read more
-
Literature and Life
When it comes to seeing things as they really are, it’s not only a matter of seeing, because you can see without recognising, if you don’t know what you’re looking at. If you want to correct this then it’s not enough to simply look: you must learn what to look for. This is why Iris Murdoch thinks it’s so important for human beings to study literature. read more
-
Reply to Echazú
The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion published an article recently: ‘Does moral anti-theodicy beg the question?’ In this article, the author, Gabriel Echazú, identifies some important points and potential confusions in the debate about moral anti-theodicy. And since I am the source of some of these confusions, I thought I’d better reply. read more
-
Palinode to the Rion
I recently wrote a satirical piece about popular philosophy. I was happy enough with it to put it online, because I think what it shows is interesting, but beyond that the net effect was to leave me thinking I probably won’t do this kind of thing anymore. As I recently seem to have discovered, I am currently writing to discover why I write, and what I seem to have discovered here is that, whilst I’m happy enough to write things that show something important about philosophy, I have no interest in writing anything combative, critical, or ‘snotty’. […] read more
-
The Rion: An Ancient Dialogue for Our Times
The Exile: Very nice to meet you, Rion. Am I talking to you at home? Rion: No, I’m in a hotel just outside of Bullton right now; I’ve been here to give a talk at a conference on mental health. Ex: And did they have many philosophers talking at the conference? Ri: Oh for sure, read more
An experiment with philosophy as a way of life
tobybetenson.com 