Can easily replace religion but without the dogma. I try to by the simple wisdom of Marcus Aurelius  His famous Meditations are available in a small size that fits in a pocket. Get one. You may thank me. However, no single school of thought holds a monopoly of the truth (like religious)  but can happily coexist with other schools that open a different view! . 

'IF YOU JUDGE, INVESTIGATE - Seneca

'most of what we say is not necessary, and its omission would save both time and trouble' - Marcus Aurelius

(considering how much I talk, you may find it surprising this quote is on my page ) I intend to be quieter. I promise.

 

the happiness of one person depends on the happiness of all -  Buddhist saying. 

 

'put a pearl on the string every day' - Phil Stutz


[i much prefer a bad philosopher than a good accountant]


Stoicism is my favourite school of thought but not sure if I manage to live by its simple principles. It’s kind of a religion without the fire and brimstone… it teaches us to be good without expecting rewards. However, it puts too much emphasis on fate and predestination, which would make us all too passive and stoical in accepting any old shit. Well, no. We can change and challenge things. 

 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stoicism 

 

Where I part ways with Stoicism is the acceptance of Fate, which I don't accept as regulator of life. 

 

Anglosphere

Although there are a few prominent English philosophers such as Locke and Hume, generally, philosophy in the English speaking world never took a prominent position in public life, socio economic direction or societal aspirations. While in France philosophers are kind of celebrities, this doesn't happen in the Anglosphere, which is pathologically anti-intellectual, pragmatic, businesslike. The celebrity culture is diametrically opposed to most European cultures, where obsessions with celebrity smut and intrigue is considered too vulgar to show an interest in. Boy how different this is in UK, USA, Australia, etc... it is something that I find quite mind boggling but then if you look at the history of England, you will see that since Henry 8th, a very puritanical Protestant ideology has more or less been the main driver of thought combined with a kind of extreme individualism,(no such thing as society), snooping and judging other people (albeit accepting their right to stray) is not surprising at all.... but, of course, anti-intellectualism in England and other English speaking countries is multi layered and not omni present because high brow intellectuals have always existed and flourished as long as they came from a certain background and were educated in public schools then went on to Oxford or Cambridge. 

What we love will ruin us in a sea of irrelevance ... hmm, good old Orwell predicting Gogglebox, Kardashians, Cash in the Atic, Primark, Costa Coffee... ;)))

Optimistic Nihilism?

Life, whatever it is, is far from humans’ grasp of understanding. We are still in the cave with our little tribal obsessions, false narratives and self delusion … life probably doesn’t have any meaning but who knows and who cares. 

Whatever it is, don’t let anyone tell you or impose their views on you…. Find out for yourself, or don’t; you don’t have to.

One thing you must do is stop striving to be ‘normal’ , to fit in, to do what you think will get approval … be silly, crazy, be yourself but always add kindness to whatever you do. A lot of people wouldn’t think that it is normal for an immigrant  with a ‘good’ job to make videos with Hindi music whilst eating Japanese food. Let them think that if it makes them feel good.. I will carry on with doing at least one abnormal thing a week.. otherwise I’m just waiting to die, essentially. 


Live every day as if it was the last and it should all be ok. 

Ideal Dinner Party Guests: 

Plato, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Macchiavelli, Spinoza, Hobbes, Hume, Robespierre, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Sartre, Chomsky, Žižek (he may have to be put on a timer of sortts to let others talk). 

, 

 

Freedom is everything 

important philosophical questions: 

- what is an old barber’s chair for? 

- is whatsap the way to happiness?

- is cock soup different from hen soup? 

- was communism a religion or a fad?

- do gods have genitals.. 

 

etc etc 

hedonism


Often accused an Epicurean but I don’t think so. There is some smoke there so there must be fire too. 
I need to develop my knowledge of Epicureans so that I can verify if the claims are true. 

Considering that we spend most of our life either doing things we don't want to spend time doing and sleeping, there is nothing wrong with pleasure. Seek it. Practice it. There's nothing wrong with it as long as we are mindful of those around us. 

‘Reason should be a slave to the passions’ - said Hume once. Hmm. Really? An English person said this? What happened? 

Existentialism 

Where do I start? Not an easy school to embrace. Sartre scares me a bit. Probably because he speaketh the blunt truth. 

Nietzsche 

Reading him is like opening your eyes for the first time but cutting off your aorta. Hmm. I can only read him in short intervals as it causes soul.ache. He probably was the bravest thinker. His contempt for philosophers is both comical and revelatory. 

 John Stuart Mill

Not the most exciting thinker out there but easy to follow and agree with. Non-stirring, acceptable, practical rather than philosophical. Live and let live. You will understand England much better after reading her dutiful son's instructions of how to be good. I like him. Not everything has to be exciting. 

your right to punch stops where my right not to be punched starts

philosophers also love discussing the meaning of life (or the lack of it) 

 

 

Slavoj Žižek.

Super interesting anti capitalist thinker. Animated, heavy accent, engaging, logical, factual. I need to buy his books. (Who would have thought such an interesting man could come from Slovenia? Sorry SLO but thou art terribly boring) ;)

Plato 

passion & mind 

Democracy will inevitably end up in chaos the degenerating into tyranny, which will be a preferred system to chaos and anarchy. He wasn't a fan of democracy, the old rascal. He prescribed a much more carefully chosen elite! Though the model he prefers is very scary and probably has elements of Eugenics, I can see why he would see democracy as an easily corruptable order, where self interest can outweigh everything else. We can see all around us that democracy is being eroded and discredited at a much faster pace than Plato could have predicted. 

Our politicians are relentlessly and openly behaving in such a way that younger generations will only know it as a deeply flawed system that needs to be replaced with something better system 'to restore law and order' or some other similar slogan. 

The phrase itself seems reasonable enough that can easily find support among frightened citizens but we must never forget that some of the most horrendous crimes have been committed by movements which claimed they were restoring law and order. The fact that a corrupt and an incompetent politician like Priti Patel is currently trying to protect 'law and order' should ring the alarm bells... ''Interestingly, right wing politicians who love to talk about law and order always prefer property rights to human rights... 

mediocrity is the greatest sin, said the great Nietzsche! he may have been mad but he was so right.

bexology

Is life beautiful? Yes, absolutely. 
Is it absurd? Yes, absolutely! 

We spend most of our lives doing things that are neither pleasurable or profitable such as working, cleaning, sleeping and getting from A to B. As the most powerful instinct is to seek pleasure and avoid pain, we need to cherish every moment to we have available to educate and enjoy life. Otherwise we are just waiting to die. Harsh but true. 

Among many things that springs to mind as a reason why life is beautiful: support, when you need it most, almost never comes from those you expect it from but from most surprising and unexpected directions. As if by some strange cosmic law. It is just one of the reasons why life is beautiful. There are many more. Having a cigarette and a glass of wine in the bath is great... I don't care what the anti smoking hysteric neurotics will say. I love smoking. Same neurotics usually don't bat an eyelid when they rsee a homeless person, which I think is far worse than smoking, which can easily upset so many of the righteous sort. So my message to hysteric neurotic health fanatics is - sit back and have a fag sometimes.. or a spliff, drop a chill pill or whatever.. you may start smiling more 

Avoid the righteous and the earnest as the plague because they will suck the life out if you; they allow neither themselves nor anyone around them to live, often with best intentions at heart. Bexology says: it is undeniable that most people are good or want to be good including many people who societies judge or reject. These people are usually much more interesting the conforming  types. If I had a choice, pls give me a sinner, a harlot, a drunk, a shoplifter, a schizophrenic.… n stead of respectable people with all boxes ticked though I will speak to them if I have to… they’re not all boring.. Just spare me the liars, (self) deceivers and ‘successful’ people with shares and bonds.. 

religion 

In so many ways, religion could be easily described as the opposite of philosophy and not a friend of knowledge but unquestioned faith but that would be too simplistic. Religion ha# shaped human society since the time when Homo sapiens needed do explain the world around them but especially deal with their own mortality.. for centuries, they held the key and monopoly of the ‘truth’ and discarded all others.  Debate about doctrine is generally not open for debate because it questions beliefs without which it cannot exist.  Religions are also extremely powerful and have caused numerous wars, pogroms, pillages… however, atrocities are often cloaked in religion, while, in fact is power and money that drives one group against each other… of all Religions, the tree monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the most dogmatic ones, stubbornly claiming that it is their version of God’s message the correct one, easily dismissing everyone else as doomed to hellfire. (Judaism not so but still holding the belief of ‘the chosen’ people. I could write a whole book about Religion , which fascinates, frustrates and infuriates me but I won’t.   Humanity will never able to answer the question of religion and its grip on human lives  or so it seems. 

Richard Dawkins really irritates me, yet I don’t find anything he says unreasonable… Humanity has always needed more that just simple, cold, hard logic, which often lets us down. Quite badly. 

They are not mutually exclusive, of course. It is perfectiy normal to be passionate and rational. 

Except, perhaps, in England. You must control your passion lest it will be seen as a mental disorder, in extreme cases, or as nuisance in most others. Passion may instigate conflict, which, again, is a taboo in polite English society. Conflict is seen as uncomfortable, ugly, unpleasant, spoiling the fun... Of course, it can be all those things but it is also healthy and necessary. Muttering will never resolve anything. It is perfectly possible to be civilised in a conflict situation or a confrontation. That's how we undersea each other. Nodding and smiling instead of speaking your mind will kill your soul. 

This is why England sometimes feels soulless. A price a country had to pay for its stability, perhaps. 

That has changed quite dramatically in the last five years. This country is in conflict with itself. Deeply divided and suspicious of everything and everyone. Not a healthy place to be. The Tories are destroying the country they claim to so much love. They are the scum of scum. The leaders, not the voters. We can't blame all of them for believing the lie... Brexit is a very lame attempt to stir the English passions by kicking out all logic. It won't work. 

what can we know objectively? cosmos out of chaos? yes, by pure reason, not senses, stupid! says kant, of course.. tough guy but incredibly clever and a key figure in shaping european thought… can cause headache 

how to be good?
i’d love to have dinner with mr spinoza

for all its dynamism and innovation, capitalism has brought misery that is unmatched in history as it puts the individual in an endless race to find ‘happiness’ at all costs, falsely convincing people they are responsible if they ‘fail’ to find their own happiness without regard for others. 

noam chomsky 

Is my love. Although a linguist more than a philosopher, his thinking is beautiful. Who rules the world is a must read as are his other books. He so eloquently explains why capitalism is a rotten system that runs on greed and misery. 

 

Atheism IS a religion. Richard Dawkins and some others can be just as belligerent as the religious nuts. My view is that religion is like a penis - great that you’re happy with it but don’t flash it about. There is no doubt that unspeakable atrocities have been committed in the name of religion but it is also true some of the most beautiful acts of care and sacrifice come faith.. It just has to be kept private, not weaponised or politicised. That’s all.. it has no place in matters of politics or state… very simple really.. 

‘children of god’

Religions love parables, metaphors, metaphysics and speculation so I will try to tell the story of three brothers - Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the same style. 

And it came to pass that God had three sons: Jacob, Peter and Ahmed, who each thought they were the best and most obedient son to their father. And so it came to be that Jacob was very strict in his daily life, performing many acts of obedience and devotion to Father and was wrought in deep faith that he was the only son. Jacob was many times enslaved, persecuted, thrown out, accused of all kinds but he persevered. The worst persecution upon him was brought by Peter when once drunk and taken by fumes of evil locked him up in the basement for years, taking his clothes, house and everything Jacob had. Jacob was very close to perishing completely during this period of darkness. Jacob then saw that this was a wicked deed and has been feeling bad ever since, returning Jacob’s land, which in the meantime had been passed on to Ahmed, who thought Peter was very wicked to do this. The squabbles between Jacob and Ahmed are still seething to this day causing great pain and sorrow to the world. Jacob is often very harsh with Ahmed, throwing flames upon his house and children and by taking more land that Peter gave him. The neighbours wonder how Jacob can do this considering his great suffering and persecution that he suffered in the hands of every one thsf could lay them upon him. 

Peter is the middle one and the most complicated if the three. He is handsome, fun and likes to smoke fumes and spend time with harlots, thieves and lepers. He says everyone is cool and that we are all brothers, preaching love, humility and forgiveness. But lo, he is also very resourceful and has many means to get what he wants. He often doesn’t agree with himself, depending on which clothes he’s wearing and what the weather is like. His house is the biggest and the tallest,  with many doors and windows that open and close unpredictably, causing almighty confusion for Jacob and Ahmed. Because of his previous wickedness, Peter has given some keys to some of the doors and windows to Jacob but not Ahmed, whose youth and brashness he often punishes by taking Ahmed’s goats and sleeping with his girlfriends. Neither Jacob nor Ahmed believe he is a rightful son to their father. Peter is the most charming of the brothers and can easily strike them with awe and envy due to his wayward ways that make him the most desired by both women and men in their village. He also singeth and danceth like no one but it cannot be said with certitude what their father thinks about all of this  because no one has ever laid  eyes upon him. 

Ahmed, ah, Ahmed! The youngest and the loudest. He is much closer to Jacob in his daily ablutions, prayers and rules including the cutting of the foreskin, unlike Peter, who still has his, giving him greater but shorter pleasure when he gets to know men and women of the village. Ahmed believes that both Jacob and Peter have strayed from their father’s path and sees it his duty to scold them and bring them back to the true path of their invisible father. He strongly suspects Peter was begotten by father, which causeth great friction between the brothers. Ahmed is very angry that Peter took his fields, gold and silver for a long time, even laying with his girlfriends, which he has four, In acts of rage with both Peter and Jacob, Ahmed often acts brashly and violently, attracting attention of the whole neighbourhood, who are all a bit afraid of him although they all understand he has reason to be displeased for the woes he’s suffered since he was in early teens yet no one approves of his rage. As a small child, Ahmed was very naughty indeed and stole from both Peter and Jacob, causing the entire neighbourhood to fear and avoid him… his naughtiness didn’t last beyond the age of 15, by which time Peter and Jacob had gone to university, which gave them both great knowledge and advantage over Ahmed. 

No one in the neighbourhood knows when the three brothers will stop playing games with each other but hope they will soo n kiss and make up because they all need each other and secretly wish to live together as a happy family wondering why their father never made an appearance to his three mischievous sons. 

 

 

children 

I love children. I feel that all children are mine. They are our biggest treasure and responsibility. 

However, I am very glad I don't have them. Why would I want to subject another being to the injustices and struggles of this world. I would feel personally responsible for their pain, rejection, sadness, etc... happy moments are just too few to outweigh the shit. It is not worth it. Maybe I save a soul by sending it to better worlds which I am sure exist in the vast universe. The Earth is fucked. We did it. 

materialism

According to a Japanese saying, you should get rid of anything that you haven't touched for six months. 

I wish I could train myself to practice this simple principle. 

From a very early age, we are brainwashed by a culture that measures everything with things, not deeds. It makes most people unhappy but they still insist on going shopping rather than going for a walk or read a book that no one wants to talk about. 


prejudice is the prison of wisdom 

 

 

‘Arts and Politics are not separate from one another’ 

empathy 

Empathy is the civilising agent of humanity. The moment when you put yourself in another person’s shoes you can claim to be civilised. With only a bit more empathy, the world would be a much better place… 

We are dangerously moving into right wing territory, where empathy is portrayed as weakness of soppy people who should only concentrate on their own happiness, work harder and spend more to keep the dreaded economy going. Lack of empathy is becoming both trendy and prevailing in a tipsy-turvy world in which we are increasingly scrambling for crumbs left to us by the rich and powerful.

Identity

I am not quite sure why but people seem to crave and need an identity, be it cultural, religious, local, class related etc… having an identity is not a problem in itself but it becomes a problem when you build an entire personage based on false na narratives, which you then accept as part of your own self. Delusion seems to be an integral part of being human. Depending on the level and depth of delusion, this can be both comical and/or tragic for individuals and societies. The grandest delusions seem to flourish in the so called great countries of the ‘first world’. 

Take England as an example - self delusion is in the DNA of the national psyche. As said before, the facts and reality of living in a heartless, harsh, and often cruel, environment are too much to bear for the average Joe. Our Joe needs to believe his way is better than other ways….. otherwise he will go to France where he might have better bread p, cheese and windows. 😂😂😂 

does understanding alleviate anger? It should according to Spinoza but I think this is easier said than done - howl do you stop being angry when you understand the reasons for harm caused in the world but can’t do anything about it? For example, Brexit infuriates me beyond reason despite understanding the reasons leading to it and not having any feeling of hate for those who voted to leave… even Stoics can’t always answer everything 😂😂

Nothing exists in isolation but only in relation to other things. EVERYTHING HAS A CAUSE ABD EFFECT and CAPACITY TO AFFECT AND BE AFFECTED - SPINOZA..

Passions without Understanding are a form of slavery - Spinoza

in an infinite world of possibilities, the space betweene things creates a place for newness - deleuze

consciousness is a dream with our eyes opened! we think we are free but everything is caused by something external pushing us to do or not to do something… (running from an oncoming train is caused by our understanding the consequences if we didn’t. We don’t choose to run. The train forces us to run) 

 

 

To live vicariously is not to live at all. Experiences should be real. Everything else is voyerism or in worse cases stalking. We all know ceeepers and sneakers. Judging would be the easiest thing but no one has a right to judge.., so much of what determines our character is genetic. We usually can't take too much credit for who we are.. we are all different and similar at the same time. 

Generally, the more unconventionally you live, the better your life will be. Conformity is like a very slow boring death, especially if you follow middle class conventions and aspirations. 

If you want to live, you really shouldn’t give the slightest fuck about what others think but you should never lose humanity. Kindness and empathy are free but give more meaning to our existence than all other things put together. 

Making mistakes is totally ok as long as we know when to say sorry and repairing the damage caused. 

daily quotes

Lies are sufficient to breed opinion and opinion brings substance - Francis Bacon [23May22]

Those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, don’t have knowledge - Lao Tzu (23Jun22)

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself - John Dewey

Those who educate children well are more to be honoured than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. - Aristotle [29/06/22]

Reason is a harmonising, controlling force, not a creative one. Bertrand Russell 

Don’t get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free view over the whole single problem, even if this view is still not a clear one - Ludwig Wittgenstein 

They don’t know what they’re doing but nonetheless they are still doing it - Karl Marx

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear! Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you free. - Buddha 

If you are without sin, cast the first stone! - Jesus

Love thy enemy like yourself. If someone hits you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek (so that they can slap you on that one too) - Jesus

Pleasure is a man’s passing from a lesser perfection to a greater - Spinoza

I believe in using words, not fists. I believe in my outrage knowing people are living in boxes on the street. I believe in a good time. I believe in good food. I believe in sex. - Bertrand Russel (23NOV22)

It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in Providence, than to see their real import and value. - Hegel [02/02/2023]

Through beauty we achieve freedom - F Schiller [04-06-23] 

Philosophy is like falling in loe - Slavoj žiźek [12-11-2023]

 

We are so obsessed with the past and the future that we forget to live the present - My Own but I am sure someone has already said it!

Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well - Jean-Jacques Rousseau [12.04.2022]

Man should not consider his material possessions his own, but common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need - Thomas Aquinas [13.04.2022]

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures - Lao Tzu [16.04.2022]

That God does not exist, I ctannot deny. That my whole being cries out for God I cannot forget. - Jean Paul Sartre [08/05/22]

Our supreme insights, must - and should! - sound like follies, in certain cases like crimes, when they come impressively to the ears of those who are not predisposed and predestined for them - F Nietzsche [09/05/2022]

Sleeping is no mean art: for its sake one must stay awake all day - f Nietzsche [12/05/22]

My judgement is MY judgement: another cannot easily acquire a right to it - Nietzsche [24May22]

It’s not about happens to you, it’s how you react to it that matters - Epictetus [30/1122]

People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about hem not understanding me. - Soren Kierkegaard [02/12/22]

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important - Bertrand Russell [19/01/2023]

From the first day to this, sheer greed was the driving spirit of civilisation. - Friedrich Engels [19/01/2023]

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change - Confucius [19/01/2023] 

The most difficult relationship you will have is the one you have with yourself - Unknown [28/01/23]

Men acquire a particular quality by acting in a particular way - Aristotle [03/02/23]

idealism

I’ve always been an idealist. 

I cannot imagine how lifeis possible without a strong set of beliefs and aspirations that aren’t related to your personal gain and wellbeing…. I naively thought that all humans, or most of us, at least, hold ideals and hopes that transcend our personal or our immediate family’s needs. I find so difficult to accept that all those debates that humanity has been having for millennia were irrelevant to the vast majority of the population who seem bogged down with daily mediocrity,  personal anxieties and social pressure. 

 

However, at 53, I am starting to really dislike human beings, perhaps dislike is not the right word.. It’s a feeling of deep disappointment with my fellow humans. Perhaps we are a hopeless race still with a cave mentality caring only about our own desires and traumas instead of thriving to leave a better world for generations to come …  


The internet has, of course, turned everything upside down as it’s thrown out entrenched social norms and interactions by creating our bubbles of reality that only relates to us in the narrowest sense possible. . 

as things are going?  I think I will renounce my human race membership and transition to a moth. 

Fascism is politics of the crowd; exciting them to a point to stupor by stirring the darkest chambers of the soul.  

Philosophy is an art like no other, operating in so many dimensions, projections, conjectures… it’ll like se, food and athletics of the brain in one :)) 

 

On Hegel - in so many ways, probablty the person who made the 'west' what it is and how it thinks

Nietzsche asks some great questions but his crude estimation that only a master elite is a natural state of things. Empathy & Responsibility are quite crucial in our attempt to create a better society! These values existed before and were not invented by Christianity. Sorry Mr N. I do think you were a turning point in European thought but no one can be totally right.