Comments for Rational Philosophy

Comment on Serious Souls: The Philosophy of Purpose by Martin Walker

Martin Walker — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:36:31 +0000

James!

I hadn’t checked comments for a while and here I find yours; thank you. On rereading with your comment in mind I realize that when I used the word “purpose” I was intending to mean “an intent to do good”.

This you will immediately question, of course, and rightly so, for begging the question of what’s good or right. And attempting a fully explained answer to that question is the reason I wrote “LIFE! Why We Exist…”

Briefly, by “good” and “right” I mean “that which contributes to the persistence of the living form”.

Martin

Comment on The Philosophy of Success - Mark Twain As Antithesis by Philosophy Encyclopedia

Philosophy Encyclopedia — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 10:49:16 +0000

First I dont really think Mark Twain was unaware of Buddhism and the life of Siddhartha.
Second I’d like to say that that traveling represents the limited world we live in.It is only when that world stop bringing diversity to us that we continue our jorney in the seek for happines on a higher plane of understanding.

Comment on Serious Souls: The Philosophy of Purpose by James Ingraham

James Ingraham — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:41:16 +0000

Define purpose.
I like ice cream. Is that a purpose?
I want to do more watercolors. Is that a purpose?
Is it about what I want?
Or is it about what I should do? Even if reluctantly? Duty?
Define purpose. Be specific.
Your little essay, without defining your terms, is vague
and diffuse—fluff– and your considerable rhetorical skills wasted.
What is life without passion…..fun…….someone to love…..
a feeling of accomplishment…….thanks from those you care for…….etc. etc. Could go on and on.
Think harder please, and then write.

Comment on The Philosophy of Happiness… And Unhappiness by Winton Bates

Winton Bates — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:45:39 +0000

Very nice.
Your view of happiness seems close to mine. Emotional state is just one aspect of well-being. We should not be surprised that some people make sacrifices in their current emotional well-being in pursuit of other goals e.g. better education for their chldren or more security in retirement.

Comment on The End of The End by Martin Walker

Martin Walker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:20:12 +0000

Hello, Susan.

Good to hear from you!

Martin

Comment on The End of The End by Susan

Susan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:12:27 +0000

Thrilled you are back, as I always enjoy your thought-provoking posts!

Comment on Meaning of Life by The purpose of life is to remain in existence « Behold the man

The purpose of life is to remain in existence « Behold the man — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:05:54 +0000

[...] purpose of life is to remain in existence Meaning of Life Having come into existence, the purpose of life is to remain in existence…[read the [...]

Comment on Free Will And Personal Development by Someone who gets the point of ‘free will’ « Behold the man

Someone who gets the point of ‘free will’ « Behold the man — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:53:51 +0000

[...] who gets the point of ‘free will’ Free Will And Personal Development Acknowledging the power of choice, even if it is mechanistically illusory, can lead to profound and [...]

Comment on Oscars and Art, Miracles and Myth by Bob Feigel

Bob Feigel — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:56:48 +0000

I discovered your site while trying to remember the name of a little church in New Mexico we visited fifteen years ago. My wife and I spent a week in Taos just before Christmas and visited several churches as well as Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abiquiu. We were visiting the church to look at the architecture and religious art, not a miracle cure. In fact, we didn’t know about that aspect of the church at Chimayo when we arrived.

I’d suffered several major back injuries when I was younger and, while shifting suitcases, had re-injured a troublesome vertebrae that had once been fractured. As a result, I was in a great deal of pain, finding it difficult to get in and out of bed - let alone a car - and walking with a cane.

We went into the church, looked around and went into the small room cum shrine at the back. Then we returned to the main sanctuary and sat in one of the pews.

When I got up to leave, the back pain was gone and complete mobility had returned. I haven’t used the cane since.

Irrational? Don’t ask me. All I know is that, after 36 years of on and off back pain, periods of immobility and the threat of corrective surgery, I haven’t experienced any further back problems since that day at Chimayo. And if that’s a miracle, then I’m all for them whether they’re irrational or not.

Comment on New Yorker, Obama: A Second Bite by George Myers

George Myers — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:08:14 +0000

The 60s revisited (or “recivided”) had an adage about “white people go to the White House and black people go to jail”. I found the NY Times in 1903 said that the prison on the Commons, now City Hall Park, was “…blacker than any Black Hole of Calcutta” in the American Revolution in NYC, investigating human burials there. Today, “the President has the power to arrest U.S. citizens and legal residents inside the U.S., and imprison them indefinitely in a military prison, without charging them with any crime, based on his assertion that the imprisoned individual is an “enemy combatant.” What’s the difference between the occupying British and the current administration? A sorry state of affairs, almost “Alice in Texasland” in comparison to the historical facts that formed the nation.