Category: Philosophy

  • Aphorism 7 – The Good King

    Aphorism 7 – The Good King

    When discussing Nietzsche and ressentiment, those who want to save Nietzsche often make the point that ressentiment is a key part of the idea of justice. In response, I would like to tell a story about The Good King. There once was a good king. One day, a man came to him and said that…

  • Aphorism 6 – Morality

    Aphorism 6 – Morality

    To oppose Chomsky’s view of moral systems, though, I do not believe moral systems (or any mental construct) are like biological organs, I believe they are like bone tools. Do we need them (or something better) to navigate the world, to get ourselves sustenance, to protect ourselves? Absolutely. But these are things that we have…

  • Aphorism 5 – Technological Determinism

    Aphorism 5 – Technological Determinism

    I place the term technological determinism most directly opposite “economic determinism”, though I wouldn’t say one excludes the other. To begin with, “technology” to me is not only the mechanical, motorized, or electronic technology that we usually think of, but also of philosophical technologies such as new concepts, different ways of reading, new mediums, etc.,…

  • Aphorism 4 – Nietzsche on Jewish People

    Aphorism 4 – Nietzsche on Jewish People

    I expect that it will be some time until I can do a full treatment on this, but I want to make my case in brief just so I can say I made it. The case I want to make is that Nietzsche was an antisemite. I feel it’s important to make this case because…

  • Aphorism 3 – Genealogy

    Aphorism 3 – Genealogy

    I call myself an anti-Nietzschean but I must be fair. To begin in being fair, I’ll be fair to Foucault and many others in that I did need this pointed out to me (I can’t recall from where). Now to be fair to Nietzsche: in On the Genealogy of Morals he is not doing a…

  • Notes on Eristics, or Disputation

    Notes on Eristics, or Disputation

    I consider myself to be good at arguing. I don’t mean good at shouting over people or good at debate, I mean pretty specifically that I am good at arguing: when we’re not trying to prove a point, when we’re just scuffling, and I’m trying to get a win by the use of language. When…

  • Aphorism 2 – The Clean Man

    Aphorism 2 – The Clean Man

    Many people have used concepts that Nietzsche introduced (or, at least, that they were introduced to by Nietzsche) and achieved great things with them. Foucault as I’ve mentioned, Deleuze, Derrida, Weber, Jung, Bataille, Heidegger, and so on. Do I reject concepts like ressentiment and master/slave moralities not because they are untrue but because they are…

  • Aphorism 1 – Ressentiment

    Aphorism 1 – Ressentiment

    If Nietzsche gets to misapply the word aphorism then I’m going to do it, too. I’ve heard about the bird of prey, let’s say a hawk, and the lamb. I have questions. Let’s say that the hawk has eaten too much so it’s slow, or that the lamb that he’s following is very fast, and…

  • The Theory of the General Crisis

    The Theory of the General Crisis

    In a relatively short space here, I am going to describe the basic formation, function, and structure of the state. My goal is to help clarify the actual nature of the state so that we, regardless of our individual statuses, can respond to the state based upon our true position.