Drunken late-night existentialism: If philosophy doesn't get you down, you're doing it wrong We cannot grant purpose or meaning to our existence because we did not create our existence. Every arbitrary “meaning of life” we come up with is a desperate self-deluding coping strategy towards addressing the cruel fact that we, in reality, have no idea what we are, how we emerged, and why. We did not make ourselves, so we cannot have a purpose or meaning for ourselves. The tool…
The noble savage myth: Western passive condescension The Westerner’s obsession with ennobling the savage (or at least what he deems as savage) is merely his coping mechanism for his internalised guilt stemming from his prejudiced judgments (whether fair or unfair). What else could it be? Since Western cultures are more predisposed to guilt (which admittedly is a bit more noble than shame-based cultures), they can’t help but engage in reverse-racist favouritism when they…
Free will oxymoron: As free as you know you aren't If causation dictates all, then free will cannot exist. Your neurons are wired a certain way; your synapses follow neural pathways that form your mental architecture, a predictable result of genetics and random life experiences within circumstantial environments. Everything you perceive, analyse and conclude must go through your mental processes. Your whole sense of reality relies not on objective senses but on your unique…
The shaming fallacy [Part 1]: Ideals so weak they can't hold up without coercion There’s a recent prevalence of Eastern-style shaming in the world, and particularly towards Westerners. Just observe the social media chatter from (in)organic influencers: “*If you don’t do X then you are Y*” - infantile schoolyard shaming. Shaming is different from the guilt-tripping *-ist -phobe* epithets that vex primarily Western guilt complexes and self-righteous (un)noble burdens. Shaming…
Belief & Knowledge: Knowing is believing We all believe in something, even though we wish we *knew* instead. Some of us *know* we believe. Others *believe* they know. Even if you do *know* that you know something, you must first believe in and trust your own sanity - your own ability to discern what is truly knowable and factual. There may be objective truth, but are we, as humans, able to fully identify it objectively, free from individual bias, mental processes or floating…
Punishing criminals in the absence of a state Justice without authority - smarter, fairer and more efficient One of the greatest objections against statelessness (organised society without the perceived authority of a centralised government) is the question “*who will punish criminals.*” It’s an understandable question, especially when the average person erroneously assumes that anarchic statelessness equals a chaotic free-for-all akin to Mad Max and The Purge. I don’t blame…
Porn ban: Is it a good idea? Moral & functional arguments: 3 reasons why pornography prohibition is dangerous Just like recreational drugs, pornography is a vile phenomenon of the human condition that has existed throughout history. Porn is a type of prostitution, a cheap outsourcing of sexual relief. Its undeniable damage to the individual is profound. Some also worry about pornography’s implication on the broader fabric of society. Whether we like it or not, it exists. So…
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