Problems of Identity

Let's talk about identity.

By "identity" I don't mean some part of a person which remains ever-constant. I mean "that by which one person identifies another person, or even zemself."

Some people will say that the body is the root of identity. As the body is in a constant state of transition, they will say that continuity is important. Others will say that it is the spirit by which identity is assigned. To go with either of these approaches is to say that identity is based on substance. In practice, however, it appears that most people care about something else.

Study Notes: Feb 15-21, 2015: "Weirdest Solutions to the Fermi Paradox", &c

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

What I've been watching and reading this week: 

• Post, "Into the (Mind of the) Dalek" by David Selby
• Post, "Good Works?" by Eric Peters
• Thread, "Definitions Master List" on Asexuality.org
• Article, "11 of the Weirdest Solutions to the Fermi Paradox" by George Dvorsky
• Post, "Our Love is Synthesis: Marx, Muse, and 'Madness'" by Sam Keeper
• Post, "A Company of Heroes: Pacific Rim, Iron Man, Cloud Atlas, and the Power of Ensemble Casts" by Sam Keeper

Notes: "From the Ashes of Angels"

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

Material covered:

"From the Ashes of Angels: The Forbidden Legacy of a Fallen Race" by Andrew Collins

An interesting piece of pseudohistory. Lots of good stuff for worldbuilding. Feels like the base for a Lovecraftian paper. 

• "There is the angel who wrestles all night with Jacob at a place named Penuel, or those which he sees moving up and down a ladder that stretches between heaven and earth. Yet other than these accounts, there are too few examples, and when angels do appear the narrative is often vague and unclear on what exactly is going on. For instance, in the case of both Abraham and Lot the angels in question are described simply as 'men', who sit down to take food like any mortal person." 

Notes: "Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals"

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

Material covered:
"Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals" by Immanuel Kant

Study Notes: Feb 8-14, 2015: "Religion in the Age of Cyborgs", &c

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

What I've been watching and reading this week: 

• Post, "Religion in the Age of Cyborgs" by Egil Asprem
• Post, "Making Sense of the Tenth Doctor's Regeneration" by Morgan Gudgin
• Post, "A Study of Regeneration: The Mind Problem" by Andrew Bohman
• Post, "The Children of the Night, What Music They Make: Horror in Music" by Sam Keeper 
• Post, "The World is a Cruel Place: Theme in Attack on Titan" by Sam Keeper

Study notes: Feb 1-7, 2015: "6 Tips for Writing an Epistolary Novel" and others

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

What I've been watching and reading this week: 

• Post, "6 Tips for Writing an Epistolary Novel" by Traci Marchini
• Post, "How to Write Like a Mother#^@%*&" by Elissa Bassist & Cheryl Strayed
• Page, "Veitzu, Hve Soa Skal? (Know How to Sacrifice?)" by Harvald Odinson Jones
• Article, "Forget the Quantified Self. We Need to Build the Quantified Us" by Matthew Jordon & Nikki Pfarr
• Page, "How Flattr Works"
• Article, "Heywood Jabrony, or, Notes from the Center of a Fandom's Implosion" by Sam Keeper
• Article, "Across the Sea of Faces: Music and the Roar of the Crowd" by Sam Keeper

Philosophy 313 Reading: "The Meaning of Life" and others

Material covered: 

"The Meaning of Life" by Richard Taylor
"Euthyphro" by Plato
"Natural Goodness" by Philippa Foot
"Moral Motivation and Human Nature" by Joel Feinberg
"The Ethics of Emergencies" by Ayn Rand
A portion of "Moral Thinking" by R. M. Hare
"Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism" by J. J. C. Smart
"The Singer Solution to World Poverty" by Peter Singer

Notes to: "Your Inner Fish"

Material covered: 
"Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body," by Neil Shuman (ch. 1-3, 5-6, 11)

Some Meditations on the Light Side and the Dark Side

"Liberalism does not conquer by fire and sword. Liberalism conquers by communities of people who agree to play by the rules, slowly growing until eventually an equilibrium is disturbed. Its battle cry is not 'Death to the unbelievers!' but 'If you're nice, you can join our cuddle pile!'" Scott Alexander, In Favor of Niceness, Community, and Civilization

In order to avoid political debates and to, perhaps, extend the idea a little further, let's replace "liberalism" with "the Light Side."

To explain the Light Side by saying what it is not, here is the defining characteristic of the Dark: No matter what its professed goals may be, it is always the Dark Side that seeks to conquer by fire and sword.

Study notes: Jan 25-31, 2015: "Technical debt," &C

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

What I've been watching and reading this week: 

• Post, "Technical debt and the making of payments on it" by Denise Paolucci
• Article, "Friedrich Nietzsche on Why a Fulfilling Life Requires Embracing Rather than Running from Difficulty" by Maria Popova
• Article, "Nietzsche, the Overhuman and the Posthuman: A Reply to Stefan Sorgner" by Michael Hauskeller
• Post, "Liberal from a Distance: DC's ARROW and Faux Leftism (Part One)" and "(Part Two)" by Sam Keeper
• Post, "Fluttershyness is Nice" by Sam Keeper
• Paper, "The Mormon Myth of Evil Evolution" by Michael R. Ash