Beyond Determinism: A Treatise (Freedom, Fate, or Both?)

1. Introduction 1.1. Compatibilism I feel more comfortable with the free-will-existence debate than any other topic in philosophy. I personally have convinced several people to, if not change their mind, at least reconsider their position. The people I convinced were not philosophers, but still. My position on free will is the following: I am a … Continue reading Beyond Determinism: A Treatise (Freedom, Fate, or Both?) →

Find the Absurdities in Your Own Arguments

Part 1: Modus-Tollens Moral arguments are hard because often you are arguing with someone who simply has different fundamental presuppositions than you do. It’s hard to apply formal logic to morality because when reach those base axioms, you’re at an impasse. However, one thing that we can do is show that the opponent’s moral system, … Continue reading Find the Absurdities in Your Own Arguments →

12 Rules for Life

So, in proving that I can do whatever the most prominent thought leaders of our time can do, except better (ok, you be the judge), I present to you

Malevolent Artificial Intelligence (Sam Harris is Wrong, Part 4)

I don't think this post was very good as originally written. However, it is part 4 in a multi-part series, so in lieu of deleting it, I have re-written the arguments I made as part of a larger post, here. The arguments from this post made it into part 1 and part 4. There is … Continue reading Malevolent Artificial Intelligence (Sam Harris is Wrong, Part 4) →

Proper Sovereignty Manifesto, Part 1: Coercion

This is the first in a series of posts with the intent of laying out my political philosophy. At least, the starting point of my political philosophy. That is to say, what it was three years ago when I wrote this manifesto in my head. Rather than provide my take on every single debated issue, … Continue reading Proper Sovereignty Manifesto, Part 1: Coercion →

How to Become Successful

Make your failures temporary and your successes permanent. Right there is how to become successful. Make your failures temporary and your successes permanent. That, simply put, means to engage in activities where the potential upside is compounding, whereas the potential downside is temporary. Take, for example, submitting a book to a publisher. A potential failure … Continue reading How to Become Successful →