Suppose, just suppose, that you could travel back in time and kill baby Adolf Hitler. Forget about the Law of Unintended Consequences. Forget about doubt (eg, is it him?). The Greater Good theory would applaud your act. Criminal law would argue that you murdered a (still) innocent child. Hence, my question: if Good does bad, does Good become Bad? Some 15 years ago,...
Until several centuries ago, humans considered themselves unique, living on a Goldilocks planet in the center of the universe. Galileo Galilei already smashed latter notion. A 15 June 2020 study in The Astrophysical Journal claims that "there should be at least 36 civilizations within our [Milky Way] Galaxy" in "the Strong scenario" and "under the...
Last Monday, a friend called me and explained her silence. She has an eye thrombosis and is being treated for that by oxygen injections in her eye. I almost felt the needle entering my own eye, and was eager to change the subject. The ability for understanding the feelings of others is called the Theory of Mind, and is closely related to empathy. A 2019 study on...
A few days ago, I chatted with a Possibly Maybe. At some point, I told her my philosophy is different from hers: you get what you give. Later, I realised that these words are the perfect title for a new blog - and also song (see below). For many years, I used to be like her: rather suspicious and keeping people at a distance. The problem is that you get...
My identity has never been much of an issue to me. I was - and am - just Me Myself I (see below). There are several questions in life, like How, What, When, Where, Who and Why. Usually, only Why is relevant to me. Identity is about the question: Who am I? We use attributes to find answers, like age, health, sexuality, skin colour, wealth. Does middle-aged...
One of my favourite movies is Kingdom of Heaven (IMDb), albeit for different reasons than you might expect. The movie shows several historic events besides the Crusades: the weakening of the Sasanian Empire of Iran (Persia), the rise of Islam, and the fall of the Golden Age of Islam. This 2005 movie changed my perspective on that region. Wiki:...
English
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Recent Comments