Citations
The Goddess Logical Rigor
Initiates into the mysteries of the goddess Logical Rigor use a strange speech among themselves, and find it all but impossible to communicate their visions to the mass of ordinary, unilluminated mankind. This accounts in part for the fact that, of the three disciplines most devoted to that goddess, analytical philosophy and neo-classical economics have [...]
The Young and the Restless
I’ve held onto old codes of honor like the captain to a sinking ship. The world moved on and rolled its eyes, but there are some things that are worse than dying. It’s always been my way to over-romanticize, cuz’ when I was young I had a hard time with what was real and fantasized. [...]
The Sort of Men Involved in Domestic Abuse
Here’s a real testament to the strength of character of men who beat their wives: they beat them more when their favorite sports team loses.
Nietzsche’s Formula for Happiness
My formula for happiness: a Yes, a No, a straight line, a goal.1 It amazes me that nearly all of Nietzsche’s philosophy is implicit in this single maxim, which is plainly a statement of the motive that singularly defined his personality. What is the madman of The Gay Science’s fear when he says, “what were [...]
Paul Graham on Determination
Paul Graham just posted a new essay on determination. It is probably my favorite of his essays so far. I particularly like this paragraph: That word balance is a significant one. The more willful you are, the more disciplined you have to be. The stronger your will, the less anyone will be able to argue [...]
Returning to the Escolios
Rereading Gómez Dávila’s “Escolios”, I am once again reminded that it is the greatest of the works of 20th Century Spanish language literature that have yet to be translated into English. Each time I return to these books, I find new sections that I adore: En el auténtico humanismo se respira la presencia de una [...]
The Little Things Matter
A country where people do not wait in line in orderly fashion, or where the drivers do not stay in their lanes, is usually a country with serious economic and political problems.1 If you like that passage, I recommend reading all of Arnold Kling’s discussion of Tyler Cowen’s new book, Create Your Own Economy. Tyler’s [...]
The Best Question of Conscience
The heaviest weight. — What if some day or night a demon were to steal into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it you will have to live once again and innumerable times again; and there will be nothing new in it, but every [...]
Learning from Rainstorms
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though [...]
Very Like Leaves Upon This Earth
Men come and go as leaves year by year upon the trees. Those of autumn the wind sheds upon the ground, but when spring returns the forest buds forth with fresh vines. Even so is it with the generations of mankind, the new spring up as the old are passing away.1 Homer : The Iliad [...]