classics digests, reflections and reviews
Psychoanalyzing Nietzsche Nietzsche seems to have a life-long obsession with Christianity, which he blames for the subversion of all noble values, and the corruption of the Western civilization. Underneath the facade of “noble” contempt for Christianity, however, I suspect Nietzsche is really blaming it for his own unhappiness. He sounds as if he would be happier with any other belief system, Darwinism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Epicureanism, Paganism, anything but Christianity, and […]
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The COVID-19 pandemic and government lockdown have turned my leisure reading to old -almost a century old- science fiction/dystopian/horror novels, such as The Island of Doctor Moreau, Dracula and 1984. Looking back, I noticed a pattern in my choices: all these novels make references to religion and God, and the destiny of man, both as an individual and as a species. Like Aldous Huxley, whose Brave New World is often […]
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Tyranny vs. Democracy A united force is more efficacious in producing its effect than a force which is scattered or divided. … Therefore, just as it is more useful for a force operating for a good to be more united, in order that it may work good more effectively, so a force operating for evil is more harmful when it is one than when it is divided. … for the […]
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Preface To paraphrase Plato, the price we pay for indifference to reason is to be ruled by unreasonable people. On a personal level, I seek to understand the laws that affect or govern my life. If I cannot understand the laws, but am forced to abide by them, I’m no different from a slave; On a societal level, true democracy depends on reason. A democratic society is healthy only so […]
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Having grown up as an atheist, I used to treat all religious practices with contempt. Even after my conversion to theism, rituals and liturgy have remained alien to me, partly by choice, partly due to circumstances. My experience and understanding of Christianity have been mostly on the intellectual level. In this regard, Prof. Hurtado made a significant impact on me, as he piqued my interest in the lives of the […]
Read moreIn the past few years, I’ve written many posts lamenting the defeat of reason and the rise of tyranny in our time. The inevitable consequence of these is the demise of justice. So I hope my readers would forgive me if, in my pessimistic and cynical frame of mind, I’m not terribly enthused about the current protests for social justice: I tend to think of the phenomenon not as a […]
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Government officials around the world have been telling the public that their response to the pandemic is “guided by science”, and that they rely on their scientist-advisors regarding which public health measures to put in place. Most people have abided by these measures, which have effectively slowed the spread of the virus, and prevented a collapse of our healthcare system. The truth is, however, that science never guides. It may […]
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