classics digests, reflections and reviews
Encountering Kant The cover image of a narrow staircase between heaven and earth is a picturesque representation of Kant’s notion of reason. On the one hand, reason must be separated from external causes and influences through the senses, i.e., reason is not subject to the laws of nature; on the other hand, it must not receive revelations or directives from a Supreme Being, as it must maintain its autonomy, i.e. freedom. […]
Read moreThe Dialectical Method The contentious way of philosophical discourse is to make your statement and challenge others to examine and refute it; The dialectical way is not merely to answer what is true, but also to make use of those points which the questioned person acknowledges he knows. All Learning is But Recollection Meno argues that “A man cannot enquire either about that which he knows, or about that which […]
Read moreThis is one of the, if not the, best essay on art I’ve ever read. It has broadened and deepened my understanding and appreciation of art. I especially enjoyed the summary of various aesthetic theories and definitions of beauty by philosophers and aestheticians. For Tolstoy, their definitions of beauty are too obtuse or confusing to be applicable in art, so his own definition of art is based not on beauty […]
Read more