philosophy

Once upon a time there were some guys who watched tv like ALL the time.

One day one of them went outside.

He was like, "Yo guys, you should go outside, check it out" but his mates were like "nah"

First, apologies if this should go in a different community, it just seemed like this probably made the most sense-mods please move it if it should be someone else.

So I've been seeing my new therapist for a couple of months now, and overall I do like him/seems like a good fit. He recently asked if I had ever done meditation/mindfulness etc, as he wanted to do more than just being 99% similar to a friend you would just air your greivances/problems/thoughts out loud which sometimes therapy feels like, which I also like as I do appreciate actually tactics/methods of improvement and such.

Anyways, he sent me a free trial of Waking Up, which unbeknown to me is created by Sam Harris. Like most here, I am not a fan of him at all, but I figured I'd at least check out the app. There's a 28 day "intro" course which is basically teaching you the principles of meditation/mindfulness, and I'm about halfway through and so far I would say I've benefited from it. I mentioned my concerns to my therapist, who understood my concerns (I know my therapist is pro palestine based on my ramblings/rants about the situation, so he's not a full blown Sam Harris fan/neoliberal etc) and he suggested that as long as it seems to be working for me I should stick with it, and did point out that if there is any legitimate background/knowledge that Sam Harris does know it would be meditation more so than his fraudulent neuroscience/political activities/"expertise".

I've personally kind of for now been like "as long as one of his lessons doesn't obviously show his flawed thinking/views outside of meditation I'll stick with it for now" since I have no idea if there's better resources/alternatives out there, but does anyone have thoughts/suggestions of better resources/apps and what not?

Thanks!

Most of the philosophy discussed requires CWs, so I'll just clip the reading list:

Other philosophers, including Christa Peterson and Robin Dembroff, have meticulously analyzed and exposed the problems with anti-trans philosophy. I find their arguments compelling. But the anti-trans philosophy they effectively dismantle will not be my focus in this piece. Speaking personally, I become the most hopeless and helpless when I speak in generalities and lose track of the enormous diversity in our discipline. And while some philosophers are doing harm on this front (and others), other philosophers are doing work that is generative, creative, and—what’s more—crucial to understanding the current crisis.

I particularly have in mind here work by trans philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher.

. . .

I worry that if we go on as we have before, we will end up with a discipline and even a world in which there will be fewer and fewer trans thinkers to learn from—because they are excluded from the discourse, because they will cease to be able to speak out, and because they will literally be silenced. We, and they, deserve so much better. I write in the hopes that, at times like these, we may recognize the urgency of their contributions—of thinkers including not only Bettcher but also Robin Dembroff, Stephanie Kapusta, Shon Faye, Da’Shaun L. Harrison, Perry Zurn, Emi Koyama, Susan Stryker, C. Jacob Hale, Quill R Kukla, Amy Marvin, Jade Schiff, Sophie Grace Chappell, Rach Cosker-Rowland, Rowan Bell, Krys Malcolm Belc, Adriene Takaoka, Veronica Ivy, Julia Serano, Katelyn Burns, Natalie Wynn, Willow Starr, Paisley Currah, Florence Ashley, Angela Black, E. M. Hernandez, Blake Hereth, Ray Briggs, B. R. George, Eli Clare, Tamsin Kimoto, and so many others. Space is limited, as am I. So, go read them.

(Links to all of their websites in the original.)

Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/465653306/Baudrillard-is-a-fuck

Now that I think about it, Hobbes did have very similar vibes to modern internet edgelords that claim that everyone would do (horrid action here) if only they knew they could get away with it, and also tend to subscribe to the ruinous brainworms of "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory" which basically declares everyone being horrible on the internet is just being ironic therefore no actions should ever be taken against "ironic" nazis and the like.

Yes it was last week, but the Kant/can't pun counter has reset!

Something something means of reproduction

The way people talk about it makes it sound indistinguishable from "random will". If you believe in the existence of a "self" in any form, be it the chemical signals and electrical impulses in your material brain, or a ghost existing outside of space and time controlling your body like a puppeteer, you must believe in one of you believe in that self having free will.

Say you were to run a scenario many times on the same person, perfectly resetting every single measurable thing including that person's memory. If you observe them doing the same thing each time then they don't have this quality of free will? But if you do different things each time are you really "yourself"? How are your choices changed in a way that preserves an idea of a "self" and isn't just a dice roll? Doesn't that put an idea of free will in contradiction with itself?

Edit: I found this article that says what I was trying to say in much gooder words

Topical, isn't it?

I'm curious what folks in here (especially Marxists) think of Sartre. Are there any critical responses to his work worth reading?

I'm reading the introduction, and this comic is pretty accurate. One paragraph is compelling and then the next is the most virulent racism you could possibly write. Some of his conclusions seem to be ignorant of the very thing he just wrote as he is completely blinded by the superiority of Germans or some shit.

Big energy

Fucking frog thinks he can tell me what to think.

It's in good fun. I love you all.

Most of you. I love most of you.