One of my first websites was a collection of stories from around what was then the much-smaller World Wide Web. Some of my favorites were by future Perl guru and Dischordian Mark Jason Dominus. I’m[…]
Category: Philosophy
8 Bit Trump
Checking in with our pals at Wisecrack’s 8 Bit Philosophy brings us this gem of a video, critiquing Donald Trump through the lens of French critical theory and Greek philosophy, as presented through the aesthetic[…]
Muppet Philosophy
We’re taking a break from Star Wars this week to link to a very different venerable popular culture franchise (also owned by Disney!), the Muppets. Similar to an entry from the popular-culture-philosophy series by Blackwell[…]
Philosophers Epic Rap Battle
It’s a visit to the lighter side of philosophy in popular culture this week with a look at the recent “Epic Rap Battle” production “Eastern Philosophers versus Western Philosophers.” The popular YouTube franchise ERB built[…]
The Aesthetics of Football
In honor of the OSU Buckeyes’ continued dominance, please enjoy my recent essay from Partially Examined Life. Whole volumes could be written, whole volumes have been written, about the ethics of American college football, a[…]
Jedi Philosophy
For many people, the main appeal of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” movies is the “Jedi Way,” the philosophy/religion that guides the mystical Jedi knights. But where does this philosophy come from, and does it hold up under scrutiny?
God of the Gaps
The “God of the Gaps” argument –that God is the explanation for all the things we don’t (yet) understand –is more popular among atheists than believers, because of its apparent weaknesses. Yet is it as[…]
The Mind of Murakami
As some of you know, I’m a huge, long-time fan of Japanese surrealist novelist Haruki Murakami, even having written a well-known parody of his work. Check out my review of his latest over at Partially[…]
Kierkegaard’s Narrative
"Kierkegaard's Narrative" is an existential humanist plot outline named after the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In general, it runs as follows: An aimless young man drifts through life, obsessed with aesthetics, and seeking sexual fulfillment with a series of women, yet never making substantive choices or real commitments. The climax of the story is the protagonist's decision to commit to a single woman, and to enter into marriage.
The raw source material for this plotline is found in Kierkegaard's books "Either/Or," "Fear and Trembling," and "Repetition," in which he takes on the persona of various first-person narrators, and describes their experiences.
Reconstructivist Art: 1/0
Part of the Reconstructivist Art series: When Tailsteak’s webcomic 1/0 premiered in 2000, it was part of a brand-new boom in web-based daily comic strip production by a host of amateur auteurs, most with more[…]