Category Archives: philosophy
Reflections on Hegel (and Marx)
In Hegel and Revolution, the authors Terry Sullivan and Donny Gluckstein focus on the aspects of Hegel’s thought which are likely to be of most interest and use to marxists, and this is understandable given that they are marxists writing … Continue reading
Reflections on Sartre
In my early 20’s, I kinda lived for a while in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. It had a mystique – heavyweight and continental – but also seemed like it could plug a gap; I’d become left-wing and was adapting to … Continue reading
Mind and Brain
[Under construction] Is the mind the brain? Does the brain “do” the mind? My answer is a qualified yes. But presently neither I, nor anyone else, knows how. We do not as yet have a grand theory, but we have … Continue reading
Bridges
“Perhaps it would not satisfy completely, and that is what the esteemed author would have for all the diligence employed, whereas with a promise he could easily benefit himself and others even more than if he had written a prodigy of a system.” … Continue reading
Complexity
Could “Complexity Theory” be an oxymoron? Melanie Mitchell in her book “Complexity: A Guided Tour” talks of “the sciences of complexity”, and this might indicate a lack of integration to the field. Indeed, John Bragin in a review of the … Continue reading
Maximization
__________________________________________________________ “A poetic text is ‘semantically saturated’, condensing more ‘information’ than any other discourse; but whereas for modern communication theory in general an increase in ‘information’ leads to a decrease in ‘communication’ (since I cannot ‘take in’ all that you … Continue reading
The Mind Ouroboros
Frames The concept of frames can be traced back, at least, to Kant, who believed that the mind necessarily utilizes Schemas or Schemata. His basic insight was that we understand the world through an internal framework; incoming sensory data, “raw … Continue reading
Koestler Reloaded
“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Arthur Koestler I’ve had an interest in Koestler’s theories of creativity for many years – as a young man, one of the books … Continue reading
Ontology
Why Ontology? “If we only knew what we know, namely, in the use of certain words and concepts that are so subtle in application, we would be astonished at the treasures contained in our knowledge.” … Continue reading
Relationalism
Under Construction In this section I’m going to deal with something that I call relationalism. It originates from a preoccupation I’ve had for years over how much weight the ontological category of “relations” can be made to carry – … Continue reading
David Ruaune
David Ruaune's Blog 