earthquake of perspective - A Tippling Philosopher

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earthquake of perspective

A collection of 9 posts

earthquake of perspective

Building our own meaning and purpose

The age-old problem of deciphering the meaning of life never gets old as a philosophical project. The word "decipher" here is the wrong word to use from a humanist's point of view, of course. It is not that meaning is hidden in the fabric of the

Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon in 'House of the Dragon.' Courtesy HBO

earthquake of perspective

Why a Black Targaryen makes more sense than a white Jesus

If your orbit includes Amazon Prime, HBO, and social media, you may well be aware of a whole lot of fuss being kicked up in terms of casting decisions. It has come to the horror of many fantasy fiction literalists that recent TV prequels to The Lord of the Rings

AI generated image of "aliens in front of a strange cross, detailed" (Midjourney)

The saved and the damned of Proxima Centauri B

As a child, I delighted in books of the unexplained—ghosts and UFOs, Mary Celestes and Bermuda Triangles, abominable snowmen and cursed mummies. As a grown-up skeptic, many of these inexplicable phenomena have long been explained, or competently assigned diminishing probabilities. Ghosts almost certainly don’t hang around graveyards. Yetis?

via Shutterstock

The origins of circumcision: Was it a mark of slavery?

Nothing says religious belief better than disfiguring your own genitalia. Or better still, someone else's. But, seriously, why? From a philosophical point of view, and considering OmniGod (all-powerful, -knowing, and-loving) who designed and created everything, the procedure of circumcision, the removal of the foreskin from the penis, is

deep dive audio

What's the point of education?

No, really, what is the point? I ask this in light of recent UK government potential demands on universities that they are putting out to consultation. Known as "public comment" in the U.S., this is where the government seeks input from the public and stakeholders concerning a

deep dive audio

What the heck do rabbit hutches have to do with size and danger of the universe?

So what the devil do rabbit hutches have to do with philosophical arguments against the existence of God, I hear you ask... Well, let me explain how these little houses built for pet rabbits may shed some unexpected light on whether an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving god exists. But, before we

earthquake of perspective

Understanding eternity (Hint: It's a very long time)

OnlySky · Understanding eternity (Hint: It’s a very long time) Whether you are a heaven-and-hell-believing evangelical or a Christian universalist (where everyone gets saved), you'll have some kind of belief in a transcendent soul living in some situation for eternity. But eternity is a very long time. Problematically

earthquake of perspective

Putin meant to destroy Ukraine's identity. Instead, he's massively enhanced it

Though it's hard to know all of Vladimir Putin's intentions in the invasion of Ukraine, one thing is for sure: he intended to destroy Ukraine's independent identity as he subsumed the sovereign nation into a rose-tinted reformulation of the Soviet Union. But of the

earthquake of perspective

An ethical maze: Designing babies for a greater good?

Listen to this article, read by the author “At ten months old, we were told he would need a heart transplant. There was no cure for his condition, so we would have to go to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital at some point. If they had a bed. And