The hottest Philosophy Substack posts right now

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A short philosophical history

Philosophy bear • 114 implied HN points • 15 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Metaphysics History Narrative Transhumanism Altruism
  1. Morality has evolved over time, influenced by intelligence, language, and culture. It can be seen as both a helpful adaptation and something that just happens without benefit, like men's nipples.
  2. The main conflict in history is between human morality and natural selection. Sometimes they work together, but other times they clash, shaping our progress as a species.
  3. We may have the chance to take control of our future and overcome natural selection through technology and ethics. Once we do this, our moral values could become the guiding force for society.

Welcome to the Memory Palace!

The Memory Palace • 279 implied HN points • 16 Apr 24
📖 Philosophy Memory Cognition Education History Methods
  1. Memory palaces are a cool way to remember things by placing images in a familiar space. This method has been used for a long time in cultures that relied on oral storytelling.
  2. Having a strong memory was once a sign of a smart and educated person. Even today, memory competitions highlight how useful these techniques can be for everyone, not just the elite.
  3. Despite technology helping us remember more, memory is still important. Memory palaces encourage us to think about what information we value and want to keep in our minds.

The Ten Principles of Win-Win

Win-Win • 319 implied HN points • 02 Apr 24
📖 Philosophy Wisdom Ethics Mindset Collaboration
  1. The world has plenty to offer, so thinking there's not enough can hold you back. Focus on abundance and opportunities instead of scarcity.
  2. Life is always changing, so it's important to be flexible and adaptable. Sticking to rigid ideas can make it hard to enjoy the journey.
  3. Working together can create win-win situations. Instead of just looking out for yourself, think about how you can benefit others too.

Immanuel Kant — Beauty

Ralph Ammer • 569 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Beauty Truth Knowledge
  1. Beauty leads us to truth and goodness according to Immanuel Kant.
  2. Our perceptions are structured by concepts inside our mind, creating our understanding of the world.
  3. Beauty is a relief from rational thinking, allowing us to enjoy the playful dance of our mind with the world.
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Interpretability of theories

Infinitely More • 17 implied HN points • 11 Jan 25
📖 Philosophy Logic Theory Interpretation Models Semantics
  1. You can understand one theory by interpreting it through another theory. This means translating ideas from one set of concepts to another.
  2. Interpreting theories involves a consistent method to show how one theory fits within the framework of another. It connects the ideas and structures from both.
  3. The host theory provides a detailed explanation of how the interpreted theory operates, using only its own language and concepts. This helps clarify the relationships between different theories.

You live in a world that philosophy built

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 3283 implied HN points • 18 Mar 23
📖 Philosophy Science Society History Knowledge Ethics
  1. The Catholic Church venerated Aristotle and opposed Galileo because they trusted ancient philosophy over new scientific ideas.
  2. Living in a world where science evolves, we give more weight to current evidence than ancient texts or philosophers.
  3. Lessons from history remind us of the importance of valuing empirical evidence over established theories.

The aim of maximising happiness is doomed to fail as a public policy

Optimally Irrational • 79 implied HN points • 27 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Utilitarianism Happiness Public Policy Ethics Cognitive Science
  1. Aiming to make everyone happy through public policy might not work. Happiness is not a simple thing that can just be increased.
  2. People adapt to their situations quickly, which means that any increase in happiness usually fades back to a normal level. This makes it hard to keep happiness growing over time.
  3. Happiness is often more about feeling good in the moment than about long-term goals. People might even choose challenging paths because they bring deeper satisfaction, rather than just chasing fleeting feelings of joy.

You’re Wasting Your Life

antoniomelonio • 126 implied HN points • 09 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Absurdism Humanism Self-reflection Life choices
  1. Life is short, and every day spent in a job that feels meaningless brings us closer to the end. We should value our time and seek out what truly matters to us.
  2. We have the potential to explore and create amazing things, but often find ourselves stuck in mundane tasks. It's important to remember that we can break free from this cycle and pursue our passions.
  3. Living a fulfilling life means making conscious choices, even in small ways. Instead of just existing, we should strive to truly live, embrace our creativity, and rebel against the ordinary.

Managed decline

Logging the World • 418 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Narrative Luck Life lessons Career
  1. Spurious precision in quantifying data can lead to misleading conclusions. It's important to question the validity and relevance of highly specific measurements.
  2. Success in fields like sports, work, or academia is influenced by luck and chance. It's crucial to acknowledge these factors in evaluating performance and outcomes.
  3. Random events play a significant role in everyone's career. It's essential to maintain perspective during both highs and lows, understanding the impact of chance in long-term success.

Darwin the Cynic

Everything Is Bullshit • 904 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Human nature Idealism Morality Ethics
  1. Being a Darwinian cynic means believing people are motivated by self-interest, family-interest, and group-interest.
  2. Darwinian cynicism challenges the idea of pure altruism, suggesting that human actions are ultimately selfish, nepotistic, or groupish.
  3. Moral progress and idealism are seen as accidental byproducts rather than deliberate desires in the lens of Darwinian cynicism.

What is the goal of anarchism?

The Novelleist • 347 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Anarchism Political theory Society Governance Conflict resolution
  1. Anarchism promotes the idea of living peacefully in small, self-governing communities. It believes people can manage their own lives without a large government.
  2. History shows that small communities often face threats from larger groups. To be safe, these small groups sometimes need to band together or rely on bigger organizations for protection.
  3. One way to achieve a peaceful, self-governing life may be to work within existing societies. By forming small communities where people can live as they want, we might promote harmony while still having some protection from the outside.

Boom: The Gospel of Progress

Kvetch • 69 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Metaphysics Ethics Spirituality
  1. The authors argue that progress comes from a strong vision for the future and the drive to achieve it. They believe that breakthroughs in science and technology can only happen if people unite behind bold ideas.
  2. They emphasize that greatness is often the result of singular efforts and conflicts rather than widespread consensus. Historical achievements like the moon landing were fueled by the passionate resolve of a few individuals.
  3. The text warns against complacency and believing that stagnation is inevitable. It encourages readers to challenge this notion and aim for transformative change instead.

On Techno-pragmatism

ailogblog • 579 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Pragmatism Technology Ethics Social Change
  1. Techno-pragmatism offers a balanced approach to technology, acknowledging both its potential and risks.
  2. Pragmatism emphasizes action and adequacy, rejecting fixed principles and absolutes.
  3. In the face of uncertainty with emergent technologies like AI, a pragmatic mindset that prioritizes observation and experimentation is crucial.

Opinions Are Bullshit

Everything Is Bullshit • 707 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
📖 Philosophy Social norms
  1. Opinions are not facts, preferences, or beliefs, but a strategic game of social norms.
  2. Expressing opinions is about trying to appear superior without admitting it openly.
  3. Opinions involve covert judgments and externalizing preferences to win the 'opinion game'.

Diversity and the nation

Archedelia • 904 implied HN points • 19 Aug 23
📖 Philosophy Identity Nationalism Democracy Representation Politics
  1. Part One of the series discussed the relationship between political representation, statistical representation, and visual representations of under-represented groups.
  2. Diversity as an ideal impacts the imaginative basis of democracy and social survey research forms imagined communities rivaling the national community.
  3. The birth of the modern nation-state emphasized a uniform 'national' consciousness for self-government and the formation of an 'imagined community' based on common identity.

Dealing with insults, the Stoic way

Figs in Winter: New Stoicism and beyond • 884 implied HN points • 05 May 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Stoicism Social justice Self-Control Humanity
  1. Stoics advise ignoring insults to maintain emotional calm and focus on facts rather than opinions.
  2. Debates in Stoic circles about insults involve balancing personal response with addressing social injustices.
  3. Important to distinguish between advising Stoics and non-Stoics, as well as between personal behavior and social action in Stoicism.

Elephant Riding

Polymathic Being • 104 implied HN points • 10 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Logic Cognition Emotion Human behavior
  1. We balance emotions and reason like an elephant and a rider. The elephant represents our feelings, which often drive our decisions more than we think.
  2. Relying only on logic can lead to problems. Emotions help us make decisions, and without them, we might struggle with even simple choices.
  3. To make better decisions, we should understand our emotions and how they influence us. This means taking time to think things through and checking if our feelings align with reality.

The Flip, The Formation, and The Fun

The Joyous Struggle • 691 implied HN points • 23 Nov 23
📖 Philosophy Metaphysics Ethics Politics Education Culture
  1. The flip involves changing our understanding of reality to see consciousness and value as primary, leading to a sacred view of the world.
  2. The formation requires a shift from utilitarianism to virtue ethics, focusing on shaping desires towards higher purposes and societal good.
  3. The fun pertains to a shift in societal goals from growth to intrinsic ends like spiritual and creative fulfillment, aiming for an attractive and galvanizing future.

Peter Singer, Palestine, and the Professional Perils of Philosophy (UNLOCKED)

Philosophy for the People w/Ben Burgis • 818 implied HN points • 22 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Political Philosophy Utilitarianism Power Dynamics
  1. Approaching current events with only moral intuitions and mainstream opinions can lead to misguided analysis.
  2. Philosophical training in argument analysis needs to be supplemented with a robust understanding of the real world dynamics of power and violence for accurate interpretation.
  3. Relying solely on moral intuitions and mainstream sources for analysis of complex issues like conflict in Palestine can lead to embarrassing misunderstandings and oversimplifications.

The Bit In The Middle

Investment Talk • 864 implied HN points • 08 Mar 23
📖 Philosophy Purpose Desire Perspective
  1. We all seek purpose and happiness to feel fulfilled and have direction in life.
  2. Our desires are heavily influenced by imitation from others, leading to a cycle of reinforcing desires.
  3. Achieving material desires can lead to a never-ending cycle of wanting more, but it's important to appreciate the present and not lose sight of what truly matters.

Am I an anarchist?

The Novelleist • 304 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Political theory Anarchism Social theory Governance
  1. Small communities can self-govern effectively, but larger groups may need some form of governance to ensure good behavior among members. This raises questions about whether a decentralized system still counts as anarchist.
  2. People want similar goals across different ideologies, like a more equitable and environmentally conscious society. The focus should be on improving our current systems rather than starting from scratch.
  3. Open borders could change the dynamics of power between countries. If people can easily leave bad governments, those governments might be less likely to wage war or act poorly to keep their citizens.

Writing Is a Bad Habit

Justin E. H. Smith's Hinternet • 915 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Writing Literature Philosophy Culture Education
  1. The author believes writing is not a lifestyle to be celebrated, but rather a bad habit.
  2. They express frustration with the cultural recursion and excessive focus on writing within platforms like Substack.
  3. The author emphasizes the importance of conveying a unique sensibility through writing rather than focusing on writing rituals and advice.

Does The Past Exist?

Castalia • 579 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
📖 Philosophy Existence Literature History Critique Rationalism Aesthetics
  1. Some people believe that the past doesn't matter as much because they think progress leads to better results today. They argue that everything improves over time, like athletes breaking records.
  2. However, the author argues that past achievements in areas like literature and chess have their own unique value and should not be dismissed. The past has lessons and beauty that are still relevant today.
  3. It's important to respect the past and recognize its significance. It shouldn't just be seen as a stepping stone for the present.