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The present is a perpetual question, and the place judgement has in perception
What questions underlie our experience of the present?
- The present is experienced as a “constant question” – we filter our perceptions through implicit questions we direct at our surroundings.
- We can intentionally choose different questions to break free from routine perceptions.
- Based on this, there are two modes of perception:
- Judgmental thinking: Assigns emotional valence (positive/negative) to experiences, creating predefined paths of assumptions
- Non-judgmental perception: Observes without emotional charging, allowing for more nuanced awareness
- Both modes serve important functions – the goal is to consciously choose which serves best in a given moment
- Curiosity is the emotion that drives non-judgmental perception – “an opening of the valves of the senses”
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Vegetarianism or apredatorism? An interpretation of what a predator is
A conceptual framework for reframing deeper ethical questions regarding vegetarianism.
- I distinguish two types of predators:
- Evolutionary predators (naturally evolved to prey on the weak)
- Contingent predators (those who choose to "steal hard-won energy" from others)
- There are predators who choose cooperation despite having the ability to prey on others.
- The concept of "hard-won energy" is central - energy that is cultivated or created rather than taken through destruction or theft.
- Technologies are presented as "apredatorist systems" that make predation inefficient by:
- Providing abundance (farming machinery)
- Teaching emotional regulation and cooperation (written methods/procedures)
- "Apredatorism" as a deeper ethical principle than vegetarianism, which is a "branch" from the "trunk" of apredatorist principles.
- I distinguish two types of predators:
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Vowing to live in transparency
An exploration of the concept of personal identity and transparency.
- I distinguish between two fundamental aspects of self:
- The "world within you" (inner world): ideas, opinions, memories, emotions, preferences, and other private elements.
- The "identity" (persona): the gatekeeper through which others must pass to develop an idea of who you are.
- The persona/identity:
- Functions like a mask (from Latin "persona"). It traditionally serves to protect the inner world from potential rejection or harm.
- "Living in transparency" means:
- Creating a more authentic bridge between inner and outer worlds
- I list various metaphors for the idea of “identity” to set off a process of reflection
- I distinguish between two fundamental aspects of self:
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The repetitive politician and their proxy epithets
This essay examines a rhetorical technique used by politicians.
- Politicians often use a specific discursive practice similar to Homeric epithets (like "swift-footed Achilles")
- I describe the concept of "proxy epithets" - terms that combine:
- A concise qualifier attached to a subject.
- A rehearsed explanation that follows each mention.
- These epithets function as cognitive shortcuts. The epithet becomes interchangeable with its explanation.
- Example: the Argentine president calling taxes "coercive" and consistently explaining this means they are "extracted at gunpoint"
- When applied with intellectual honesty, proxy epithets can be an efficient tool for meaningful political communication.