From multiple sources and stimuli this week, a penny has dropped… as Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said one of the biggest things we fear is fear itself; There’s a name and a proper medical definition for it: phobophobia. But there’s also a bit of chicken and egg about all this: which comes first – the … Continue reading The fear of fear itself
Search Results for: Descartes
There’s a strange paradox about consciousness. On the one hand we tend to believe that it’s a completely private space; so I can never somehow get access to your consciousness and you can never get access to mine. On the other hand it’s the only part of our mental life that we can actually talk … Continue reading On the shoulder
I’ve just bought La Rochefoucauld’s ‘Maxims’ on Kindle. What does Wikipedia have to say about maxims: A maxim is a ground rule or subjective principle of action; in that sense, a maxim is a thought that can motivate individuals. It is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy as: “Generally any simple and memorable rule … Continue reading Maxims
Blame René Descartes. Mind separated from body – dualism – was his big idea. “I think therefore I am” is probably a fair bet, but Thomas Aquinas got the whole story – we are but one; body and mind entwined. If in doubt, check out the limbic system or the brain of a crocodile – … Continue reading Embodied
I think therefore I am – ‘the cogito’ – is Descartes most famous contribution to philosophy. I might doubt everything else; that I am thinking is a certainty. But thinking – and doing something about it – requires a comparative absence of distraction and ideally a modicum of comfort. And that’s where design comes in. … Continue reading Cogito ergonomics sum
Achilles & Aristotle 