Why People Hate YA Novels
There are some things you don't like. And there are some things you don't like because you don't like the people who like them. Which reason accounts for the way people feel about Young Adult Literature?
The Pragmatic Case Middle Reality: Replies and Objections 1
"We ought to take middle reality as realest because it is what our senses lead us to focus on." But don't they reveal generalities first?
The Pragmatic Case for Middle Reality: Replies and Objections 2
Last time, I argued that intellectual and perceptual maturity attunes us to middle reality -- if we judge the middle in terms of parts and wholes. The better we see and understand things, the more we realize that reality is in the middle. If, however, we judge the middle according to originals and copies, we do become better at seeing [...]
The Pragmatic Case for Middle Reality
You'd expect organisms that survive to be attuned to reality, and most attuned to what is most real. We're attuned to things that are on the middle level of reality. So . . .
Aside: Two Ways of Being in the Middle
When I say reality is realest in the middle, what do I mean? Well, let me explain. No, please let me explain. This is so important to me. Pleeeeease
The Aristotelian Case for Middle Reality
Imitating Aristotle leads us to conclude that reality is in the middle. And we should imitate Aristotle. Down with reductionism and its opposite!
Can Things Be Realest at Different Levels?
Idea: Reductionism is incompatible with one form of generalism, but not the other. Reductionists believe reality is at the bottom. You don't really exist. You are just your parts, behaving and interacting in the various ways they do. In contrast, generalists think reality is at the top. But there are two versions of this belief. One version says wholes are primary. [...]
The Most Original Is the Most Real
Idea: There are good reasons for believing that the more original a thing is, the realer it is. Let's call reality-is-at-the-top-ism in general, "generalism." The type of generalism we examined last time is what I called "unificationism." But there's another version. "Originalism" will be my name for the idea that a thing derives its reality from its [...]
The Largest Things Are the Realest
There's a mix of reasons for believing that larger, more inclusive things are realer. Some of them seem perfectly reasonable. Others are questionable.
An Historical Account of the Origins of Pumpkintide
Starting October 1st, it is officially Pumpkintide. But what is Pumpkintide? Where did it come from? What is it's purpose?
What Makes a Good Melody? (Part 1)
"A Good Melody Needs Cohesion and Concealment" A good melody needs three pairs of properties. The first is cohesion and concealment. Without one, it falls apart. Without the other, it loses mystery. Read More The Top 40 Philosophy Blog
The Smallest Things Are the Realest
Idea: There are four good reasons for being a reductionist. At the cellular, molecular, or quantum level, you don't exist. But it's those lower levels of reality that are most real. The higher levels are just manifestations of their parts -- of how things at the lower levels behave and interact. This theory is called "reductionism." Reductionism's Theme Song Why believe [...]
How Melodies Are Like Trees
Today's Top 40 Philosophy blog post continues the series exploring what makes a good song: "Melodies Are Growing Trees" Head on over and check it out. Or start here for the beginning of the series.
Does Reality Have Different Levels?
It does, and everyone (from Plato and Aristotle to you) agrees. In this post, we explore the various ways of dividing reality into different levels.
Christian Existentialism and a Series on Music
Today, my article, "Is Christian Existentialism Unbiblical?," is going live on Conciliar Post. In addition to posting here and writing for Conciliar Post, I host the Top 40 Philosophy podcast and write the Top 40 Philosophy blog. Check out my series there, comparing contemporary Christian music (CCM) with mainstream pop. "Why Is Christian Music So Bad?" "The Lyrics Make [...]
Where Is Reality?
There is a huge fight going on about where reality is, and no one realizes it. Except me. And tons of other people. Option 1: Reality is at the bottom Many people think only the smallest things are really real. If they're physicists, they're particle physicists. If they're biologists, they're molecular biologists. They think everything else -- human actions, human [...]
Maggie Stiefvater Is a Genius
I just finished listening to The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater, and have decided I should tell you about it. Like C. S. Lewis, I love literature that is ostensibly for youngsters. Unlike C. S. Lewise, I listen to audiobooks constantly. I'm listening to one right now, while I'm typing this. (Or am I?) So, [...]
Now Is a Good Time to Imagine
Idea: Make-believe is a worthy use of imagination (unlike worry). Last time, I offered what I think is one good reason for "shutting down imagination" about the future. But Kendall Walton's book Mimesis as Make-Believe has shown me how much imagination in the present -- imagination about things that you are seeing and hearing now -- [...]
Why Not to Worry
Idea: Worrying is trying to control the future (which is impossible). Last time, I talked about a helpful technique for shutting down worry. But it works by shutting down imagination. And to do that, we need a really good reason.1 I used to think I worried–I imaginatively rehearsed distressing future situations–because I was “trying to be prepared.” Worry [...]
How to Stop Worrying
Idea: The core of worry is imagining yourself outside the present. I’ve been obsessed with the topic of imagination recently. This is partly because I realized that imagination is central to worry. You imagine something happening to you (or involving you) in the future, and feel distressed about it. I don’t know how to not feel distressed [...]