“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
–Alfred North Whitehead
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On the Nature of Spirit: Masculinity, Femininity, and Human Identity
The philosopher Gregory Bateson has written that the “false reification of the self is basic to the planetary ecological crisis in which we find ourselves.” The rise of Western civilization, whether intentionally or not, has fostered the development of a false identity. Many have come to experience themselves as an abstraction, a disembodied ego whose Read more
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CIIS: Impressions
Crisis. Disintegration. Rebirth. What will be born? What are we experimenting for, what problems do we need to solve? Maybe we need to start asking new questions. The old questions have lead us in circles, torn the earth to shreads. How to live together? That might be a start. Read more
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Information and Noise: From Order Comes Chaos
“Pollution, like a neurotic symptom, is a form of communication. To ignore the symptom, to thrust it to the side of awareness and push it back into the collective unconscious, is to perform the same action that created the pollution, the dissonance, the neurotic symptom, in the first place. The end result of ignoring the Read more
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The End of Space is the Beginning of Time
The year is 2007, and even to say so is to deface nature. Of all Man’s stolen goods, is not time itself the tool that not even the divine dare use? History is written by men; God merely watches the show from far beyond. The ticks of Earthly time cannot be heard from eternity. To Read more
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Enactivism, Integral Theory, and 21st Century Spirituality
The following is lifted from my old blog at Gaia.com, which has since shut down. Sorry of some hypertext doesn’t work! I first want to thank everyone for participating in this symposium. The intersection of integral spirituality and enactive cognitive science is, for whatever reason, one of my passions, and I couldn’t be more excited Read more
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World Made by Hand
Prophesying the coming apocalypse has become something of an American pastime, so excuse me while I endulge in a bit of wild speculation. There is talk, and not just among conspiracy theorists, that peak oil has already been reached. I’m no expert in statistics, so I have to take other people’s word for it. So Read more
“In one sense philosophy does nothing. It merely satisfies the entirely impractical craving to probe and adjust ideas which have been found adequate each in its special sphere of use. In the same way the ocean tides do nothing. Twice daily they beat upon the cliffs of continents and then retire. But have patience and look deeper; and you find that in the end whole continents of thought have been submerged by philosophic tides, and have been rebuilt in the depths awaiting emergence. The fate of humanity depends upon the ultimate continental faith by which it shapes its action, and this faith is in the end shaped by philosophy.”
—Alfred North Whitehead
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© 2006-2024 Matthew David Segall
Footnotes2Plato 