Philosophy Wire: Villains…

People may find fictional villains surprisingly likeable when they share similarities with the viewer or reader. [1] Look at the darkness. You are afraid. Not because you see nothing there. But because you do. Not because there is nothing in the dark looking right back at you. But because it is you staring from the shadows. And for some reason, that frightens you not…

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Philosophy Wire: Stacking rocks. Dangerous! Dangerous?!?

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2023-01-23]: An article stating the dangers of stacking rocks to take photos, because the environment is disturbed and some species could be endangered by such actions. [1] We used to be part of the cosmos. And even if we killed an animal, the cosmos kept moving grateful to our contribution. Now we are afraid to move a rock because we might disturb nature. We have become afraid of nature while nature was afraid of us. We have become its slaves while we used to be its masters. Not because we controlled it. But because we used to let it control us.

Stack the rocks in perfect piles.
Watch them balance.
Only because you have no balance at all…

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Philosophy Wire: Fear. Lack of fear. Shaping opinions.

A group of scientists managed to change the opinions of people to more liberal ones by simply removing the element of fear from them (by making them think they are… superhumans). Another experiment in the past showed that the existence of increased sensitivity to fear makes people more conservative. [1] People mistake the existence of fear as a disadvantage. But this is only because they have the wrong definition of fear in their mind. God-fearing people are not stupid people just afraid of the wrath of God. Fear is a result of a deeper a priori knowledge too important to ignore, even though you want to. Those who fear not, are usually people who are arrogant enough to believe they are gods themselves – able to do anything they wish without any consequences whatsoever. On the other hand, people who sense fear and respect that emotion are more in sync with the universe and its cold logic: Do harm and the cosmos will return the favor. Do evil and you will turn evil. Go to the darkness and the darkness will consume you. And the universe is a cold and dark place. Not fearing that is simply ignorance or – worse – arrogance. There is no wisdom in lack of fear. Only childish stubbornness. Yes, we are afraid of the darkness. And it takes a lot of courage to try to follow the light…

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Philosophy Wire: All-knowing gods. Humans. Civilization.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-05-18]: Beliefs in all-knowing gods that punish wrongdoers helped enable the rise of modern civilizations, a new cross-cultural study suggests. [1] Fear has always made people come together. But fear not of a punisher. But of a God who loves. That is the greatest fear of all humans: that they might not be worthy of such love.

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Philosophy Wire: Flies. Cats. Fear. Dreams.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-06-21]: Do fruit flies feel fear? [1] Do cats dream? [2] How can we know when we are not flies and cats? How can you know something when you do not know it? Hypocrites. Arrogant little people. You believe that you are better than flies. And the cats are laughing at you...

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Philosophy Wire: Sharks, vending machines, hot dogs, wrong perceptions...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-02-08]: Sharks sending tweets via a transmitter every time they get close to the beach. [1] Despite the fact that sharks kill only 5 people a year - a number way below obesity, lightnings, hippos, shopping, bathtubs, stalactites, hot dogs, ants or automatic vending machines in the list of possible causes of death [2] - but we like to cultivate our fear for them.

After all, it would be really hard to have every hot dog you eat to send tweets wouldn't it? Damn you Spielberg!

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Philosophy Wire: Overcome your fears... Awake!

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-10-19]: Overcome your fears by facing them. In your sleep. [1] Great! But... wait a minute! Why not while awake?

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Philosophy Wire: Phobocracy

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-02-09]: A Muslim U.S. Air Force veteran, who had trouble entering the country last year to visit his ailing mother, was barred Wednesday from boarding a flight in Oklahoma City to return to his home in Qatar. [source: Yahoo! News] This is the new face of “democracy”. It is called “phobocracy”…

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