How does one become ‘the colonised’? Not in terms of a historical fact or political status, although they are certainly important elements, but in terms of an experience. If we think of being ‘the colonised’ as a way of experiencing one’s life, how does one become it? In his book, “Black Skin, White Masks”, Frantz Fanon explores …
Tag: self-knowledge
Philosophical Quote About Our Self-Understanding
"We always find ourselves within a situation, and throwing light on it is a task that is never entirely finished. This is also true of the hermeneutic situation—i.e., the situation in which we find ourselves with regard to the tradition that we are trying to understand. The illumination of this situation—reflection on effective history—can never …
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Spreading the Word: Inspirational Quotes
What did existentialist philosopher Kierkegaard think about discovering ourselves? Collection of inspiring quotes.
Who Am I? Poets Answer
Is there a question more perplexing than "who am I"? I am as close to myself as anyone could ever hope to get. The most intimate relationship, perfect unity and identity is "I". I am I. I = I. And yet, who is that "I" on either side of the equation? Who is behind the …
Are Stand-Up Comedians Street Philosophers?
This question came up in one podcast where a couple of stand-up comedians join forces with a philosopher to discuss various topics. The idea was to determine whether a comic can be considered a philosopher who draws public attention to seemingly obvious everyday experiences (hence, the street epithet) and challenges our common assumptions in an easy-to-understand sort …
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Spreading the Word: Why Do We Self-Sabotage?
The value of self-knowledge lies partly in our ability to consciously understand ourselves and then develop more integrated personalities. The opposite of this implies having elements that are somehow disconnected from what we identify with when we think of 'who we are'. These elements are in our blindspots, obscured from our self-knowledge. If so, internal …
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Don’t Discard Your Ideas
One of the practical things I have learned during my philosophy studies is that it is wise not to judge your ideas immediately when they come to you. There is a real risk of creating a habit of suppressing your creative thought. Our minds are adaptive and learn to respond to the environment. So, if …
Musings on the Ends Justifying the Means
Photo by Bradyn Trollip on Unsplash The controversial idea that the end justifies the means is well known. Many would claim they do not agree, some might say that it's the only way how to get anything done, others prefer the middle way. Yet, it is during times of crisis that our purported convictions are …
Story of the Tea Bag and Us
The tea bag has a curious story. The typical tea bag of today is an invention of the 20th century. It became popular towards the second half of the last century. Before that, all tea that was consumed in the world was loose-leaf. How very different the tea-drinking experience used to be. It required more …
Is Transhumanism Very Human?
"Transhumanism, social and philosophical movement devoted to promoting the research and development of robust human-enhancement technologies. Such technologies would augment or increase human sensory reception, emotive ability, or cognitive capacity as well as radically improve human health and extend human life spans. Such modifications resulting from the addition of biological or physical technologies would be …
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