Tag: philosophy

Shepherd Book: Gadfly of Serenity

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I’ve had a lot of projects going on the past few months, so I haven’t had the time to write new posts. This weekend I am going to Indianapolis to the MPCA/ACA (Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association) to present a paper on the influence of Socrates and Kierkegaard in the Firefly character, Shepherd Book. I just uploaded the final manuscript to my portfolio, here.  So while it is a bit more academic than my usual posts, it will perhaps make up for my absence here recently!

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Chilling in Houston

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I made it to Houston on Saturday with surprising smoothness. My last travel escapade involved staying overnight at the Houston airport, so this trip was a very pleasant contrast! I spent most of my time on the bus and plane alternating between  American Gods by Neil Gaiman and some books for Mises U this summer. I completed Liberty and Property by Mises and Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard. Also made it about half-way through Economic Science and the Austrian Method by Hoppe. He’s so incredibly good! I just love reading that book! The part where he demonstrates that logical positivism is self-refuting is like watching the…

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The Problem of Property

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There’s been a lot of controversy about the Bundy Ranch situation, and like basically every other high-profile news event, there’s an awful lot of hype associated with it. I’ve been following the story, but I haven’t dug into all the details. However, this article from the Mises Institute is a thought-provoking exploration of property rights in the West. While the 19th century “Wild West” was in some ways an excellent example of anarcho-capitalism, this freedom was eventually overshadowed by the federal government’s intrusion into the West and its claim on much of the land. Just as one could point to the…

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I Could Be Bounded in a Nutshell

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I recently finished an online course by Futurelearn.com about Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. I wanted to share some reflections on what I learned and what I found most interesting about the course. Although I had read Hamlet a few times prior to this course, I confess that I never really “got” the point. I didn’t see why Hamlet was so upset about his father’s death, and the whole thing just didn’t make sense. But this course helped me understand what it is all about. Hamlet isn’t just about a prince avenging his father’s murder…it is about a young man grappling with the fundamental questions of our existence….

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Let There Be Light!

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I’ve been experiencing a gambit of emotions during this chemistry class. From, “this is so challenging and fun!” to “I can’t believe I signed myself up for this??” to “okay, if I work really hard I can figure this out,” to finally this week something between wild elation and overwhelming trepidation. Haha, who know a chemistry could incite so many feelings? Anyways…the class this week is introducing the concept of quantum physics and the atomic nature of light! Has anyone wondered, “what exactly is light?” This has been a familiar topic of thought for me, although I think my favorite…

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Reflections on the Debate

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To preface this, I enjoyed live blogging the debate last night! Here’s my live blog post if you want to look at it. It was so much fun that I’m looking for another event to live blog, so let me know if you have any suggestions! In hindsight, I think it would have been helpful to give more details as to what was actually happening, to better contextualize the statements. But it was a good first attempt! What the live blogging did for me was capture my thoughts as I had them, so today I can just run through my comments…

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What I Learned Last Week

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It’s a bit awkward when you sit down to write a blog post about everything you learned last week and your mind goes completely blank. I know that I didn’t do much besides studying, but I don’t remember a thing, haha. At that point I pull out my trusty binder and refer to the prodigious notes created last week. And now I remember one thing: I got a 100% on my chemistry exam! That literally stunned me. I am not strong in science or math, so I’ve thought it impossible for me to do well in a subject like chemistry….

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