Comments on: Abandoning Philosophy for the Hard Work of Being a Continuing Machine

By: puredoxyk

puredoxyk — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:27:58 +0000

Hi, Laura! That’s an interesting idea…I’m not sure my papers are “more controversial” than my posts, since formal analysis does a lot to tie your tongue (you *can* talk about the meaning of life, but it’ll take you 1,000 pages just to define your terms so you can get started!) — and western academic philosophy is the exact opposite of fun to read (even when I write it, and get in trouble constantly for trying to make it more fun to read…though I can recommend famous philosophers who *are* really fun to read, mostly because they buck the approved system of being not-fun-to-read in some way).

Anyway, I’ll think about it. Mayhap someone would care about what I thought of somatic aesthetics, or my take on the problem of identity…though I’d hate to risk my reputation as a decent writer…! ;)

Thanks!

By: laura

laura — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:44:06 +0000

Could you post some of your philosophy papers on your blog? I really enjoy your posts and I would like to read something more controversial.
This phrase made me really curious My aptitude with written English combined with my natural fearlessness about scary questions and the consequences of their answers
you're really cool, you know?

By: puredoxyk

puredoxyk — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:43:08 +0000

Well wow, thank you for the compliment! Sometimes I wish being me could feel as easy as the support I get from others makes it seem like it should. I’m gifted with a lot of awesome people who seem to think very highly of me, and that makes me look at my massive list of deficiencies and uncertainties and think, “Why is all that here? Why can’t I just spread the wings people make me feel like I must have, and fly away?”

But then I think of all the people *I* think are so awesome, and they struggle too. Maybe we ought to all take each others’ words for it, that we’re awesome and we’ll always kick ass if we just bring our natural talents.

By: puredoxyk

puredoxyk — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:37:57 +0000

Hehe, HELL YES Michael…that particular feeling is highly centering and important to me too. I honestly think well-targeted humor (which can’t afford to pull punches, IMO) may be one of the greatest psychological hacks we own.

Yup, I’m a SF nut, always have been. It’s probably how I deal with the harsh realities of being obsessed with physics and utterly craptastic at any mental computation that uses symbols. (Seriously, I can barely add digits in my head. My brain likes WORDS, dammit. ;) I certainly, on a regular basis, get accused of writing philosophical SF, so let’s hope that’s a good thing! I’ve read some truly awful stuff on that angle. But I’m finally writing stuff I’m not ashamed of, so it’s time to get to letting people read it, I guess!

By: Leonardo

Leonardo — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:12:09 +0000

Exactly what you concluded: be yourself.
It doesn’t matter what you cast yourself as; writer, professional philosopher, martial artist. Whatever you end up doing, you’ll bring in your wonderful essence of sharp intuition and fluid eloquence, and you’ll kick ass.
So continue to kick ass :)

By: Michael Turner

Michael Turner — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:36 +0000

You want to write SF? Cool. Especially if it’s philosophical SF, since all the best SF is philosophical.

There are a few philosophical aspects to what I want to be a Continuing Machine about, but when I find myself responding rather too much to the siren song of WannaBe in that field, this

http://xkcd.com/114/

is what helps me reinhabit this body to which I’ve been so mysteriously assigned.