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    Wright's Writing

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    Reflecting on life at 40
    • Jun 6, 2021
    • 20 min

    Reflecting on life at 40

    …They accuse me -- Me -- the present writer of The present poem -- of -- I know not what -- A tendency to under-rate and scoff At human...
    The miraculous brain
    • May 26, 2021
    • 6 min

    The miraculous brain

    [Old notes.] I’m reading Stanislas Dehaene’s Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts (2014). Good book,...
    Journal-notes on cognitive science
    • Sep 6, 2020
    • 19 min

    Journal-notes on cognitive science

    [From 2015.] Reading a bunch of articles on cognitive development. A fascinating field. Interesting: Human infants who receive little...
    I was feeling rather metaphysical last night
    • Sep 4, 2020
    • 2 min

    I was feeling rather metaphysical last night

    David Graeber died. At 59. Tomorrow, you or I might die. At any moment. Meanwhile, we pretend life has meaning. Eventually, we will die....
    The Workers' Bill
    • Sep 4, 2020
    • 35 min

    The Workers' Bill

    Here's the last section of chapter 6 of my dissertation on the unemployed in Chicago during the Depression. The previous two sections are...
    On the Unemployed Councils and the Chicago Workers' Committee
    • Sep 3, 2020
    • 54 min

    On the Unemployed Councils and the Chicago Workers' Committee

    The last chapter of my dissertation on the unemployed in Chicago during the Great Depression is, I think, more interesting than the...
    Biology and destiny
    • Sep 1, 2020
    • 5 min

    Biology and destiny

    [Notes from ten years ago.] I’m amazed at the extent of our culture’s cult of secrecy in matters of the body. Even in this age, people...
    On Wittgenstein and Quine
    • Aug 31, 2020
    • 10 min

    On Wittgenstein and Quine

    Wittgenstein is an odd case. I've always had the impression that his early work, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, is genius—and not...
    The remarkable perversity of idealism
    • Aug 27, 2020
    • 21 min

    The remarkable perversity of idealism

    Many years ago, when I was a simple boy who thought he ought to know a lot about Hegel, I took masses of notes on his philosophy. Below...
    The radical dimensions of mass consciousness, part 2
    • Aug 23, 2020
    • 25 min

    The radical dimensions of mass consciousness, part 2

    Here's the sequel to this post, from the last chapter of my Ph.D. thesis. It's just an excerpt. The main point of it is to argue against...
    The radical dimensions of mass consciousness, part 1
    • Aug 23, 2020
    • 45 min

    The radical dimensions of mass consciousness, part 1

    I'm kind of a "vulgar Marxist." In this respect, I suppose I'm a lot like people in the American ruling class, except that their values...
    The definition of knowledge
    • Aug 22, 2020
    • 23 min

    The definition of knowledge

    Philosophers have a tendency to treat questions that revolve around the meaning of a particular concept as if they are more substantive...
    Fragments on the phenomenology of sexual attraction
    • Aug 12, 2020
    • 4 min

    Fragments on the phenomenology of sexual attraction

    [From 2010.] The psychology of sex is fascinating. For example, why are women sometimes attracted to “innocent” young men, “pure,”...
    The relativity of values
    • Aug 11, 2020
    • 59 min

    The relativity of values

    Back in my twenties I had an intellectual and creative energy I don't have anymore. I was consumed by philosophy, jumping from topic to...
    Detritus from a dead poetic imagination
    • Aug 7, 2020
    • 10 min

    Detritus from a dead poetic imagination

    Life in the 21st century as we all wait consciously or unconsciously for the apocalypse is boring and driven by distractions, an endless...
    The heartbreak of staggering self-consciousness
    • Jul 30, 2020
    • 16 min

    The heartbreak of staggering self-consciousness

    Today I came across a copy of Dave Eggers' Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and was reminded of myself in my twenties, when I was...
    Old student notes on random philosophy articles
    • Jun 28, 2020
    • 7 min

    Old student notes on random philosophy articles

    Sometimes I like to return to philosophy in order to get the sort of intellectual stimulation that reading history doesn't provide. E.g.,...
    Critical remarks on Thomas Nagel
    • Jun 14, 2020
    • 19 min

    Critical remarks on Thomas Nagel

    [From 2009.] I’m reading Thomas Nagel’s famous book The View From Nowhere (1986). Nagel seems more sensible than most contemporary...
    The meaning of life
    • Dec 27, 2018
    • 3 min

    The meaning of life

    [Excerpts from this book. See also this blog post, "Excerpts on happiness."] The meaning of life?— Life is not totally “meaningless.”...
    On realism and idealism
    • Dec 22, 2018
    • 1 min

    On realism and idealism

    Over the years I've written a lot of reflections on the metaphysical issue of scientific realism vs. anti-realism or idealism. Idealism...
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