Category Archives: Philosophy

Gradgrind and the problem of legless horses

Posted on November 4, 2016 by odeboyz

Gradgrind came to epitomise Victorian school teachers. Victorian school teachers were sharply focused on facts. Facts appeared to offer certainty and, even better, they could be tested. A pupil repeating the facts that they’d learned was a good pupil. There’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Philosophy, School | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Core Philosophy of Brexiteers

Posted on October 18, 2016 by odeboyz

Boris Johnson                                          Liam Fox                                                 David Davis Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life. (Cecil Rhodes: 19th Century Imperialist) Chris

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Adam Smith on the Meaning of Wealth

Posted on October 10, 2016 by odeboyz

It is in the last dregs of life, his body wasted with toil and diseases, his mind galled and ruffled by the memory of a thousand injuries and disappointments which he imagines he has met with from the injustice of … Continue reading →

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Rebranding Immigrants

Posted on October 1, 2016 by odeboyz

Immigrants are mobile human capital. Immigrants are poor tourists. Immigrants are citizens of the world. Chris

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The Philosophical Lizard

Posted on September 5, 2016 by odeboyz

Laying on a warm rock the lizard Smiled knowingly at Wittgenstein “You think I’m enjoying the sun.” Winking her achingly sinister eyes . Wittgenstein was numb with doubt If the lizard wasn’t enjoying the sun What was she doing? Paralysed, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Poetry | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Sorites Paradox (problems of vagueness)

Posted on June 28, 2016 by odeboyz

Professor John Curtice Would you describe a man with one hair on his head as bald? Yes. Would you describe a man with two hairs on his head as bald? Yes. … However a man with ten thousand hairs on his head … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hannah Arendt* Escapes Nazi Germany

Posted on June 21, 2016 by odeboyz

(Hannah and her mother) crossed to Czechoslovakia (then still safe) by a method that sounds almost too fabulous to be true: a sympathetic German family on the border had a house with its front door in Germany and its back … Continue reading →

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Why Conservatives win elections

Posted on May 10, 2016 by odeboyz

“…we have a disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition…..We see frequently the vices and follies of the powerful much less … Continue reading →

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Training to be a beggar

Posted on May 3, 2016 by odeboyz

He* once begged alms of a statue, and, when asked why he did so, replied, “To get practice in being refused.” *Diogenes a Greek philosopher from ancient times Chris

Posted in Philosophy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Existential Ranting*

Posted on February 29, 2016 by odeboyz

After calling his taxi driver a ‘sweaty, stupid little shit’, David Mellor rattled through the long list of things that make him a superior human being. ‘You’ve been driving a cab for ten years? I have been in the Cabinet!’ … Continue reading →

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