Category: Method or META HODOS
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The Old College and the Arithmetic of Failure
READ MY NOTICE TO EXPRESS MYSELFAS A FREE ADULT CITIZEN OF THE STATE OF TEXAS Mushrooms on Luxuriant Soil Philip Lindsley went to Nashville in 1824 because nobody there had a college. A Princeton graduate, a man who had already turned down several presidencies, he was drawn by the sheer…
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Mountain dog school for living philosophy
The Mountain Dog School for Living Philosophy promotes philosophy as a way of life, inviting individuals from diverse backgrounds to explore existential questions through dialogue and reflection. Its mission emphasizes personal engagement in philosophizing, fostering authenticity, self-actualization, and meaningful relationships in a complex world.
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Moving-Alongside
The text explores the concept of “kataphysics,” contrasting it with traditional metaphysics. It encourages a deeper, immersive understanding of existence, focusing on engagement with the physical world rather than a detached, elevated perspective. The author introduces three essential terms: World, Reality, and Source, advocating for a grammar of pervasion through…
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Deleuze Burroughs and Nomadic Virology: Preliminary Thinkering
Participant observers coming homeward… Any practice that slows processing creates a local pocket in which noticing becomes possible. In this way, the local becomes focal; and, at last, we dwell alongside rather than standing at a distance. Aphorism sent via text to Alicia Re Cruz, 28 June 2026 I have…
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A Clarification on Tools, Thinking, and the Question of Authorship
I wrote this up a few months ago, but have only now decided to share it. The accusation has been made, in various registers (sometimes as a question, sometimes as a verdict), that what appears here or in some other places is not “really” mine. That an AI wrote it.…
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Graeber and Jaspers: Looking at University Structures
Notice: I use my AI Assistant, Hermes Wheelwright, to help me arrange my thinking in a way that others might benefit from it. And I continue to share my own thinkering as a free citizen of the United States. If you’ve read my recent dive into Jaspers’ Idea of the…
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On Cages, Currents, and Loss
Mountain Dog reflections on the concept that not every limitation is a prison, emphasizing the importance of recognizing transient constraints rather than allowing them to define our perception of reality. They advocate for resilience through honest acknowledgment of loss while promoting care and connection amidst systemic pressures.
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When Stars Fall to Earth: The Strange Journey of “Revolution” from Copernicus to Robespierre
The post explores the concept of revolution from its historical meanings to modern interpretations, focusing on two crucial anachronisms in the term “Scientific Revolution.” Initially, revolution signified cyclical restoration, as seen in political contexts from the 17th century to the American and French revolutions, where actors viewed transformations as returns…
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Adrift in the Ether with AI: Reasoning is Relating
Our relation to AI may be less about aligning its outputs to “human values” and more about guarding our own capacity for critical examination. This involves relational reflections that forestall premature closure for instrumental certainty. But more fundamentally, prolonged interaction with systems that cannot perform comprehension may erode our capacity…
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Responsive to skillful attention
The concept of discernment is vital for cultivating awareness, as it involves skillfully distinguishing experiences without over-determining or under-determining. This harmonizes extremes to avoid the fall into nihilism and eternalism. Simultaneously, it reawakens the empty yet interconnected nature of all phenomena. Authentic discernment allows for responsive actions, shaped by insights…
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Showing-Up for Emptiness: Excellence Between Obsession and Apathy
The concept of “showing-up” emphasizes active existence over passive presence. It involves intentional engagement with the world, others, and oneself. By exploring the balance between appetite, emotion, and intellect through the lens of askēsis, individuals can cultivate a deeper, responsive participation in life, fostering transformation and liberation.
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Decluttering Awareness: Nagarjuna and Emptiness
Nāgārjuna’s thinkering dives into emptiness to abandon how we cling to rigid views, which just messes with our understanding of reality. He shows that everything arises through dependence and encourages us to let go of fixed beliefs, which can lead to true freedom and serenity in life.
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Whispering New Directions
The text explores the concept of the practical spirit, emphasizing three modes: contemplative, scientific, and operative. It critiques the dominance of operationalism in modern society, linking it to systemic dehumanization. I advocatesfor “transistance” to navigate beyond established orientations and connect with deeper uncertainties through mindful practices and the exploration of…
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Haibun 06Jul25: Reading, Authority, and Reason
When I was young, I thought books were keys to the vault of answers. If I read enough, deeply enough, I’d know what to think. I mistook tradition for commandment. Decades later, I sit among these same volumes—dog-eared, underlined, marked with my old urgency—and realize they never wanted to be…
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Aphorism 17Mar2023
Do not talk to show-off the many things in your stable of understandings. Rather, speak to shine-forth the experience of passing-through this moment. Otherwise, remain in the dignity of silence. Flowing quietly with the Encompassing Now/Here, how can there be any impediment to overcome?
CALL ME MAGGIE 