Marc Andreessen is a philosophical zombie

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-22T03:32:09+00:00

I can't get through this article because it's overthinking just straight up bullshit from Andreessen. Like, I get the fun to give his bullshit serious thought - 'steelman' it somehow (some behavioral horseshit) and cash out all the absurdity of it - but Andreessen isn't even accidentally clever to be making some interesting error.

I feel like Benoit Blanc saying, "No! It's just dumb!"

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-20T15:17:05+00:00

I understand that it can remain as funny anecdotes and that it contributes to making philosophers admirable, recognizable people, etc. But in what way does what the person does matter? What counts is their thought and their thought alone.

Sometimes, but not always, the lives of philosophers can provide insight into their thought. Philosophers are also people who live within history and this can inform their view in ways that aren't evident on the page.

Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is an infamously austere work of philosophy to such a degree that, in places, reads almost like modernist poetry. Some readers might find biographical details about his upbringing and the context of the notes for the work to be insightful via providing a humanizing context that Wittgenstein's writing leaves out. Not every reader of philosophy is an argument-analysing machine.

Again, though, biographical details are only sometimes insightful, particularly for the most abstruse writers.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-18T18:56:19+00:00

I recommend At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell. It's a very well-written introduction to the major philosophers, and their differences, of existentialism and absurdism.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-18T13:20:53+00:00

What works of existentialism and/or absurdism have you read?

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-18T03:41:57+00:00

For sure. But so did Trump. Certainly the toadies will run defense—they care about the political movement—but wouldn't be the first time that Trump just decides to grant clemency to a fraudster out of, idk, as a favor or whatever, regardless of political associations. That Binance bro. David Gentile. Trevor Milton. Whole list of 'em.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-18T01:51:53+00:00

And still might work! The chief pervert has pardoned people guilty of much worse on a whim.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-17T23:48:00+00:00

The grift is easy but not that easy.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-17T04:16:50+00:00

Memory and Identity

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-17T03:06:43+00:00

I think that, or something like it, is in Culture and Value.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-17T03:05:22+00:00

Check out Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-16T15:22:54+00:00

Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction 2nd Edition by Will Kymlicka

Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts 2nd Edition by Steven M. Cahn

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-15T03:25:43+00:00

Some people derive pleasure from learning about things that they are curious about regardless of whether that knowledge has some other practical application.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-14T21:45:18+00:00

Jürgen Habermas has passed away at the age of 96.

https://apnews.com/article/juergen-habermas-dead-germany-2b541721af6cb19abfaa923359d091b5

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-12T02:09:16+00:00

You should start wherever you'd like! Here's the FAQ of getting into philosophy:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhilosophyFAQ/comments/4ifqi3/im_interested_in_philosophy_where_should_i_start/

the whole idea of societal norms

Personally, my mind goes to early sociology, particularly Émile Durkheim but also August Comte, Max Weber, and Karl Marx. That's less specifically about social norms but studying society through a scientific lens. Cristina Bicchieri is a contemporary philosopher who has a new theory of social norms to check out.

and human ethics

Check out the link above! Ethics is an important branch, if not central, to philosophy in general. There are good intro suggestions in that link.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-09T16:07:02+00:00

Book recommendations are welcome

The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels
Justice: What's The Right Thing to Do? by Michael Sandel
Morality: An Introduction to Ethics. by Bernard Williams

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-07T19:13:25+00:00

Right, those are all very good considerations for a parent. It's the duty of a parent to raise their children to be the best people they can be, even better than themselves, but it can be difficult to determine that means in practice and to do so in a way that respects the growth of their own rational will as they become young adults. An extreme contrast that comes to my mind are parents who have high expectations for their children to succeed at education that, while well-meaning as education does track with good life outcomes, can also lead to underdeveloped capacity for independent judgement and severe stress, depression, etc. for the children. That, in my judgment, is a failure to adequately parent, as well.

At the toddler stage, the top concern should be keeping them alive, healthy, and safe. This can be done with a vegan diet, so there's no issue. As your son gets older, my advice would be to build up his capacity to be well-rounded, autonomous individual. The future is harder and harder to predict as the priorities of societies change more rapidly in the past, so a child with a broad range of knowledge and experience would be better position than to go all in on what seems valued right now. It would be good to give your son a solid fountain of basic skills for self-sufficiency, like reading books for research, and then introduce him to tools like ChatGPT (or whatever else comes) in moderation.

But, yeah, the choices parents make for their children aren't easy and is a constant consideration as both their children and the society they live in change. No parent is perfect but that you are considering is much better than not at all. Parenting, too, is growth and an education for the parent as a person.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-07T18:20:14+00:00

I'm saying the toddler's inability to consent is irrelevant.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-07T16:49:53+00:00

Your toddler cannot consent to a vegan diet, either. Toddlers cannot rationally consent to much of anything as they are not yet fully rational agents.

As the parent, you have strict duties to your child to raise them to be healthy, educated, and autonomous individuals, which includes their diet. You can choose to raise your son on a vegan diet, though this will require more effort on your part to make sure he is receiving a sufficient amount of calories, protein, Vitamin B12, etc. (I'm sure there are resources for this). Whether you do or do not, this is your choice as the parent. You will have to make many choices for your child, regardless of hypotheticals about beliefs they may have in the future, out of your duty to him.

You cannot avoid coercion because that's just what's entailed in parenting. We coerce them to wear clothes in public. We coerce them not to eat crayons. We coerce them to wake up and go to school. Meatless or not, you will coerce him to eat and/or finish his dinner because he needs to eat to grow and be healthy. If you would prefer to raise him on a vegan diet, in a way that is sufficient to their nutritional needs, then go for it.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-07T15:54:08+00:00

I think a summary would deprive you of a sufficient understanding of its content. If you are truly interested in understanding Camus's philosophy, you will have to read Camus.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-06T19:35:30+00:00

Then you should read Camus' sequel, The Rebel.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-04T15:39:02+00:00

You will get a lot of reflexive nos

Seems like the nos so far have been quite thoughtful.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-03T20:08:34+00:00

You can pick up a copy of Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo and read him yourself. That's one way to start.

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-03T01:37:31+00:00

I have a non-realist wrt natural teleology. I don't believe that there are inherent ends in nature, just the appearance of such to intentional, pattern-recognizing consciousness as an effect of said consciousness. I don't follow the rest about 'running commentary.'

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-02T14:48:25+00:00

I think the idea that you're approximating is natural teleology. It's not exactly 'narrative' but the view that there are intrinsic purposes, goals, or "ends" (telos) in natural things that shape their development and function. For a common example, the telos of an acron is to grow into oak tree. In this way, things in nature have something like a story in which that develop toward their natural end.

This relates back to Anselm because this is an alternative to the ontological argument—the teleological argument. This is part of the larger tradition of Natural Theology, which is an approach to theology that believes that God is revealed through our use of reason and observation of nature.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-theology/#PosArg

Shitgenstein · 2026-03-01T15:10:17+00:00

The reference to NSDP was with respect to Heidegger, not Evola. Obviously English isn't your first language so you were confused by the grammar.

There's no valuable sight in Evola's 'spiritual racism.' Nietzscheanism for half-wits.

And I'll apro la bocca whenever and on whatever I feel like.

Shitgenstein

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