If a lighthouse could think, it might marvel at how all the light in the world focused its beam on it. For us humans, it often feels the same. Since we can only see what is in our field of vision, hear what is in earshot and touch what is within reach, it is natural to feel that we are more at the centre of things than we objectively are. Whether you are in the spotlight or you are the spotlight, everything centres on you.
ReadI have no reason to think that independent scholars are any less talented than ones in universities. You may indeed have valuable contributions to make. I hope, however, you can understand why, even if you do, I am justified in passing by on the opportunity of reading them.
ReadPhilosophy is only rarely transformative, being neither a good cure for misery nor, thankfully, a cause of it.
ReadOur problem is that we are pretty good at dealing with our state-of-the-world anxieties, but bad at dealing with their root causes. Perhaps the growth of positive psychology has unintentionally exacerbated this by making us all more aware of what we can do to worry less, rather than what we can do to make the source of our worries go away. It is, after all, easier to conquer our fears than to vanquish the things we are afraid of.
ReadVideo of a discussion I took part in at How The Light Gets In 2014 on humour and philosophy.
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