After all this time blogging, I can't believe I haven't written about Plato's divided line analogy, the cave allegory's sophisticated cousin. It's deep, it's mystifying, it's what makes The Republic The Republic. I don't plan to explain the divided line in a scholarly fashion—there's plenty of that kind of thing around. In other words, I'm … Continue reading Plato’s Divided Line and Cave Allegory
Plato
Movie Trailer for a Novel?
I didn't intend to make a film about, or for, or promoting, my novel, A Footnote to Plato, which has yet to be published. My original plan was simply to clean up some raw vacation footage from my trip to Greece in 2014, but when I came across the photos I used for descriptions in … Continue reading Movie Trailer for a Novel?
The Challenges in Writing a Philosophical Novel
A while back I did some Googling to find out whether someone out there had written a book similar to mine, and in my research I came across Charles Johnson's novel, Faith and The Good Thing. Too good to be true. He too makes use of the most powerful centerpieces in Plato's works: The Allegory of the … Continue reading The Challenges in Writing a Philosophical Novel
Eidos and AI: What is a Thingamajig?
To understand this post, you might have to read part I and part II on phenomenology and artificial intelligence. The question I'm asking is not: Can computers think? Or: Can AI have consciousness? But: Can meaning "run ahead" for AI the way it does for us? Can we program intentionality, the "about-ness" or "directed-ness" toward … Continue reading Eidos and AI: What is a Thingamajig?
Stumbling Blocks in Reading Philosophy
Philosophical texts are notoriously difficult to read, but the real problem comes when each text calls for a distinct set of skills. By the time you've "cracked the code" to reach that "ah ha" moment with one philosopher, it's time to start all over with another. I'd like to share some of my stumbling blocks … Continue reading Stumbling Blocks in Reading Philosophy
Diotima's Ladder 