The Partially [Un]Examined Life

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The Partially Examined Life podcast & blog, albeit entertaining, is a great example of why abstract philosophies are fucking useless.

By "abstract philosophies", I mean thinking about life out of context of my own personal life. Without the inclusion of my own experiences. In other words, talking without "getting dirty."

Visit their website & podcast.

I do give it to them that the discussions are humoristic & easy going, and so make for a nice entertaining background sound; so I have something to listen to, while working out, say.

Abstract philosophy, or "philosophizing", is the cause of all structured ignorance. The idea that any thought can be discussed in an impersonal manner, as if from the cloud-seat of some immortal deity, only causes misunderstandings and confusion. As proof, talk to any philosophy student; the pure embodiment of trying to study philosophy, without attaching its' meaning to our own lives.

So, while I do recommend listening to any of their episodes, and their well-narrated talks, I strongly warn against considering any of it as Philosophy.

"We" Does Not Exist

There is one substantial difference between the self and the group. The self always exists as itself, while the group is ever changing; to the degree that at different times, the same group can consist of entirely different individuals.

Every time someone says or writes "we", or any derivative of it, a red light illuminates in my mind. It goes something like this:

- "Who are the individuals referred to, exactly?"
- "What are the definite and consistent properties of the group?"
- "Am I part of that group or of any similar group?"
- "What interest does that person, or the people who compose the group, have in being generalized?"

The principle of my suspicion is the threat of being generalized to the extent that I am no longer represented, or that I gain an unjustified bias against another. In any of those cases, the result is prejudice and conflict.

So, while there are fair situations, in which many individuals can be represented in a group, such as the case of a family unit , there is the most common and abundant danger of misrepresentation!

Not seeing the trees for the forest.

Sleep As Much As You Can

Yes. I have said it. Those who say otherwise are biased, and thus are strictly wrong.

The myth of oversleeping is nonsense, that the popular media keeps encouraging due to those old notions, that people should wake up early - regardless of when they go to sleep.

Thanks to Cat Kalen for braving this topic!

In schools and work places, those nifty enslavement institutions, people are expected to wake up at the same hour, regardless of their own personal situation. This is stupid. It might have worked for previous generations, but with the advent of technology and the internet, we see a decrease in the uniformity of sleeping & waking hours in modern society.

Simply put, when you have had enough sleep, then you wake up. Naturally. We do not fall asleep by choice, and we should not wake up by choice. Surely, if there is anything alarming happening, then we would break our sleep. But, that is the exception, and must not be the rule. "Alarm" clocks are evil. They stress you first thing in the morning, and by disturbing your natural sleep patterns, they induce the effects of sleep deprivation.

Stuart drinks a cup of coffee and falls asleep.

I was horrored to see how many articles on Google say the opposite of what I, and others, are saying about this.

While there is indeed a plethora of researchers and doctors claiming the former, there are as many, if not so popularized, who say the latter. So, do your own study and self-evaluation. Do not let people convince you that you are in the wrong, just because you are different.

Sleep well. ;-)