Philosophical Exercises

The Dictionary of Relations created by Tsai Hsin-yun is a philosophical work of art, and more specifically, a phenomenological work of art, since indeed its aim is to mirror the necessary structure of subjective experience. In this way, it belongs in the same category as Sartre’s Nausea or Koltès’ In the Solitude of Cotton Fields. Yet, there is one crucial difference: it does not practice existential philosophy with words, but with drawn symbols. This is a tour de force many might think impossible, and yet it is plain to see on the page. Full transparency: I have worked on this project as a proofreader and as a translator of some of its introductory texts. I also received a free copy when I asked for one, after deciding on my own that I wanted to showcase this work of art on my blog. You are warned of the full context of my affection, and so now I can resume my enthusiasm: I would like to go into details as to why I think this work is so brilliant and interesting to think about. ...

 by Pierrick Simon (1 766 words) Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707) - Ships in a Storm “All-Divine have mercy! All-Divine have mercy!” frantically the two men prayed, swaying back and forth in their hiding spot. “ You two! Stop praying! It’s bad for morale!” yelled the Captain at the top of her lungs. No easy feat to be heard in the middle of the tempest rocking her ship. “ But… But… It’s a True Storm, Captain!” protested one praying crewmate. “ It’s not!” she snapped back “It’s a regular ass storm and we’re going to beat it.” The other praying crewmate , a foreigner who did not speak Sableonian very well, turned to his companion with eyes full of fright and screamed in his ear: “ Was ist ein ‘Ass Storm’ ?” The Captain groaned and plunged under the curtains of rain, leaving the two cowards behind. Looking out, she saw nothing but endless night, though naught but a few hours before the storm caught them in the middle of a sunny day. Suddenly, flashes of lightning within t...

Introducing new words into our vocabulary allows us to describe certain patterns of behaviour more effectively, but also to notice these patterns in the first place. Think, for example, of the effectiveness of the neologisms “mansplaining” or “sonder”. Words are so powerful that it is worthwhile to not limit ourselves to what is already in the dictionary. Instead we should dare to coin new terms that might change the discussions we can have. I propose that adopting “pangloss” as a verb can help us call out the attitude of those who uncritically assume that a thing must have a good reason for being the way that it is if the “competent authorities” have designed this thing. Costume design for a theatrical performance of Candide. It is a costume for Pangloss and a designer's note points to the hat and says "Change Hat (smaller)", another note below says "O.K". [see The Federal Theatre Project (FTP)] In his own words, Matt Colville is someone who seeks to “cha...

In April 2026, I turned to Mengzi for wisdom. He was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who believed that human nature is fundamentally good. Like all Confucians, he believed that the observance of ritual was necessary to develop virtues, but he distinguished himself by stating explicitly and encouragingly that the cultivation of virtue was the realization of our kind-hearted human nature. For this monthly experiment, I tried to find Ritual in my own life, and when it proved extremely difficult, I listened to the kind encouragement of Mengzi. Mengzi ; illustration found in Myths and Legends of China , by E. T. C. Werner  Hungry for a taste of a completely new philosophical culture (after trying christian mysticism last time) I went to read the Bryan W. Van Norden translation of Mengzi : the eponymous collection of sayings and dialogues of the second sage of Confucianism (second only to Confucius himself). I also discovered BryanW. Van Norden’s Youtube Channel , an amazing and ...