Tagged: friends

Random Reflections

The fact that their answer is awful does not mean your answer is correct. However, from a purely opportunistic perspective, an instance in which their answer is truly awful would be an excellent time to offer an alternative that was at least semi-rational. If you cannot do that much, then it might be better to offer no alternative at all, to abstain from...

Planning Ahead

Today, I received an e-mail from a good American friend who, after reassuring me (or himself) that he has reconciled himself to the ugly truth of his country’s current predicament, proceeded to offer his comments on the Afghanistan debacle, beginning with the observation that even with years of planning, no one could have done a better job of reducing and shaming America than...

Philosophic Principles, Part One

Purposefulness. It is better to die never having found the answer than to live never having heard the question.

Profit. Never seek material gain from the best thing you can do; for that is the literal meaning of selling one’s soul. You will not get it back.

Teaching. Those who have just opened their eyes must be led toward the sun….

Reflections On Independence

The blind leading the blindfolded.— We allow the state to decide for us, not because we believe the state knows what is best — practical results consistently prove beyond any doubt that the state does not know — but because we have been convinced that we do not know, and therefore that the easiest course of action is to leave the complex decisions,...

On the Desire for Recognition

A student recently sent me a short e-mail consisting almost entirely of this thought: “Desire for recognition from others, including co-workers, family, friends…I really hate this.” The topic is worthy of serious consideration. Let us take a moment to examine this strange but all-too-common tendency in humans, the “desire for recognition.” It is unlikely that human beings could ever completely numb themselves to...

Social Life

“If I say what I really think, they won’t like me.” In other words, they don’t like you now, and they never will. “If I don’t make an effort to fit in, I will be alone.” If you have to make an effort to fit in, then you are already alone, and you will remain so. “I want them to accept me.” But...

The Joyful Quiet of Freedom

Once, during my third year of university, I had the following dream: I was playing baseball in the parking lot of my childhood church with a group of youngsters whom I had known through junior high school, but had not seen for years. It was late at night, and oddly silent, but despite the darkness our game seemed to be carrying on without...

On Letting Go of Friends

Throughout my teaching life, spanning twenty-five years, I have frequently had the honor of serving as private counselor or mentor to students struggling with personal problems — usually problems of an existential, as opposed to practical, nature. I seem to have a knack for attracting young people who are a little outside modernity’s social norms, whether temperamentally, intellectually, or both. One reason for...