Philip "Wylie | The Short Version

Culture Crossings: Death, Funerals, and Family Relations

March 5, 2008 by Norm Bearrentine Leave a Comment

Originally posted on 06-02-07: I had a message from Cousin Morris last night, and we haven't talked yet but it started me thinking about the events since the last time we talked, which was in Florida when my dad was sick, a … [Read more...]

Let’s Get Real; Clinging to “Impermanence”

March 4, 2008 by Norm Bearrentine 1 Comment

Originally posted on 05-18-07: When I was 17, I read a book by Philip Wylie that changed my life. Why an adolescent would be attracted to a book named, An Essay on Morals, is a little mysterious, and how such a book came to … [Read more...]

When I realized that the idea of god was a joke, I thought that was the end of the story. Later I found that Christianity had shaped my values, and while some were worth keeping, many had lost their foundation—the meaning of life, for example. Something similar happened when I realized that the idea of free will was a joke, and I’ve spent the decades since both those realizations discovering and editing what Julia Galef calls the “orphan beliefs” they left behind. It’s a tricky business, and this blog has been a chronicle of my efforts to puzzle it all out, including reviews of related books. I hope you find it helpful.