Gary Sugar
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar
@garysugar.bsky.social
28 followers 0 following 4.2K posts
I post about rationalist philosophy, mainly Parmenides, Shankara, Descartes, and Spinoza. This is my book on metaphysics. I forgive you if you're not interested. https://www.docdroid.net/Fkh2Xam/rational-metaphysics-gary-sugar-pdf
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · Mar 21
In his second reply to Blijenbergh, Spinoza tells him that because they disagree on first principles he doesn't think they can profit from discussing philosophy. I wouldn't go that far, but fwiw my first principles are I think therefore I am and being cannot be non-being.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 10h
Lots of stuff is coming a little too late. They reversed Alzheimers in mice. But I got word processing, and the internet was good for just long enough, so I can't complain.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 13h
I was looking at a gold tone version of the silver Casio watch I'm wearing. There's a notice on the Casio site, "Checkout is currently unavailable as a result of server outages out of our control." But I still can order the same watch for $5 more from the Amazon site, which is apparently unaffected.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 15h
I don't want to get involved in what Christians should believe, but this is how I remember it too.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 15h
No, this isn't close enough. The image of Jesus as a king leading an army of crusaders is a different very big problem.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 16h
You probably don't need Spinoza to tell you compassion is not a property of pride. But you night need to know some more properties of pride and its opposite to see that none of the MAGA stuff is anything but pride. The whole thing is getting high on thinking, "I'm stronger than you".
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 16h
I followed some Aquinas quote accounts at Twitter for a long time and thought the quotes on intuition and beatitude were by far his best. I don't remember enough Aristotle to be sure, but maybe he doesn't say much about those things so Aquinas had to think for himself.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 17h
You always have those fantasies in your mind; but they're opposed and obscured by more powerful images from the senses when you're awake. You can make them a little less obscured by closing your eyes.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 18h
Tide watch. I have no idea how to read it.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 18h
God I wish I had a reason to buy an incredibly cool tide watch.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 18h
I don't know much about other modern constitutions, but what we have in America is mainly part elected monarchy and part elected aristocracy, which we call democracy. Another way to look at it is we choose between Corleones and Tattaglias every few years.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 18h
Homer is archaic not romantic. Thersites is what the Trojans thought Cassandra was and Agamemnon thought Achilles was. Achilles' criticism of Agamemnon's arrogance was true, and so was Cassandra's prophecy that Troy would fall (she was an official Oracle); but Thersites was just an envious naysayer.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 1d
I'm begging, someone please tell Trump about "You say I am a king".
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 1d
He said, "I exist, therefore God exists"; but he also says that won't seem self-evident to most people, so he demonstrates it in a more detailed way.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 1d
I know we owe the scientific method to Descartes. I also know it's not just common-sense induction. It's common sense corrected to agree with reason. Most scientists use math to correct common sense, because that's the only branch of reason they know.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
Okay, Marx too. I know it's hard to believe; but all or almost all canonical modern philosophers say one way or another that Descartes just thinks he thinks. This isn't a small thing. A philosopher is supposed to "Know yourself", but none of them do.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
MAGA pride is in style, and conformism is a property of pride, or really glory. If you praise me, I'll feel proud and think you have good opinions and imitate your other opinions. If you can't resist insulting me, I'll do the opposite and rebel against your opinions.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
Sometimes correcting a passion isn't worth the trouble, and it's easier and safe enough to let the arrow fly to its target. I did that with the wristwatch collecting. I knew it wouldn't amount to too much money before I'd eventually lose interest.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
I feel sorry for the Israelis. The situation the Europeans put them in would turn practically anyone into an inhumanly arrogant bigot. But they didn't put themselves there and very few wanted to move there. The lunatic Europeans put them there.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
Wittgenstein's idea that reason is meaningless was wrong; but his idea that contradictions are meaningless was right. He loved quite a few of them anyway for just that reason. You can stare at them and stay lost in sublime wonder forever.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
I better admit, I don't think I have an opinion on the right way to improve a culture. I personally like understanding what pride and dejection are, so I recognize foolish proud opinions and foolish dejected opinions when I see them. But I admit that's probably not for everyone.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
"Shame, too, can contribute to harmony, but only in matters that cannot be concealed." Spinoza

He also mentions that we forgive shameful stuff as eccentric etc when rich and powerful people do it, and also that shaming people makes want to rebel against you and your opinions even more.
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
"However, we shall get ourselves out of these difficulties if we remember that our mind is finite, whereas the power of God is infinite." Descartes (2/2)
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
I don't know what Spinoza's problem was. He had the answer and just needed to deduce the details. "We can easily get into difficulties if we attempt to reconcile divine preordination with the freedom of our will, or attempt to understand both at once... (1/2)
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garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
Okay, but I still want some excommunications; and I think it's fair to start with the obnoxious converts. I guess Alito probably isn't a convert, but he gets extra points for sounding like a twelve year-old boy when he writes opinions.
garysugar.bsky.social
Gary Sugar @garysugar.bsky.social · 3d
It's only been a few months since I saw something about how poor and unfortunate he was, which made me sad. His questions to Spinoza are just as good as Elisabeth's questions to Descartes.