Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Excellent post. Why “yin/yang”? It seems like an odd choice of image for the kind of disagreement you’re talking about. LikeLike

[…] to this today; he’s the last of the elder statesmen-activists of the generation that included Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Though officially retired as of 2011, he’s still active, still speaks out on China, and is […] Li…

[…] part 1 of this mini-series, I mentioned David Potts’s comments on China from an earlier post, promising to respond more […] LikeLike

In reply to sean samis. You’re mischaracterizing the distinction from the outset by using a single variable for both perfect and imperfect duties. Suppose there is some duty D, and for person A, duty D is regarded as “perfect” but for person B, d…

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. Storing military hardware in a base you’re not willing to defend is tantamount to giving that hardware to the enemy. It’s something a five-year-old child can see is stupid. If NATO did put a forward base in Ukrain…

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. That said, though beggars can’t be choosers, I think Zelensky’s desire to hold the talks on neutral territory was prudent. Instead of saber rattling, we should have found them both some neutral territory to hold t…

Putin’s desire for talks fits Mearsheimer’s thesis. I think these talks are a way of asking Zelensky, “Have you had enough, or would you like us to continue? We’re open to either option.” Rationally, Zelensky needs to cut …

[…] part 1 of this mini-series, I mentioned David Potts’s comments on China from an earlier post, promising to respond more directly to them. DP’s comments on China fall into three parts: a […] LikeLike

In reply to Michael Brazier. Ukraine does not have the backing of the Ukrainian people. It’s divided between eastern and western halves, between two opposed ethno-nationalities. The “backing” is an illusion produced by our fixation on the west. We can …