About

Seeking to comprehend life’s deepest questions while trying to look intelligent in the process

Note:

I often post ‘aphorisms‘.

I have found that the term aphorism means many things. Through observing statements from many aphorists e.g. La Rochefoucauld – an aphorism does It is not necessary a statement that it is true in general, however it needs to be true for at least a small group of people or in certain times or places. As far as I can see – what is important is not so much that an aphorism points out something that is ‘generally true’ but that it points out something that we don’t usually notice or reflect on, perhaps in part because we have just never noticed it, in part because we have actively hidden it from ourselves.

Nevertheless – even given the leeway provided by this understanding of aphorisms – I have decided to classify my aphorisms according to their subjective validity – that is ‘how much I think they actually reflect at least something ‘true’ about reality.

Here are the categories I use.

1. Aphorisms: A straight-up aphorism that I think probably has some truth to it – at least in some contexts.

2. Aphoristic hypotheses: An aphorism that I am not so sure is true, but would be interesting it if were. My hope is that these aphorisms are written in a clear enough language that someone could in principal test them through experiments.

3. Observational aphorisms: These aphorisms are the most speculative – and may be based on one or more experiences I have had.

4. Food for thought: These aphorisms are there simply to provoke – they may refer to something ‘real’ going on in the world, or may be something that only exists in my head.

5. Definitions: These are aphorisms that follow the original meaning of the word aphorism i.e. a definition, albeit one that I hope is creative, insightful or novel in some way.

We now live in an ’empirical age’ where someone somewhere is probably testing something that resembles what you are currently thinking about. Consequently – I will sometimes provide links to pertinent information or research.