The whole point about metaphors is that some are much better than others. It makes sense to say the world shook when the Berlin Wall fell, not that it danced, slept or cooked. Nietzsche said concepts were “merely the residue of a metaphor” but there is nothing mere about it. Believing words to be metaphorical did not prevent him from choosing his very carefully indeed. We should do the same.
ReadThe refusal to apologise can look like a denial that anything was wrong in the first place and that no lessons have been learnt. The point is not to confess the continued presence of the sin or even to take the blame for it.
ReadMuch as we like to celebrate the fact that all humans are essentially the same, our reactions show that we are not. Homo naledi holds up a mirror not to unchanging human nature: it would reveal very different things to a southern creationist, a Victorian bishop, and a secular 2015 Guardian reader. These bones remind us that it is our nature to change, and that what the human species becomes in the future is at least in part in our own hands.
ReadIt is fine to express ourselves through our possessions, but not to try and acquire an identity by acquiring things. We should not try to create a desired image of ourselves in possessions but should simply allow the things we have to reflect who we are.
ReadScouring the indexes of philosophy reference books for “fun” is as fruitless as looking for vineyards in Alaska. Philosophers extolling the virtues of fun would be like greengrocers praising meat: they would only remind people of what their specialism lacks…
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