Fair & Foul Science

[nyuanshin]

This tickles several of my happy places (via Will), and while I could quibble with some details of the account of the etymology of "fair" -- e.g. that the aesthetic origins of "fair" and "foul", if you go all the way back to the Middle Ages, can tell you a lot about the origins of morality and shouldn't be ignored -- the whole thing is pretty good

Comments

[selfishgene]

I'm not sure your triumvirate is correct but I will agree that most of philosophy is worthless. There is a large class of people to whom philosophy is merely a good excuse to endlessly argue about irrelevant junk. Only a sincere desire to follow the truth can save people from that morass. That sincere desire can be faked quite easily, it is difficult to tell whether another person actually possesses it.

[nyuanshin]

"The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy’s cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. More than anything, you must be thinking of carrying your movement through to cutting him."
-- Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings