152. INSPIRED PHILOSOPHY - Where Do Ideas Come From?

“When I sat down to write this post I was uninspired, yet now I have no doubt that I will, yet again, meet my self-imposed deadline and have a new Philosophy Unleashed post completed exactly when it is needed. Inspiration was there all along. I just had to find it. But what is inspiration?“

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35. OUGHT WE FEAR A 'CANCEL CULTURE'? - Disentangling Fear From Fact

“The conservative narrative is the dominant cultural assumption of our daily news reporting and the framework within which even liberal media organisations must operate for their stories to make sense to audiences inducted into the norms of that predominant discourse. That this discourse - manufactured and disseminated by a whole industry of conservative think tanks, publishers, and strategists who have worked explicitly and intentionally to make it the dominant discourse since at least the 1970s - is also the view of the ruling political parties within the two specific countries - the UK and America - where worry has arisen about the silencing of conservatives, should be reason alone to be suspicious of the claim that such views are being censored.”

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22. THE VALUE OF FREE - Why Are We So Distrustful of Getting Something For Nothing?

“Imagine giving a friend a brand new MacBook for their birthday. It is highly likely they will assume the computer is somehow broken, secondhand, or stolen before they would simply accept that you have spent that much money on them and expect nothing in return. Because when something that good is given away for free, for no reason, it makes no sense in a world where everything has a price and where we have been socialised into a worldview that says money has ultimate value and should be collected, even hoarded, as much as possible. To give something of value away for free is the action of a crazy person. Sensible citizens only part with something of value if it will bring them something of more value in return. At least, that is the story we have been conditioned to tell ourselves.”

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