Essays

The Extinguishment Asimov’s dreams will never be realized: we will not be an interplanetary species or harvest all the sun’s energy. Long before these, our great filter will be that have solved our motivations. The Vegan Butcher On the steps, a burly man wipes his forehead. He is out for his smoke break. Once dissolved the illusions of free will, purpose, and a self, how does one live in the world? Siddhartha’s Syllogism Buddhism is a hedonic philosophy. Siddhartha was an empiricist set on understanding the human condition. He had a singular objective: to reduce suffering. While Buddhism has ethical values, they exist to serve the hedonic goal. Morality simply happens to converge with happiness. Floating Atlantis For most people, the ferris wheel of life is satisfying enough. Between the worldly pleasures, there is no catalyst to get off the ride and walk through the rainy, gray amusement park. But if you walk long enough, it becomes enjoyable, thrilling in fact. The cold water on your face becomes the most beautiful thing you’ve ever felt.