Category Archives: Philosophy

300 Spartans at the Gates of Fire, part 1

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

“Go tell the Spartans, oh stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.”Simonides If you haven’t seen 300, by all means do so. But think of it as a play rather than a movie. A kabuki or … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Philosophy, Social Science & History | 2 Comments

Go tell the Spartans…

Posted on March 3, 2007 by Stephen W. Browne

In a few days 300 will open, and my wife and I are trying to work out the logistics of how we’re going to arrange for her to see it while I take care of the seven-month-old. Our apartment in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Eleagic mode, Movies, Philosophy | 4 Comments

AEYRheads

Posted on December 28, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Until I came back from Eastern Europe I hadn’t often had to put up with a certain kind of person that infests the universities and intellectual circles of America and Western Europe. I refer to the kind of “progressive” intellectual … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor/satire, Philosophy, Politics, Social Science & History | 5 Comments

Meditations on graves

Posted on December 12, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

The day I landed in Poland in 1991, I was met at the airport and taken by car through Warsaw to the small town that would be my home for the next two years. On the way out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Philosophy | 3 Comments

Great flicks that bombed

Posted on November 22, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

As a general rule, if something is really popular with the entertainment-consuming public, it’s no guarantee that it’s any good, but if it’s unpopular then it probably is pretty bad. There are exception to the latter. Here are five movies … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Philosophy | 7 Comments

Religions that never were – but might be

Posted on November 19, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Hymn to Mithras, sung by the XXX Legion stationed at the Wall (Hadrian’s) north of Eboracum (modern York). Mithras, God of the Morning, our trumpets waken the wall!Rome is above the Nations, but Thou art over all,Now as the names … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Literature, Martial arts, Philosophy | 2 Comments

The demand for perfection

Posted on November 7, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

During the Second World War, boxer Joe Louis, the “Brown Bomber” served in the US Army as a spokesman, or “propagandist” we’d say today. Contrary to popular belief today, the ’60s generation did not discover racial injustice. Watch old movies … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Social Science & History | 14 Comments

The Amish Tragedy

Posted on October 6, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

What did the Amish do to deserve what happened to their children this week? Now if you thought that I meant that in anything but a rhetorical sense you’d condemn me as a moral monster- and you’d be right. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, News commentary, Philosophy, Social Science & History | 2 Comments

Here’s what I mean by "moral equivalence"

Posted on September 16, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

I found this September 16, in the Letters column of the Village Voice: “Yeung’s gut-wrenching article brought to mind a similar story I read about the parents of an Oklahoma City bombing victim who ended up having dinner with Timothy … Continue reading →

Posted in On Thinking, Philosophy, Terrorism | 2 Comments

I’ve got free will, don’t I?

Posted on September 8, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Probably all of us have wondered why we can’t stop indulging in things which are bad for us and make us feel bad. Sure getting drunk feels good, but why the heck do we keep doing it when we KNOW … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Uncategorized | Leave a comment