Ivan Bock

I know a lot of Williamson's work is good. Great even. But I'll never be able to take seriously any philosopher who starts a book review with "if there are no deep metaphysical truths out there, that itself looks suspiciously like a deep metaphysical truth😏😏😏"

ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/reth...

An image containing some pink-ish succulents.

An image containing some pink-ish succulents. A single succulent is centered to show off its symmetry.

Found these plants at the place we are staying in Paternoster. They almost looked fake, having a slight plastic look. But I really think they are beautiful and rather unique. Some sort of succulent.

Selfie of the two dogs and myself in the car.

On our way to a lovely seaside town for Christmas and the dogs are coming with. So far it's been a good trip, but the dogs are anxious.
Good times!

Post image with title: "Freedom Worth Having: A Compatibilist(ish) Theory of Human Freedom and Responsibility".

Just another reminder to check out my latest post! Make sure to subscribe if you want to read more like this.
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

Post image with title: "Freedom Worth Having: A Compatibilist(ish) Theory of Human Freedom and Responsibility".

Just another reminder to check out my latest post! Make sure to subscribe if you want to read more like this.
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

Freedom Worth Having: A Compatibilist(ish) Theory of Human Freedom and Responsibility A brief overview of understanding our freedom and responsibility as aspects of our capacities and social/moral practices

New essay: "Freedom Worth Having"
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

#philsky #freewill #blog

Haha, well, yeah, just not how some philosophers understand it. But I reckon we are free in the important sense that we mean it.

I've finished writing my essay on free will, and it is way longer than I thought it would be. But this is pretty common for me.
I'm going to try and finish it up today. So hoping to have it totally done and ready for Friday.

#philsky #blog

YouTube video by Michael Burns how i became a Christian Atheist

screw it it's a holiday week here's the new video on youtube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdji...

Also my dad right hefore he made me choose the belt (he had like 4 varieties of belt style) that he was going to spank me with in 10 minutes...

Yahweh shortly before the Flood:

Just a notice to those interested, the next essay I want to post here will likely be on free will. Similar to how I gave an overview of my preferred approach to philosophy (moderate skepticism) that I can further defend as the blog grows, I want to provide and overview of what I call pragmatic freedom and responsibility, a sort of compatibilist view. Make sure to stay tuned! Also, just to build some anticipation, my draft backlog contains essays on moral psychology and virtue, free will, the problem of evil/indifference, defending moral anti-realism, and an argument against religious belief based on miracles. So be sure to subscribe so you can check these out!

A public notice for those interested in philosophy blogs!

#philsky #blog

Indeed! Devil's in the details, but that is essentially what I advocate for, while being convinced that we should generally be a little more skeptical than (many) philosophers have argued for.

Two Principles of Moderate Skepticism: A Better Way Of Doing Philosophy A brief overview of the skeptical mindset/approach that I generally endorse and how to apply it

I'm sharing my first post on my new Substack blog:
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

Make sure to check it out! Please consider liking, sharing, and subscribing! There is a lot more to come!

#philsky #blog

Thanks for sharing! I have a lot more unpacking and defending to do, but reckon this is a good start.

Interested in skepticism and pragmatism? Wonder about different approaches to philosophy?
Then check out my blog and my latest essay where I discuss moderate skepticism.

#philsky #blog

Two Principles of Moderate Skepticism: A Better Way Of Doing Philosophy A brief overview of the skeptical mindset/approach that I generally endorse and how to apply it

My first Substack post is officially live. Please check it out!
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

#philsky #blog #skepticism

Happy to report the first post is scheduled to release soon. Keep an eye out, or subscribe to the blog, to be able to read my short intro to moderate skepticism - the philosophical approach I endorse.

#philsky #blog

I'll be going live with my first substack post soon. I'm moving my blog over there.
If interested in meta-ethics, pragmatism, skepticism, existentialism, and virtue ethics, then please consider checking it out and subscribing for future posts:
open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

#philsky #blog

YouTube video by Veritasium Why You Shouldn’t Trust Confident People

I say this somewhat tongue in cheek, but it is funny how many people dismiss philosophy only for us to keep finding out people like Socrates really were wise:
youtu.be/9M_QK4stCJU?...

#philsky

happy bday French writer Albert Camus, b.1913.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

Text from Epictetus' Discourses. It reads: "In our school, we picture the philosopher's goal more or less as follows: bring the will in line with events, so that nothing happens contrary to our wishes and, conversely, nothing fails to happen that we want to happen. Pursue it, and the reward is that neither desire nor aversion will fail in their aims; and we will fill all our roles in society - as son, father, brother, citizen, man, woman, neighbour, fellow voyager, ruler or ruled - without conflict, fear or rancour."

Pretty decent summary of Epictetus' views and teachings. It has that classic stoic sentiment and psychological theory, while also stressing Epictetus' 'role ethics'. That combination, I think, is a particularly useful and socially just perspective to take.

#stoicism #ethics

A picture of the Cape Town Waterfront, taken on Redbull's 2025 Flugtag event. There are some boats to the left, a large screen center left, and a blue runway on the right.

Selfie of my wife and I.

Fun day at the #RedBullFlugTag !
We came without a plan and ended up getting some nice seats.

“Think for yourself, and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.”

— Voltaire, Treatise on Tolerance

I really like the SEP, but it does have a few entries that aren't too great. The other day I shared the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Miracles as I thought it did a better job than SEP. It is a shame, but philosophy has always had mixed quality scholarship.

Picture of a bird-of-paradise flower (strelitziaceae).

Picture of a bird-of-paradise flower (strelitziaceae).

Picture of a bird-of-paradise flower (strelitziaceae).

Truly a beautiful time in Cape Town as the flowers start to bloom. Our bird-of-paradise plants are looking great!
#flowers #capetown

Do you perhaps have the source for this quote? I cannot find it in Meditations, and trying to track down the origin via Google seems to both cite Aurelius and Euripides, but without text references or specifics.
It also doesn't really sound like Marcus Aurelius...

Tiny brown jumping spider with stubby stripy legs, peering at you shyly from tree bark

#EmotionalSupportSpood #Arachtober
Little Brown Creeper boy missing a palp and looking very small (they always do) 🥹

"Whoever knows that he is profound strives for clarity; whoever would like the crowd to think he is profound strives for obscurity. The reason for this is that the crowd thinks something is profound whenever it cannot see to the bottom of it" - Nietzsche
#philsky

Definitely. I know some think it is being nitpicky, but without it the actual usefulness and depth of stoicism is lost. This is especially true for these sorts of quotes that just focus on basic resilience and leave out the psychology and ethics.