Philosophy - Part 11 - I am, therefore I think.

Philosophy – Part 11 – I am, therefore I think – by P.K.Odendaal – July 2012.

We ended our last part by realising that the philosophy of old was finally written off as a waste of time and words, because it was proven false time and time again. But, there was something else going on in the offspring of Philosophy, namely Science. The axioms which were being used to base Science on, was not being proved true or false, mainly because it was intuitively correct and generally accepted, without any scientific proof.

Some of the oldest axioms comes from Euclid (300 BC) in the form of postulates. His method consists in assuming a small set of intuitively appealing axioms, and deducing many other propositions (theorems) from these. He was the first to show how these propositions could fit into a comprehensive deductive and logical system. He was so successful with this that we still today believe his postulates to be true.

A parody on Marriage

A Parody on Marriage - By P.K.Odendaal - 21 May 2012.

Note added on 21 April 2015.

I do not want to upset you from the start, as it was only my intent to upset you at the end, but so exciting and depressing is this subject that I decided to upset you all the time as a marriage upsets many people most of the time or is that all people some of the time.

The fact is that a marriage requires each of us to compromise because we are not the same, we react quite differently and our interest are quite diverging. Therefore, if I compromise, I become a lesser version of myself and for most of us, specially those who are creative and innovative, a lesser version of ourselves will only make us unhappy. So, before we have even started, we are already on this slippery slope of a disconnect and conflict inside ourselves between what we are and what we want to be and the stark reality what we do not want to be and what we should be or are expected to be in the marriage.

End of note. 

No, love and marriage does not go together, like the now almost proverbial horse and carriage, although some of us are more inclined to put the carriage before the horse.

I normally enjoy writing satires, but marriage is just such a serious subject, that this has to be a parody, and I find myself in uncharted waters. However, what is said here, needs to be said, and it fell upon me to say it, albeit in a parodicidal way. You might not believe anything I tell you here, because it is as strange as fiction. It is about a serious thing called marriage and the ungrateful task of choosing the right marriage partner, for a marriage which is in any case a strange thing. However, if you listen carefully, you just might get some wisdom here which cries out in the streets.

Philosophy - The downfall of mankind - Part 10 - The Duality of Life and Paradoxes

Philosophy - Part 10 - The Duality of Life and Paradoxes- By P.K.Odendaal - 21 May 2012.

And now we have finally come to our long delayed analysis of Black and White in The Sunset Limited. Even here, as the dialogue goes, things are not so easy to follow, having an intrinsic uneasiness due to the duality of life, complicated further by the false theories of philosophers, now totally exposed by people like David Hume and Jean Paul Sartre. This whole piece of TSL is a symphony of errors drawn from these and other philosophers, yet we are unable to make a rational reply to their irrational theories.

Travel blog 2012-02 Death in Venice

Travel Blog 2012-02 - Death in Venice - by P.K.Odendaal - 5 June 2012

It is all over now ... and we knew all along the end it was in sight, for quite some time. But, even so, when it came, it was unexpectedly and most unwelcome and almost heartbreaking.

Yes, we have left our cruise ship today after twelve magnificent days at sea and in many different ports, and bade her farewell, having made some new acquaintances along the way. But what is more serious is that the highlight of our trip, or so we thought, turned out to be such a disappointment. Everybody knows Venice is beautiful and breathtaking, and on this fourth visit of us, I intended to make the visit even more spectacular by visiting all the beautiful cathedrals and churches of the city - a favourite pastime of mine.