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Posts by Bryan Kam

Nice to see you too! You were on my mind as I track recommendations and I was looking through them, you were the person who recommended me films I liked the most! Just hoping to hear what you'd liked lately. Also happy to chat on a different platform, and would love to know how you have been! 💛

3 months ago 2 0 0 0

@kymberlie.bsky.social Hi Kymberlie, you still on here? Wanted to ask you for film recommendations!

3 months ago 1 0 1 0

I gave a talk on what brought me to #philosophy and #history of #science for Philosophy for All in London. You can watch it here www.bryankam.com/p/philosophy...

9 months ago 4 2 0 0
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Samsara Is Nirvana, with Brook Ziporyn Daoism, Buddhism, Spinozism, and Mystical Atheism

My new podcast with Brook Ziporyn: How making values explicit undermines them, why samsara is nirvana, and what happens when you follow anti-realism all the way through. On the value paradox from Daoism to Spinoza.
www.bryankam.com/p/samsara-is...
#Philosophy #Buddhism

6 months ago 3 1 0 0
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The Math is Not the Territory Mathematics, anti-realism, and Buddhism

www.bryankam.com/p/not-the-te...

6 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Samsara Is Nirvana, with Brook Ziporyn Daoism, Buddhism, Spinozism, and Mystical Atheism

My new podcast with Brook Ziporyn: How making values explicit undermines them, why samsara is nirvana, and what happens when you follow anti-realism all the way through. On the value paradox from Daoism to Spinoza.
www.bryankam.com/p/samsara-is...
#Philosophy #Buddhism

6 months ago 3 1 0 0
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The Math is Not the Territory Mathematics, anti-realism, and Buddhism

www.bryankam.com/p/not-the-te...

6 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Fatherhood and philosophy A sleepless week

I became a father in the past week and I am tired www.bryankam.com/p/fatherhood...

8 months ago 4 0 1 0

I gave a talk on what brought me to #philosophy and #history of #science for Philosophy for All in London. You can watch it here www.bryankam.com/p/philosophy...

9 months ago 4 2 0 0
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Rationalism and Empiricism Three short stories

I wrote more about rationalism, empiricism, and foundationalism www.bryankam.com/p/rationalis...

9 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Buddha, Socrates, and Us: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Uncertainties Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs and the forthcoming book Buddha, Socrates, and Us, brings decades of practice and scholarship to examining how two of history's most transformativ...

🧠 How can ancient wisdom guide us through modern uncertainty? Join me and Stephen Batchelor (author of the new Buddha, Socrates, and Us) for a conversation on philosophical approaches to ethics, doubt, and the good life. Sep 4: interintellect.com/salons/buddh...

9 months ago 3 0 0 0
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When Philosophers Panic Two extreme responses to crisis

Wrote a bit about rationalism and empiricism www.bryankam.com/p/when-philo...

9 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Neither/Nor Paper Discussion 🎧 With Isabela Granic

In this podcast I discuss the #philosophy and #psychology of Neither/Nor, the project I've been working on for the past years, with my coauthor, @isabelagranic.bsky.social www.bryankam.com/p/neithernor...

9 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Ocean of Diversity: An unbiased summary of views and practices, gradually emerging from the teachings of the world's wisdom traditions. Amazon.com: Ocean of Diversity: An unbiased summary of views and practices, gradually emerging from the teachings of the world's wisdom traditions.: 9780994445308: Shar Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö, Flumerfelt, Joe: Books

This is an interesting book which compares and contrasts the world's religions from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism www.amazon.com/Ocean-Divers...

10 months ago 1 0 1 0
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Gratitude and its opposites Fear and envy

I wrote about #gratitude and its opposites, fear (according to #Nietzsche) and envy (according to Melanie #Klein) www.bryankam.com/p/gratitude-...

10 months ago 1 0 0 0
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The Immanent Turn Bringing it all back home

Why Aristotle doesn't solve the problems caused by Plato www.bryankam.com/p/the-immane...

11 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Morning devotion On my morning routine

Morning Devotion: On my morning routine
open.substack.com/pub/bryankam...

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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From will to representation and back On switching between sensing and thinking

I wrote on particulars, universals, and alternating between the two www.bryankam.com/p/from-will-...

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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A word game An eastern and a western perspective on the limits of language

A word game: #Zhuangzi #schopenhauer #Nietzsche #Wittgenstein open.substack.com/pub/bryankam... #philosophy

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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Do we learn how to categorize? Perspectives from sociology and psychology

Do we learn to categorize? open.substack.com/pub/bryankam...

1 year ago 1 0 0 0
“What this age values and takes as its guide, its course, is written text. But written texts are no more than words. Words do have something valuable about them: their meanings and ideas. But those meanings and ideas come from some­ thing else, and what they come from cannot be transmitted in words. And yet the people of this age, due to the high value they put on words, transmit only the writings. Though this age so esteems them, I do not regard them as worthy of esteem. What these people value about them is not what is really valuable about them. For whatever we can see by looking is only shapes and forms. Whatever we can hear by listening is only names and sounds. Alas! This age takes shapes, forms, names, and sounds as sufficient to attain the reality of that something else. But shapes, forms, names and sounds are ultimately not sufficient to get at what is real there. Thus "those who know do not speak, and those who speak do not know/7 But how could the present age understand this!”

“What this age values and takes as its guide, its course, is written text. But written texts are no more than words. Words do have something valuable about them: their meanings and ideas. But those meanings and ideas come from some­ thing else, and what they come from cannot be transmitted in words. And yet the people of this age, due to the high value they put on words, transmit only the writings. Though this age so esteems them, I do not regard them as worthy of esteem. What these people value about them is not what is really valuable about them. For whatever we can see by looking is only shapes and forms. Whatever we can hear by listening is only names and sounds. Alas! This age takes shapes, forms, names, and sounds as sufficient to attain the reality of that something else. But shapes, forms, names and sounds are ultimately not sufficient to get at what is real there. Thus "those who know do not speak, and those who speak do not know/7 But how could the present age understand this!”

From Zhuangzi’s Outer Chapters, written sometime in the 4th to 2nd century BC China, making a very similar argument to what I’m saying about love in Plato's Phaedrus: www.bryankam.com/p/love-abstr...

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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Some Dangerous Methods Social, individual, and "innate" use of categories

I wrote on how the Socratic method changed from Socrates, to Plato, to Aristotle. tl;dr: It started anti-social and became asocial www.bryankam.com/p/some-dange...

1 year ago 2 0 0 0
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The Birth of Logic Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Durkheim

I wrote a piece over the weekend on the birth of logic open.substack.com/pub/bryankam...

1 year ago 2 0 0 0
38 (8) Volition (1)
At S›vatthı. “Bhikkhus, what one intends, and what one plans,
and whatever one has a tendency towards: this becomes a basis
for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis there
is a support for the establishing of consciousness. When con-
sciousness is established and has come to growth, there is the
production of future renewed existence. When there is the pro-
duction of future renewed existence, future birth, aging-and-
death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come
to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.112
“If, bhikkhus, one does not intend, and one does not plan, but
one still has a tendency towards something, this becomes a basis
for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis, there
is a support for the establishing of consciousness…. Such is the
origin of this whole mass of suffering.113
“But, bhikkhus, when one does not intend, and one does not
plan, and one does not have a tendency towards anything, no
basis exists for the maintenance of consciousness. [66] When
there is no basis, there is no support for the establishing of con-
sciousness. When consciousness is unestablished and does not
come to growth, there is no production of future renewed exis-
tence. When there is no production of future renewed existence,
future birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, dis-
pleasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole
mass of suffering.”114

38 (8) Volition (1) At S›vatthı. “Bhikkhus, what one intends, and what one plans, and whatever one has a tendency towards: this becomes a basis for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis there is a support for the establishing of consciousness. When con- sciousness is established and has come to growth, there is the production of future renewed existence. When there is the pro- duction of future renewed existence, future birth, aging-and- death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.112 “If, bhikkhus, one does not intend, and one does not plan, but one still has a tendency towards something, this becomes a basis for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis, there is a support for the establishing of consciousness…. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.113 “But, bhikkhus, when one does not intend, and one does not plan, and one does not have a tendency towards anything, no basis exists for the maintenance of consciousness. [66] When there is no basis, there is no support for the establishing of con- sciousness. When consciousness is unestablished and does not come to growth, there is no production of future renewed exis- tence. When there is no production of future renewed existence, future birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, dis- pleasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”114

No particular plans today...

1 year ago 1 0 0 0
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I'm looking for sources for ancient/medieval/early modern/modern thinkers (from anywhere) who have disputed 1) the law of the excluded middle, 2) the law of non-contradiction, and 3) the law of identity. Anyone I should be reading?

1 year ago 2 4 0 0
TikTok - Make Your Day

Doing a series on the correspondence theory of #truth in #philosophy over on tiktok vm.tiktok.com/ZGdrQPxaD/

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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Wu-wei Effortless action

Wu-wei: effortless action www.bryankam.com/p/wu-wei

1 year ago 0 0 0 0
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Clerestory (Bryan Kam): Eternity and Time with Kit Tempest-Walters I spoke to Kit Tempest-Walters about his new book: Plotinus on Eternity and Time, which includes a translation and commentary of Ennead III.7.We discuss the challenges of translating, philosophical...

I released a podcast: Eternity and Time with Kit Tempest-Walters. We talk about Plotinus, Chinese philosophy, and more! pod.fo/e/2393d5

1 year ago 1 0 0 0
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They seem to have removed this list of Western philosophers who put processes over objects on wikipedia but I appreciated the list while it lasted en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process...

2 years ago 1 0 0 0
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Clerestory (Bryan Kam): Epistolary: Meaningful Living vs Making a Living (Part 6) How do you balance your life’s purpose, your creative impulse, or your art, with the realities of life?Here are the final four responses I received. Thanks to Peter, Olga Yakimenko, Rainbow, and ...

I released the final installment of the Meaningful Living podcast series today. Thanks for all those who participated pod.fo/e/2167b0

2 years ago 0 0 0 0