If philosophy is to be a valuable part of life, we have to appreciate it for its own sake, and not just for what it's done for us lately.
If there's one thing that makes me cynical, it's optimists. They are just far too cynical about cynicism. If only they could see that cynics can be happy, constructive, even fun to hang out with, they might learn a thing or two.
Rules matter, and to be rules they need to be universal in form: always do this, never do that. But it is foolish to rule out in advance the possibility that an occasion might arise when normal rules just don't apply. Rules are not there to be broken, but sometimes break them we must.
'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' is not a law of the universe. What it can be, if we so choose, is a resolution.
Metaphorical tone deafness is when people are unable to discern what is of value in something. I think I'm tone deaf to poetry, for instance. Despite having studied it into a second year of university, most of it just leaves me cold.
Yesterday's news feeds our fear that our neighbours are more likely than not to be bad eggs: benefit fraudsters, bogus asylum seekers, paedophiles or jihadist terrorists.
The very act of questioning whether you exist proves you do, because you must be there for the doubt to be entertained in the first place.
Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.
The reason to be an atheist is not that it makes us feel better or gives us a more rewarding life. The reason to be an atheist is simply that there is no God and we would prefer to live in full recognition of that, accepting the consequences, even if it makes us less happy.
The idea that there is a sharp boundary between our true inner selves and the outside world is pervasive but highly questionable. The boundaries of the self might well be more porous than we ordinarily think.
I don't think anyone who genuinely embraced sincerity, charity and modesty could be intolerant or divisive.
Stress means something different if it is the result of rewarding work rather than struggling to keep the family out of debt.
Untested assumptions and lazy habits of thought can be shown up, once put in a spotlight of a different hue.
