Philosophical Dictionary

Orwell is quoted by the left, the right and the people selling memes about both. In 1946 he wrote that his serious work since 1936 was against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism. Then he reviewed Hayek, praised England and handed the Foreign Office a list of names. So where does he really sit on the compass?

Utilitarianism says the right action is the one that produces the most happiness. Bentham wanted to calculate it, Mill insisted some pleasures count for more, and critics asked how anyone could predict the consequences in the first place. So is utilitarianism a moral theory, or a superpower nobody has?

Explore Mark Fisher's critique of capitalism, focusing on his concept of capitalist realism—the idea that it's easier to imagine global catastrophe than an alternative to capitalism. Tied to Slavoj Žižek's notion of surplus-enjoyment, Fisher argues that capitalism traps us in cycles of unfulfilling desire. While this may seem bleak, I offer ways to navigate capitalism's demands without falling into exploitation, emphasizing the importance of a personal philosophy of life for resisting distractions and finding meaning. For more, subscribe to our Memesletter for digestible philosophical insights.

The philosopher meme puts the same caption on two men in Raphael’s School of Athens, one writing, the other copying. Whitehead called European philosophy footnotes to Plato, Aristotle broke with his teacher, and a well-known 2015 paper asked why there is not more progress. So is philosophy going in circles?

Join us as we explore Descartes's philosophical revolution which is listed amongst the likes of Newton and Copernicus. Descartes, a Rationalist, sought to rebuild knowledge on the foundation of reason alone, famously using his method of Cartesian Doubt to discard uncertain beliefs making him an extremist Socratic reincarnation. We delve into his Meditations 6, particularly his exploration of the mind-body problem, where he argued for the distinct, yet interacting, substances of mind (res cogitans) and body (res extensa). We also look at criticisms of Descartes’ Dualism by figures like Princess Elizabeth and Gilbert Ryle, who mockingly called it the “Dogma of the Ghost in the Machine.” 

Discover why Buddha never actually said 'life is suffering' and how this famous misquote led to the ultimate philosophical showdown with Schopenhauer. Learn the real difference between Buddhist wisdom and Western pessimism through this hilarious office meme explanation.