posts by anon 0xef

your follow increases their reputation. your mute decreases their reputation.

in thread "Book Club: Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy.":

As the quote from Strauss (referencing Nietzsche) indicates, man's nature, unlike that of chimpanzee, extends beyond itself to nomos. There is no option to live without nomos. One can only work for a good one, one that harmonizes with and fulfills rather t... 1y ago 8 8

As the quote from St 8 8

He often refers to Critias, sometimes coyly, comparing him to the Austrian corporal. Is this defense? ... 1y ago 7 7

He often refers to C 7 7

I think Plato's view of the good qualities to be sought can be readily inferred from his prescriptions for education, which focus on: ... 1y ago 6 6

I think Plato's view 6 6

Unlike Nietzsche, I'd say that one's bet on what God will appreciate can turn out to be right or wrong. So there is a right and wrong in the betting. ... 1y ago 7 7

Unlike Nietzsche, I' 7 7

In the context of Alamariu, we'd also want a metric of quality of the aristocracy, where "quality" is something like "propensity for productive action." Coordination might be an outcome of quality, but the quality itself is arguably more fundamental and re... 1y ago 8 8

In the context of Al 8 8

I'm a hereditarian and have only contempt for blank-slate nonsense. Most of the important traits seems to have a heritability of around 0.6, maybe 0.7. ... 1y ago 8 8

I'm a hereditarian a 8 8

The two most important works of Plato for getting at his political philosophy in its esoteric/exoteric dimensions are Republic and Laws. (People overlook Laws, but it contains more directly about this than even Republic.) ... 1y ago 6 6

The two most importa 6 6

Really good observations overall. ... 1y ago 9 9

Really good observat 9 9

That's right. He practices esoteric writing even more than Plato, arguably to the point of futility. ... 1y ago 6 6

That's right. He pra 6 6

This point is key. For both Plato and Aristotle, a polis needed to be small. In the Laws, Plato puts the ideal number of citizens at 5040. There are good reasons relating to coordination for favoring the small (think of Elon firing 80% of Twitter employees... 1y ago 9 9

This point is key. F 9 9

A key fact about the current CCP is just how deeply Westernized it is. They are attempting to manage China's ascent. They may simply manage its decline. But one thing is certain: they sure are managing (in Burnham's sense). The one thing I don't see from t... 14mo ago 7 7

A key fact about the 7 7

It wasn't my statement, but I assume the thought is that it's like Augustus claiming to "restore the Republic" lest he be accused of becoming a monarch, or Lincoln claiming to serve the Declaration of Independence, lest he be accused of traducing the Const... 14mo ago 5 5

It wasn't my stateme 5 5

It's tricky because esotericism suffers from the problem of the noble lie: that your successors may "lose the joke." ... 14mo ago 6 6

It's tricky because 6 6