Joe's Notes

Welcome!

This is my blog and I do whatever I want here. I write my thoughts about things and short stories, I take photos, and have lots of book reviews. Make sure to check out the PRODUCTS page to order your edgy t-shirts or the PRINTS page to get prints of my photography! Use the search bar at the bottom of this page to discover more posts. Use the ARCHIVE page to see all my posts. Categorical searches will also yield good results for those who want more of a specific group of posts such as “Photo Journal” or “Book Review”. Check out the OLD BLOG for over 270 posts that go back to 2010 and get your PRINTS at the Prints Store!

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Lessons From the Soulsbourne Games

July 09, 2020 by Joe Gray in Balance, Gaming, Lifestyle, Personal Development, Philosophy, Thoughts

Soulsbourne is the term we players use to describe the From Software games that include Demon Souls, all Dark Souls games, and Bloodbourne.

The first SoulsBourne game I ever played was Demon Souls. This was a long time ago and I did not like that game. It made no sense to me. The story was vague and confusing and the enemies were erratic. Being killed repeatedly by the first enemy in a game can be demoralizing but I kept going for a while. Every step was wrong and led to frustration. I didn't get very far and quit before I felt any accomplishment. I moved on.

Brief Thoughts on the Ontological Argument

April 23, 2020 by Joe Gray in Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts, Epistemology

The ontological argument...

Anselm defined God as "a being that which no greater can be conceived", and argued that this being must exist in the mind, even in the mind of the person who denies the existence of God. He suggested that, if the greatest possible being exists in the mind, it must also exist in reality because if it exists only in the mind, then an even greater being must be possible—one which exists both in the mind and in reality. Therefore, this greatest possible being must exist in reality.

---- From Wikipedia

Philosophical Zombies? (On Consciousness and Concepts)

April 12, 2020 by Joe Gray in Consciousness, Philosophy, Thoughts

Zombies aren't real so any reference to them as a legitimate metaphor for a being that acts like a human but has no internal conscious experience is nonsensical. The reason this metaphor is confusing and mostly useless is two-fold.

Legitimacy Through Fame?

January 21, 2020 by Joe Gray in Balance, Lifestyle, Memoirs, Personal Development, Philosophy, Psychology, Rants, Thoughts

I have a deep fear that I will die and there will be nothing left of me to live on. Something that might impact and affect future humans in a way that validates some of the things I've accomplished.

Questions about Panpsychism

December 02, 2019 by Joe Gray in Philosophy, Psychology, Thoughts, Consciousness

After listening to Sean Carol debate Philip Goff about panpsychism and materialism I had a few questions about panpsychism.

Are animals conscious?

If so, how would we find out?

Re-Post: More than Justice

November 30, 2019 by Joe Gray in Cultural Musings, Ethics, Philosophy, Psychology, Rants, Thoughts

Why are we not satisfied with the prosecution of a mass shooter or terrorist?

Maybe it is due to the mysterious nature of these crimes that we crave additional action. They come out of nowhere and strike the innocent with violence that shocks and infuriates. These acts remind us that we are not in total control over the environment and that the barbarism of our past has not been lost to modernity. While violence in the world is going down we still find ourselves subject to nature's wrath but when it is by human hands we seek explanation and prevention.