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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What is wisdom? (No Answers Here)

September 28, 2020 by Joe Gray in Epistemology, Personal Development, Philosophy, Psychology, Thoughts

Growing up I always thought that intelligence was the most important quality a person could have.

I believed my mom was smart and my dad was dumb. Turns out my mom is intelligent. Alternatively, characterizing my dad as dumb might be disingenuous as it is filtered through anger and resentment.

Now, as I realize more and more the limitations in my intelligence and desire to know things I think that I would like to focus on being wise. But what does that mean?

NOT Conscious

July 17, 2020 by Joe Gray in Consciousness, Epistemology, Philosophy, Psychology, Rants, Thoughts, Whimsies

The hardest thing to do is convince someone you're not conscious. People see consciousness everywhere. They apply it to wind and rain. Mountains and rodents. We can personify anything including the universe and god and gods and vegetables. We tell stories of eggs that fall off of castles and bunnies that have tea parties. Everything is a metaphor for ourselves and we are everyone.

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: How and Why I Quit Biting My Nails

December 01, 2019 by Joe Gray in Balance, Free Will, Lifestyle, Personal Development, Psychology, Memoirs

I know what everyone's been wondering. And I mean everyone. They've been wondering about my fingernails. They look normal now which is saying a lot considering a year ago they were horrifying. They looked like the mutilated remnants of a carnivorous beast. They were as scarred as the creature tormenting them and creating in them a physical manifestation of what happens to the soul when repressed emotions, self-doubt and anxiety rule the mind.

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.