Category Archives: Philosophy

Arguing Against Myself

Posted on November 23, 2015 by John Swinburn

I’m going to take a risk on my blog. Admittedly, anything I write here is not much of a risk because it won’t reach many people. I’ve done nothing to try to build readership and don’t intend to start now. Minimal … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economics, Philosophy | 3 Comments

How to Heal

Posted on November 22, 2015 by John Swinburn

Unless my assessment of the “state of the union” is badly skewed, it is apparent that the preponderance of Americans yearn for healing the sharp divides that exist in our country today between those on the political right and the political left. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy, Politics | Leave a comment

The Act of Breathing

Posted on November 21, 2015 by John Swinburn

I taste the coffee, letting its flavors linger in my mouth longer than usual so I can devote my attention to the taste and the way it feels on my tongue. When I swallow, I contemplate the experience, trying to imagine … Continue reading →

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Time to Move On

Posted on November 8, 2015 by John Swinburn

When do we know it’s time to move on, time to shed our attachment to an idea that, though magnetic and alluring, isn’t realistic or achievable? If the idea were a relationship, it might make sense to follow the wisdom … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | 2 Comments

Eternity

Posted on October 17, 2015 by John Swinburn

Between the brief seconds of ecstasy and the extended hours of pain, life delivers a delicious mixture of mundane months during which we come to understand why we love living. It behooves us to remember the long stretches of time we … Continue reading →

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Beneath the Robes

Posted on October 4, 2015 by John Swinburn

I cannot know for certain, but I suspect people who haven’t seen me since they knew me twenty years ago would recognize me today. It’s not so much my face they would recognize. Rather, it’s the person behind the face. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Philosophy, Writing | Leave a comment

Did Someone Spike the Kool-Aid?

Posted on September 29, 2015 by John Swinburn

After reading the boasts and lies of one especially egotistical politician who claims he isn’t one, and seeing his approval ratings climb as a result of his braggadocio and mendacity, I feel compelled to acknowledge that a significant percentage of … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Leave a comment

Delving into the Dark Side

Posted on September 26, 2015 by John Swinburn

What is it about the dark side—the underbelly—of life I find so compelling?  What magnetism pulls me toward that grey, cold abyss? Why is that deep and dangerous place of which most people speak in hushed tones so irresistible to me? … Continue reading →

Posted in Emotion, Philosophy, Writing | Leave a comment

Curiosity

Posted on September 21, 2015 by John Swinburn

Curiosity, I think, is simply a thirst for knowledge. And it’s a thirst absent any requisite redeeming practicality. It’s the same thirst a sot has for liquor; it just satisfies a need buried so deeply in the brain that it’s next to … Continue reading →

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Misfiring September Synapses

Posted on September 15, 2015 by John Swinburn

If I were a psychologist, trained in the causes and effects of socio-neural stimulus-response, I might know why so many things happen. I might understand why people’s eyes brim with tears as they remember both horror and beauty. I could possess an … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Just Thinking, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Abstractions

Posted on August 17, 2015 by John Swinburn

All of us are abstractions, cast in an impermeable mixture of sand and cement of our own making. We’re parodies of ourselves, fabricated partly out of pieces of the way we look in the mirror and partly from scraps of others’ perceptions of who we … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Writing | Leave a comment

Conundrum: Yet, Still, We Must Understand

Posted on August 1, 2015 by John Swinburn

Today, or maybe it was yesterday, I came to the realization that the only way to understand myself is to understand others. It seems so utterly contradictory, yet as I sit here typing this, I believe it to be factual … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Revelations in Crowded Places

Posted on July 30, 2015 by John Swinburn

Here are a few short ideas spilling from my head as I try to come to grips with fast-paced experiences and new ideas: The frenetic energy of the city fees on itself, creating intrigue and interest and power. But a fast … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy | 1 Comment

Consciousness

Posted on June 26, 2015 by John Swinburn

We assume creatures like crustaceans and caterpillars have no consciousness of that “thing:” we call emotion. How could they, after all? They are not human so how could they possibly possess a human characteristic like emotion? Yet we do not … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Nature, Philosophy | 4 Comments

Allowing In All Recollections

Posted on June 8, 2015 by John Swinburn

The conversation stirred recollections. Maybe. But were they real? I spoke of old memories, memories I don’t trust. Did I really visit several strip clubs while I was in high school and in the first years of college, or were … Continue reading →

Posted in Memories, Philosophy, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Revealing What’s Underneath

Posted on June 3, 2015 by John Swinburn

You may not want to read this. Especially if you’re not on a high note at the moment. Sometimes, I just write stuff that can’t help but ruin a mood. There’s no question, I sometimes write some pretty strange stuff. The scenes … Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Emotion, Just Thinking, Philosophy, Writing | 3 Comments

Death Penalty

Posted on May 29, 2015 by John Swinburn

For much of my life, I favored the death penalty. It was an opinion informed not by reason, but by rage. I still feel rage at people who are, or were, unquestionably guilty of horrific acts, but my sense now … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Languishing

Posted on May 14, 2015 by John Swinburn

The shriveled old women and wizened old men—sitting alone in wheel chairs and recliners in a large, airy room—look upset. They have reason to be angry. Trapped in uncooperative bodies, they are forced to live in a prison for the weak … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Health, Love, Philosophy | 2 Comments

Imperfections

Posted on May 13, 2015 by John Swinburn

I once started making a list of my imperfections, with the idea that I could take action to correct my weaknesses only if I were fully conscious of them. Initially, only a few were blatantly obvious to me, but as I sat … Continue reading →

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An Invitation to Lewd and Lascivious Behavior

Posted on May 10, 2015 by John Swinburn

My post about the local writers’ event at which I will read tomorrow got me thinking, which is not always a good thing. I will admit to a bit of indignation at something that probably doesn’t deserve a moment of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy, Rant, Writing | 3 Comments

Thinking of Spiders

Posted on May 8, 2015 by John Swinburn

I speak a thousand tongues and understand the rest. Fluent in their languages, I communicate with spiders and birds and walruses. I hear grass grow before it breaks the surface of the soil, though the sound competes with the noise of … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Nature, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Seduction

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Swinburn

Seductions are, by nature, slow. They do not swirl into a life and grab the subject of the seduction by the throat and whisk that person away. Rather, they slide in through a door left ajar, hiding behind curtains until the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Writing | 1 Comment

Oh, Please, Make Them Go Away

Posted on May 3, 2015 by John Swinburn

I just read a news article that reported on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order to the Texas State Guard to monitor a Navy SEAL/Green Beret joint training exercise (Operation Jade Helm). Apparently, right-wing militia conspiracy theorists convinced the Governor the exercises are a … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Rant | 1 Comment

Hi(story)

Posted on May 1, 2015 by John Swinburn

The experiences we hear and read about from a hundred years ago are stories told from biased perspectives. No matter how “true” they are, the facts filter through the lens of at least one person and probably dozens or even hundreds.  We no more … Continue reading →

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Vice

Posted on April 18, 2015 by John Swinburn

I bought a bench vise and four cheap frame-clamps yesterday morning at a garage sale across the street from me. It was held at the home of a man who died in his house and was found a few days later. His … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | 2 Comments