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Cognitive Hedonism

by Andreas Saugstad

The word “hedonism” comes from the Greek word “hedone,” which means pleasure. In antiquity, a group of philosophers were called hedonists, because they believed that the highest principle of morality is pleasure and that the meaning of life is to reach a state of pleasure or happiness. Some people believe that the highest goal in life is to follow rules, and some believe it is to demonstrate one’s superiority over others (elitism, fascism). Some ancient philosophers – the stoics – believed that the guiding principle of life should be connected to controlling one’s passions and any kind of circumstances.

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Philosophy & The Good Life

by Andreas Saugstad

How can philosophy make your life better? And what relevance does philosophy have to life? My view is that by engaging in the questions and situations we are confronted with in ordinary life, philosophy may give us a higher quality of life. Philosophy is relevant to life in the sense that it discusses the basic questions of human existence, and because philosophy is a creative activity carried out by individuals constructing meaning, philosophy is constitutive, i.e. it gives us meaning to life and gives reality a new dimension.

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Britney Spears & Utilitarianism

by Andreas Saugstad

Some believe Britney Spears is one of the greatest teen heroes in the world today. She is famous for her records “…Baby one more time” (1999) and “Oops…I Did It Again” (2000). Britney is only a teenager, but is already, rich, famous, and no doubt she is very beautiful.

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A Note On What There Is

by Andreas Saugstad

The young Wittgenstein wrote that the mystical is not how the world is, but THAT it is. The philosopher was pondering the mystical feeling that there is something existing. He was trying to grasp the Stimmung associated with the old question “why is there something rather than nothing?”

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Nietzsche & Christianity

by Andreas Saugstad

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is considered as being one of the most important and original thinkers in the history of Western thought. He grew up as the son of a Lutheran pastor, and attended some of the best schools in Germany at that time. Only 25 years old, he was appointed professor in philology at the University of Basel. At the age of twenty, he wrote a poem to “the unknown God:” “I want to know you — even to serve you.”

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