Category Archives: Philosophy

Wealth is a state of mind

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Rick Altman

I recommend that all watch the video just broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 News this evening. http://bcove.me/bhlp9f4f The video is one of a report, by Jamal Osmond, from Somaliland. Never heard of it? Me too. Somaliland is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumerism, Ethics, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lack of perspective

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Rick Altman

I have referred to St Augustine of Hippo before, to highlight the folly of invoking conspiracy theory rather than dealing with nature of reality. However, even though they have little to do with the theme of this blog, I hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Philosophy, Religion | Tagged | 2 Comments

The dustbin of failed evolutionary experiments?

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Rick Altman

Once again, as I did in my previous post, I must credit xraymike79 as the source of the title for this offering, as it also featured in the quotation from his recent post. For ease of reference, however, here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Consumerism, Denial, Environment, Intergenerational Injustice, Mass Extinctions, Philosophy, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 45 Comments

Music for 21 December 2012

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Rick Altman

Following on from yesterday’s post of an R.E.M. classic (It’s The End Of The World As We Know It), here is more of my choice of music inspired by the fact that the World is NOT going to end today… … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Disorder, Civilisation, Climate Science, Environment, Intergenerational Injustice, Philosophy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The philosophical roots of scepticism

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Rick Altman

Connecting some more dots… It is almost a year since I published 3 posts on my old (disused) Earthy Issues blog (on the MyTelegraph website); and I believe they deserve being brought to the attention of a wider audience. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Cognitive Dissonance, Denial, Environment, Maketplace of Ideas, Philosophy, Psychology, Scepticism | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Nature is not your enemy (but it may bite you if provoked)

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Rick Altman

Over the last two days, I have explained why I am not a Socialist (despite dabbling with it in the past); and why I have lost my faith in Capitalism (despite being unavoidably enmeshed in it to this day)… So, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Collapse, Ecological Modernisation, Economics, Environment, Intergenerational Injustice, Philosophy, Politics, Sustainable development | Tagged | 9 Comments

The way I see things…

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Rick Altman
Posted in Philosophy, Photography | Tagged | Leave a comment

A brief history of Earth – part 3

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Rick Altman

Brought forward 24 hours in order to mark Earth Day, this is the third (and possibly the last) part of my mini-series of posts looking at what we can and should learn about the fragility and contingency of our existence … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mass Extinctions, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A brief history of Earth – part 2

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Rick Altman

Yesterday, I began a review of the recently-broadcast Australia: The Time Traveller’s Guide. However, this is such an information-rich programme, I went well over my 1000-word limit without even getting to the end of Episode 1. Also, it was clearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mass Extinctions, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

A brief history of Earth – part 1

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Rick Altman

A couple of weeks ago, I got into a spot of bother for suggesting that only geologists have the required sense of perspective to appreciate how contingent Life on Earth actually is (i.e. that things could quite easily have not … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Mass Extinctions, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments