Category Archives: Philosophy

Reading Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Is Still Rewarding

Ancient Greece, Antiquity, Aristotle, Philosophy

A while ago, I told some people about the fascinating experience that reading Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics entailed for me. A few queries about the Ethics followed. Not because I am an expert on this book or anything, but because I read more of it – and about it! – than the others present. And I can very much not help myself, sharing my enthusiasm for anything slightly related to the humanities… During that conversation I got an interesting question that fit the ethos of the Nicomachean Ethics: Why? Why read a philosophical treatise from more than two millennia ago? Philosophy has moved on since then, after all. Nobody has the spare time – and neither do their friends – to live the good life as proposed by Aristotle in the company he envisioned. The author of the Nichomachean Ethics was also famously misogynist and harbored many other views that do not fit our modern societies, with their human rights and the like. His stance on slavery was at best ambiguous and at worst tacit resignation, for crying out loud!1 So let us today discuss that monosyllabic question – why? Because I wish for others that very same experience that I had with the Nichomachean Ethics. But there are also more practical reasons to dust off this tome.

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Translation as Obfuscation: Is ‘The Second Sex’ by Simone de Beauvoir?

Philosophy, Translation Studies

None of us can read all possible languages. For many of the important books that shaped our lives, from literary works that broadened our minds to philosophy treatises which opened new ways of thinking to us, we had thus to rely on translations. Which in turn meant trusting translators and the choices they made. And though there are many possible and valid ways to translate the written word from one language into another – on a spectrum that runs from ephemeral attempts to craft an equivalent text to complete re-imaginings – sometimes there are obvious mistakes.1 And none of these mistakes are perhaps as remarkable, or as instructive on the noble craft of translation itself, as those that can be found in the two attempts to translate Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe in English, both called The Second Sex.2

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The Themes of My Favorite Video Games of 2024

Ancient Mesopotamia, Antiquity, Environmental Humanities, Methodology, Philosophy, Video Games

After we discussed my twenty favorite albums of the previous calendar year last week, today I want to introduce you to three games that came out in 2024 and which may be of interest to the readers of this blog. Because the themes present in these products of digital entertainment harken back to subjects that we discussed on Bildungblocks in the past and provide, I hope, a new perspective on them. These are, in my opinion, also the best games of last year. As such, the following discussion doubles as a list with my favorite video games of 2024.

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The Original Trolley Problem

Philosophy

Some talking points are so deeply entrenched in the public imagination that it is difficult to imagine a time when they were no the go-to argument during all too familiar discussions in academia, on the political stage, or at birthday parties. This is also the case with the so-called trolley problem. When weighing interests, this analogy is never far from people’s minds – and it has even penetrated popular culture treatments of philosophy, like the television series The Good Place.1 One could speak of a proper “trolleyology”, so to say.2 But once upon a time, someone had to come up with this scenario. And this involved way more thinking about speleology, courtrooms, and healthcare than you would probably expect!

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The Death of Plato

Ancient Greece, Antiquity, Philosophy, Plato

Some famous people are perhaps as much known for the manner and time of their deaths as for the things that made them a household name in the first place. The infamous moniker ‘the club of 27’, which denotes legendary musicians like Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse who died tragically at a mere 27 years old, comes to mind.1 But also philosophers can acquire such moribund recognition.2 Socrates’ death, for example, has been portrayed throughout nearly all artforms.3 And the story of this ancient Greek philosopher’s forced suicide, on account of not saving his skin by changing a way of life which he deemed too important, still resonates today.4 But if you are a morbid mortal like myself, you have probably sometimes wondered about the demise of those towering figures of history whose end has not (yet) become part of popular culture. Like Socrates’ most famous student, that other widely acclaimed ancient Greek philosopher – and Dutch cd-store – Plato.

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The Poignant Meaning of Τύχη in Ancient Greek

Ancient Greece, Antiquity, Philosophy

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while now, might have noticed that I am an adept of ancient languages. When others grab their phone, put on the tv, or devour snacks in their downtime, I turn to philology – and often also to those other activities, truth be told.1 And I love them all, from the venerable Akkadian to plain old Latin. Or should I say arâm Akkadian and amo Latin?2 Every aspect of ancient languages is interesting, obviously, but what fascinates me perhaps the most is the morphology and grammar of languages – the forms and structures which give each tongue its own feel and sense of elegance – and their lexicon.3 ,,Big deal!”, you might say about the latter, ,,Who doesn’t like, you know, words?” But words can convey a world of meaning, which is difficult to express in languages with a different vocabulary. And one of these words, which we should therefore immediately adapt in any of the still living languages that wants it, is the ancient Greek τύχη. So, let us play some semantics, without annoying others for a change!4

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What Is Bildung?

Philosophy

When I was involved with teaching in the Netherlands, the German word ‘Bildung’ tended to get thrown around a lot. And one could still play a drinking game when following the Dutch discourse on the state of higher education, for example, with an eye out for this term.1 But when I started blogging, I got many questions regarding the meaning of the name that I had chosen for the webpage that hosts my blogs: Bildungblocks. And then I realized that most people, luckily for them, have only ever enjoyed education and never had to be interested in the theoretical underpinnings or the adjacent vocabulary. Well, that ends today!

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What We Lose When We Die

Martha Nussbaum, Philosophy, Thomas Nagel

During our exploration of one of the saddest texts from ancient Mesopotamia, the Assyrian Elegy, we noticed that people in Mesopotamia might have good reasons to fear death. Because their ideas about the Netherworld that awaited them were mostly bleak. In our current era we may encounter many religions that offer the possibility of a happier afterlife, and there are also a lot of persons who do not presume that there is an existence after death at all. Most of us, however, still do not look forward to dying, thank you very much.1 And the accompanying fear of death has created a lot of beautiful artworks as well as philosophical treatises. In this blog, I aim to share with you the insights from a few of the latter, which were written by Thomas Nagel and Martha Nussbaum.

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