Hughes' star is just rising. He is a gifted, courageous man and bravely reflects his own direct experience. He is the antithesis to the Kendi poison. This young man has a glorious future, but not without radical challenge. I showed his rap video to my college freshmen in February. There's no end to his capacity to inspire.
Lots to ponder. I might add that I also studied philosophy at Columbia. CC65. One prof said my questions were interesting but not very philosophical. So, I became an anthropologist. I appreciate the essay opening with philosophy and then moving from those quanderies into those of a more empirical frame. And music is my channel into being able to hop from one standpoint epistemology to another. Wonderful essay.
Aug 2, 2022·edited Aug 2, 2022Liked by Free Black Thought
Clear, coherent writing with footnotes. Well done!
Edited to add: I discovered Coleman Hughes about three years ago. He continues to inform and impress. I'm nearly always calmer and more focused after listening to him on nearly any topic.
Thank you for highlighting Coleman Hughes. He's a standout intellectual, articulate, reasonable, loaded with talent and exemplary critical thinking skills. His podcast interviews enrich my life and teach me things. Just the other day he offered a nuanced, ambivalent opinion on Julian Assange and Wikileaks that stopped me in my tracks.
Hughes is not even 30 years old. May he have a long life and contribute to the betterment of the planet for years to come.
Occasionally I find an essay that is *so* good that I copy it to Word. On the lame theory that I'll be better able to find it and read it again sometime. This is one such. Can't compliment M. Hughes enough. I've known *of* him for a long while. From FAIR and his appearances. Knew he *had* made a hip hop video but not what it was about.
As other commenters have noted, a polymath like him will have to set his own "the sky's the limit."
The interviewer, M. Blakeslee, did an outstanding job. I got a chance to see into the *soul* of M. Hughes. (If such-a thing exists, but You can get my meaning.) (I use “M.” like the French do, for Monsieur but ALSO for Madam and Mademoiselle EQUALLY. That’s just me.)
Can't thank You enough, all-a Youse.
Although separated from M. Hughes by race and a generation or two, he expresses my same views near-perfectly.
On reparations, I would disagree. Giving money away based on skin-color is, by definition, racist. I understand a little about the tragedies of red-lining, segregation, integration, and the difficulties that rained down on Black people.
The other problem with it, tho, is that giving money away based on skin color will drive an irrecoverable wedge between poor Blacks and poor Whites. Why should middle-class (or better) Blacks get money, and poor Whites not? And I'm not at all certain that this unintended consequence of reparations, isn't actually intended.
I wish I had a chance to get educated in Philosophy. But then, I'm lucky. I think today's Philosophy, at least in Academia, has lost it's Way. For example, I understand the ontological question of "Do we really exist?" But what with *all* the problems we have in today's world, to me anyWay, that's like determining how many angels fit on the head of a pin.
Why not just assume that we do. Or, looked at scientifically, why not admit that what we think of Reality is actually our physical sensations filtered out by a brain obsessed with limiting the amount of information it has to deal with. Meaning, yeah, at one level we each have a unique version of Reality, so nobody can answer the question objectively whether we really exist or not. Or whether there's some objectively consistent Reality which is shared by all humans.
"Objectively consistent?" Why not just assume there's a version of Reality that at least *some* are capable of experiencing which is fairly close to being an identical shared Reality. "Close enough for gubmint work, anyway."
Then mebbe You can knock the idea that everything is determined (Hard Determinism), and yet we still have free will. Yeah, I know most philosophers these days are Compatibalists. I"m sorry, but that's just a plain logical contradiction. I've been told that it's true we have choices, but the choice we made was determined by biochemicals and prior experience (which itself is stored in biochemicals).
Pfffft. When Science can come up with an explanation for subjective experience, I'd pay more attention to issues like this. Being as subjective experience is outside the purview of Science, I'm not holding my breath.
That's one reason I give a lotta credence to intuition. Which is how I type this crap in.
TYTY again, to all those I mentioned at the top. And anybody that read this far.
(I don’t read what I type before I post, so errors are expected. TYTY.)
Hughes' star is just rising. He is a gifted, courageous man and bravely reflects his own direct experience. He is the antithesis to the Kendi poison. This young man has a glorious future, but not without radical challenge. I showed his rap video to my college freshmen in February. There's no end to his capacity to inspire.
Lots to ponder. I might add that I also studied philosophy at Columbia. CC65. One prof said my questions were interesting but not very philosophical. So, I became an anthropologist. I appreciate the essay opening with philosophy and then moving from those quanderies into those of a more empirical frame. And music is my channel into being able to hop from one standpoint epistemology to another. Wonderful essay.
Clear, coherent writing with footnotes. Well done!
Edited to add: I discovered Coleman Hughes about three years ago. He continues to inform and impress. I'm nearly always calmer and more focused after listening to him on nearly any topic.
Thank you for highlighting Coleman Hughes. He's a standout intellectual, articulate, reasonable, loaded with talent and exemplary critical thinking skills. His podcast interviews enrich my life and teach me things. Just the other day he offered a nuanced, ambivalent opinion on Julian Assange and Wikileaks that stopped me in my tracks.
Hughes is not even 30 years old. May he have a long life and contribute to the betterment of the planet for years to come.
Thank You all. Author, subject, and JFBT.
Occasionally I find an essay that is *so* good that I copy it to Word. On the lame theory that I'll be better able to find it and read it again sometime. This is one such. Can't compliment M. Hughes enough. I've known *of* him for a long while. From FAIR and his appearances. Knew he *had* made a hip hop video but not what it was about.
As other commenters have noted, a polymath like him will have to set his own "the sky's the limit."
The interviewer, M. Blakeslee, did an outstanding job. I got a chance to see into the *soul* of M. Hughes. (If such-a thing exists, but You can get my meaning.) (I use “M.” like the French do, for Monsieur but ALSO for Madam and Mademoiselle EQUALLY. That’s just me.)
Can't thank You enough, all-a Youse.
Although separated from M. Hughes by race and a generation or two, he expresses my same views near-perfectly.
On reparations, I would disagree. Giving money away based on skin-color is, by definition, racist. I understand a little about the tragedies of red-lining, segregation, integration, and the difficulties that rained down on Black people.
The other problem with it, tho, is that giving money away based on skin color will drive an irrecoverable wedge between poor Blacks and poor Whites. Why should middle-class (or better) Blacks get money, and poor Whites not? And I'm not at all certain that this unintended consequence of reparations, isn't actually intended.
I wish I had a chance to get educated in Philosophy. But then, I'm lucky. I think today's Philosophy, at least in Academia, has lost it's Way. For example, I understand the ontological question of "Do we really exist?" But what with *all* the problems we have in today's world, to me anyWay, that's like determining how many angels fit on the head of a pin.
Why not just assume that we do. Or, looked at scientifically, why not admit that what we think of Reality is actually our physical sensations filtered out by a brain obsessed with limiting the amount of information it has to deal with. Meaning, yeah, at one level we each have a unique version of Reality, so nobody can answer the question objectively whether we really exist or not. Or whether there's some objectively consistent Reality which is shared by all humans.
"Objectively consistent?" Why not just assume there's a version of Reality that at least *some* are capable of experiencing which is fairly close to being an identical shared Reality. "Close enough for gubmint work, anyway."
Then mebbe You can knock the idea that everything is determined (Hard Determinism), and yet we still have free will. Yeah, I know most philosophers these days are Compatibalists. I"m sorry, but that's just a plain logical contradiction. I've been told that it's true we have choices, but the choice we made was determined by biochemicals and prior experience (which itself is stored in biochemicals).
Pfffft. When Science can come up with an explanation for subjective experience, I'd pay more attention to issues like this. Being as subjective experience is outside the purview of Science, I'm not holding my breath.
That's one reason I give a lotta credence to intuition. Which is how I type this crap in.
TYTY again, to all those I mentioned at the top. And anybody that read this far.
(I don’t read what I type before I post, so errors are expected. TYTY.)
What a wonderful article!