Kurt Keefner
I am Present in the World
"Presence" is the intense experience of self and world--the poetry of existence, divinity in a godless but living universe.
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Kurt Keefner
- Nov 23
- 7 min
It's Just Common Sense
Common sense is a surpisingly slippery concept. Here is my attempt to pin it down.
580
Kurt Keefner
- Nov 15
- 2 min
Talk => Talk => Talk
We usually know what we're going to say before we say it. It's not so obvious how that works..
260
Kurt Keefner
- Nov 11
- 45 min
One Person, Indivisible
A person is not a soul/mind/brain + a body but a vital unitary being. This is the theory of personal holism.
6680
Kurt Keefner
- Oct 28
- 14 min
The Perfection of Desire
How values begin with the felt needs of childhood and can be realized through the growth and application of philosophy.
1820
Kurt Keefner
- Apr 5
- 10 min
Call Me Deacon Blues
Steely Dan's song "Deacon Blues" tells the paradoxical story of how an inauthentic man finds liberation. How much is that everybody's story?
700
Kurt Keefner
- Nov 20, 2022
- 17 min
Fun Songs about Bad Men
When does a fun song about a bad man celebrate wickedness? And is this OK in the name of fun?
860
Kurt Keefner
- Oct 20, 2022
- 12 min
Amazing Meme
The story you didn't know of the classic hymn and how it has been a prolific meme in American culture.
2530
Kurt Keefner
- Oct 5, 2022
- 14 min
Foundation Songs
Songs about home: what can we say about them and what do they say about us?
1050
Kurt Keefner
- Aug 16, 2022
- 6 min
Contra Szasz
Dr. Thomas Szasz was a staunch opponent of involuntary psychiatric treatment, but there is much more to his thinking.
580
Kurt Keefner
- Apr 6, 2022
- 12 min
Madame X: Portrait of a Scandal
John Singer Sargent's Madame X was not only a bold artistic statement but a pivotal point in the invention of the modern woman.
9630
Kurt Keefner
- Jan 21, 2022
- 8 min
Walking into John Singer Sargent
Sargent was one of the greatest painters of his time. I underestimated him. Now I am taking a fresh look at him - and my reactions to him.
7400
Kurt Keefner
- Jan 10, 2022
- 2 min
To Become Who You Are
This is an essay about being authentic, which is the alternative to living a falsified life. It is full of hope.
530
Kurt Keefner
- Dec 30, 2021
- 3 min
How a River Becomes a River Once Again
“Before I sought enlightenment, the mountains were mountains and the rivers were rivers. While I sought enlightenment, the mountains were...
490
Kurt Keefner
- Nov 20, 2021
- 5 min
"For the Love of Wisdom"
I have decided to write another book, tentatively titled For the Love of Wisdom. It is going to be the sum of all my thinking about...
1890
Kurt Keefner
- Aug 9, 2021
- 7 min
Descending Mount Olympus
Following Ayn Rand too closely stranded me on a mountain peak. Here's how I came down.
2760
Kurt Keefner
- Jun 30, 2021
- 16 min
The Perfecting of Howard Roark
Howard Roark is no statue. This is the story of his development as a human character.
7350
Kurt Keefner
- May 20, 2021
- 7 min
The Fate of Atlas
I really enjoyed Greek mythology as a boy, but I was never much interested in Atlas. His brother Prometheus, who created humankind and...
4720
Kurt Keefner
- Apr 11, 2021
- 3 min
To Choose Wonder
Plato and Aristotle agreed that philosophy starts in wonder, but wonder is a much broader feeling than what they meant. There is...
3910
Kurt Keefner
- Feb 18, 2021
- 11 min
Self-Realization and Ecology
How to become who you are naturally rather than by force.
3970
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