Tag: Touchstone Terms

  • Touchstone Terms: The Accursed Share

    Touchstone Terms: The Accursed Share

    This is a part of a series on terms and concepts that I find particularly resonant. We usually say that the fundamental rule of economics is scarcity: there are never enough widgets (food, housing, gadgets) to meet all the demand And even where we seem to be endowed with wealth, we still face opportunity costs for doing…

  • Touchstone Terms: Arendt’s Metaphysical Deflation

    Touchstone Terms: Arendt’s Metaphysical Deflation

    This post is a part of a series on some ideas that I find particularly useful or interesting. It also extends the post from last week of metaphysical deflation in Nietzsche. Here, I begin an account of Arendt’s metaphysical deflation, and its intimate connection to a kind of skepticism about personal identity. Though Hannah Arendt began…

  • Touchstone Terms: Personality Disorders and Ego-Syntony

    Touchstone Terms: Personality Disorders and Ego-Syntony

    I find the distinction between psychological disorders and personality disorders fascinating. Consider obsession and compulsion. Someone suffering from the anxiety disorder OCD will often engage in ritualistic actions: locking and unlocking a door a set number of times, carefully arranging furniture, repetitive washing, or hoarding. A person with the personality disorder OCPD may do some…