S.W. Hammond's Blog, page 10
October 15, 2018
The Soul and Nietzsche: Interpretation is the Essence of Life
Knowledge is not an edifice built upon a foundation of indubitable facts, but an interpretative web of mutually supporting beliefs and desires being rewoven.
Friedrich Nietzsche sees the self as a multiplicity of social structure, perception, and the nature of being. One’s perception is not a simple perspective but a complex construct of physiological, psychological, and intellectual functions (Cox, 1). Sensations one experiences is not a direct reflection of the world but an interpretation of phenomena combined with dispositions, value judgements, and personal history that affect conclusions and rational. There is no single phenomena that is universally interpreted the same way; each individual’s understanding can be unique and equally as “good” or “correct” as another’s.
I particularly found Nietzsche’s perspective of knowledge interesting; it is “not an edifice built upon a foundation of indubitable facts, but an interpretative web of mutually supporting beliefs and desires being rewoven. Interpretation is the essence of life and each interpretation opens up a horizon of meaning and value” (Cox, 1, 2). I have put this same sentiment in my own words many times as explaining knowledge as glass ceilings; there is no complete knowledge of particular or universal objects or subjects, only levels of perspective. The more perspectives understood, i.e. ceilings shattered, the richer one’s understanding becomes—to the point of superb functionalism—however, complete knowledge or truth is unobtainable. For instance, a Christian may believe he fully knows God—and he’s not wrong from that standpoint; however, until he understands God from a Hindu, Muslim, Atheist, Buddhist, Jewish, (etc. etc.) perspective, he has a very narrow and incomplete conception of the Almighty.
October 12, 2018
Corvettes and Meow Wolf
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I had to deliever a Corvette to a friend in AZ, so I took dad along and we stopped at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe.
September 29, 2018
Keystone Fall Leaves
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Quick little trip up to Keystone for the weekend to see the leaves. Nice hike with Lake Dillon below.
September 26, 2018
The Ballad of Stevie Pearl Book Announcement
Believe me, you guys—I am so in love with these characters!
Well, it has been quite the summer. Those of you who keep in touch and check out the site from time to time probably have noticed that things have been a little quiet. Quiet online, yes—not so much in the real world!
It’s been a busy few months. I graduated from UNLV, I moved back to Colorado, a good portion of my office was lost in the move (no data though, thank Gods), not to mention the many things I had to fix and build at the new house. Life stuff—nothing of terrible interest—but it has all been very consuming.
I did have an event at the end of August, the Colorado Springs Comic Con. The show was a lot of fun, I’m really starting to get to know the other vendors as we seem to be doing the same shows all over the country. This is now my “home town” show and I hope its success continues for many years.
The Ballad of Stevie Pearl Announcement
Believe me, you guys—I am so in love with these characters!
Well, it has been quite the summer. Those of you who keep in touch and check out the site from time to time probably have noticed that things have been a little quiet. Quiet online, yes—not so much in the real world!
It’s been a busy few months. I graduated from UNLV, I moved back to Colorado, a good portion of my office was lost in the move (no data though, thank Gods), not to mention the many things I had to fix and build at the new house. Life stuff—nothing of terrible interest—but it has all been very consuming.
I did have an event at the end of August, the Colorado Springs Comic Con. The show was a lot of fun, I’m really starting to get to know the other vendors as we seem to be doing the same shows all over the country. This is now my “home town” show and I hope its success continues for many years.
September 12, 2018
Metberry Gulch Adventuring
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One of my favorite camping spots that’s close to home in Colorado. Metberry Gulch is north of Florissant and offers access to the South Platte River. It’s also a nice little 4x4 track.
June 6, 2018
The Pastry War: The Dumbest War In History?
Looking back throughout history most wars are pretty dumb, but can a dumb war be morally Just?
There are five qualifications Just War Theorists use to evaluate wars, in this article I'll break down the Pastry War between France and Mexico in 1838.
In full disclosure, I chose the Pastry War because of its superficial absurdity. I wanted to find the dumbest full-fledged conflict that I could, put it through the grinders of Justice, and see what our war ethicist buddy O’Brien comes up with. Let me tell you, there’s plenty of dumb wars out there, but I needed something with more substance than, say, the folklore surrounding the War of the Bucket (Bologna and Modena, 1325). According to historians, the Pastry War has enough significance to be somewhat documented and made just about everyone’s list of dumb—and so began my investigation.
June 2, 2018
2018 Colorado Springs Comic Con
August 24, 26, 26 – Chapel Hills Mall Event Center
Very happy to be a part of the 2018 Colorado Springs Comic Con–the guest lineup is fantastic! This will be my first event after moving back to my home state of Colorado. Look forward to seeing everyone and hope you can make it out!
Be sure to swing by Artist Alley where I will be signing and selling The Final Book: Gods and The Mixtape Manfiesto.
Visit the official Colorado Springs Comic Con website for ticket information, schedule, and special guests:
Colorado Springs Comic Con Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/cscomiccon/
May 31, 2018
Assassin's Creed: A Storyteller's Redemption
From Altair to Bayek, AC Origins is a homerun when the franchise needed it the most.
I’ve been avid AC player for over a decade—I’ve played all major releases as they came out since its inception. I’ve even read a few of the books, watched the cinematic shorts, and went to the theater to see the movie. I love the story and idea that is Assassin’s Creed.
However, in recent years, the game has strayed drastically from its compelling roots and existential undertones–which was the entire reason I forced myself to play through the clunky hair-pulling controls and egregious repetitiveness that was Altair in the first couple installments. Originally, the story was so good that I was willing to suffer through its god-awful playability. However, as the playability got better, the story became much worse.
May 22, 2018
The Soul and Sartre: Bearing Responsibility and Accountability
If God does not exist, man, therefore, is only beholden to man–and in turn, all is permissible.
The quintessential existentialist claim of “existence prior to essence” traverses in the opposite direction of thousands of years of thought and the commonly held subscription that the Western world has been raised on–“essence prior to existence.” Granted, those making such existentialist claims prior to the Enlightenment were burned at the stake; being branded a heretic silenced many forms of thought–existentialism being the antithesis.
Regardless, the crux of the debate centralizes around the idea of intelligent design and if man is a creation of God; further, and if so, then each of us are imprinted with a sense of meaning, destiny, essence, and / or soul prior to being born. Existentialist reject this position and believe that man is a construct of nature and the creator of his own life. As Sartre puts it, man “appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself… Not only is man what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after being thrust toward existence” (Sartre, 15). This concept requires that each man becomes aware of what he truly is and that he takes responsibility for his existence (Sartre, 16).
