Introducing . . . the Peripatetic

Greetings, fellow travellers.

I am the Peripatetic: a philosopher, jurist, and ambassador.

The word ‘peripatetic’ comes from Greek: a peripatetic walks or travels around. Aristotle was so-called because he would pace about his school while lecturing, and the term came to be associated with his followers and his school of thought.

Aristotle wrote about many things, including poetry, biology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, law, and logic. His works stand the test of time: many of them profoundly influenced the course of history (especially the development of science) and many are still worth studying for their timeless relevance. His Nicomachean Ethics is a detailed study of human character, as poignant today as it was ~2300 years ago.

Aristotle identified eudaimonia (‘happiness’ / ‘holistic flourishing’) as the ultimate goal or end of life and all human decision-making. This could only be achieved by acting virtuously — and thereby becoming virtuous. Virtues include courage, continence (self-control), liberality, wisdom, prudence, etc.

The sensibilities of modern moralists may be offended by some of Aristotle’s value analyses, but this is merely part of the interest and part of the conversation.

Virtue is a middle-ground — the Golden Mean—between vices of excess and deficiency. E.g.: those with the proper amount of pride love and appreciate themselves, taking care of their reputation and interests. Those with excessive self-love suffer the vice of vanity (where self-image exceeds reality) while those with too little self-love suffer from humility, associated with a lack of confidence and general ineffectiveness and worthlessness.

Christianity has traditionally preached a morality of humility: great displays are for sinners. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven, right? Pride, after all, is one of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.

There is something to each ethos, and to others, but Aristotle’s balanced approach to personal development provides a better starting point and a better model for success and happiness.

The true moralist charitably but critically evaluates and synthesizes all the different ethical concepts they can find. There is some truth in everything, but bullshit is ubiquitous. You need to work through problems honestly, if you want to find the keys to the kingdom.

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I am too individualistic to belong to anyone’s school, but that is a point of commonality: Aristotle created his own school when Plato died, rather than taking over his master’s school.

I identify with Aristotle. His work has influenced me. I am fond of pacing slowly, contemplatively, hands resting together behind the small of my back.

And I have interests in pretty much everything, from the roots of trees to the consumption of their fruit.

I do not intend to be taken too seriously, though. This pseudonym is a vehicle to share thoughts without fear of being harassed by intrusive authorities.

These days, my mind dwells greatly on geopolitics and the global economy. There is a lot going on right now and much of it is deliberately obfuscated. The current system (of, inter alia, fiat money controlled by central and commercial banks) is not sustainable and will eventually collapse or be supplanted.

I have only been digging deep into cryptocurrencies for the past few months, but I am convinced that the cat is out of the bag and crypto is here to stay. I hope to post many articles on the topic.

There are several other articles I have half-started — on geopolitics, foreign policy, and international law — but I did not have any particular forum in mind. Now that I have joined Steemit, perhaps I will have enough sense of audience and scope to bring some of these projects to tentative completion.

Stay tuned!

And keep an ear to the ground.