Welcome to Not Easily Satisfied!

Not Easily Satisfied is a philosophy blog devoted to interesting philosophical problems that I feel the need to tackle, but do not really have anywhere else to address them. I (probably) won't be an expert in anything I tackle here, but close reading and analysis should carry the day where extensive knowledge cannot tread. The format should change slightly from project to project, but will generally consist of a close reading of that argument in question, a presentation of the strongest possible form of the argument (which will come out through such a reading), followed by the conclusions I draw from my presentation of the argument. If nothing else, it should be a fun attempt to figure out some of those problems that nag just about everyone “when we are caught without people or drink.”

I encourage reader participation (if, indeed, anyone feels the need to read this awkward little blog), as everyone misses something or other, and it's difficult to know if my explanation of a passage is as clear as it can be without someone else reading it! Besides, philosophy is a social activity, and if we all can come to a greater understanding of the issues at stake, then so much the better.

Before I wrap this up, I'd like to give a few introductory notes about my first project, an analysis of John Duns Scotus's Treatise on God as First Principle. I decided to open with this one for two major reasons: first, it is probably the strongest proof of God's existence that I have encountered (even if my experience with it is minimal), and second, Scotus is often a tough nut to crack – he was known as “The Subtle Doctor” for a reason! So while picking apart the Treatise will no doubt be difficult, it seems like the best way to go about both discovering whether or not a proof for God's existence can work, as well as improving my skills at interpreting dense philosophical texts at the same time. Hopefully I'll be able to assist someone trying to parse Scotus on their own, as well.

As the Treatise follows a convenient Chapter-Paragraph numbering system, I will be following it rather strictly. What this means is that I will be analyzing each individual paragraph with a paragraph (or more, as required) of my own. While this may seem tedious, it is very easy to refer back to the original text this way, and allows for the most thorough investigation possible.

I will be working with the Allan B. Wolter translation of the Treatise. Though it's a bit old, and there's no doubt that there is a more contemporary translation available somewhere, this is the one I have access to. In the most ideal situation, I'd use my own translation, but sadly my Latin skills are not yet up to task, and I don't have the time to both translate and philosophize!

Anyway, I've rambled for far too long. Thank you for reading Not Easily Satisfied, and hopefully with a lot of work, we can come to a sort of satisfactory conclusion to some of the most interesting problems the philosophical world has to offer.