Philosophy Now Forum

The Voice of Time wrote:

Brit Dems wrote:

The Voice of Time wrote:Trismegistus? May I ask from where that name come?

And you love Philosophy?

Do I sense sarcasm or an innocent sidetrack response? In case of sarcasm the ancient Greeks are not particularly interesting to me, and the character in question not particularly important either (although if you are a fan of the individual, then you'll probably have a different opinion about that).

In case of not sarcasm, I'd say I like philosophizing absolutely, philosophy is the great passion of my life, and I consider myself somewhat of an expert when it comes to making philosophy, as opposed to just reading it. Almost every day is a day for philosophy for me.

Ah!

Are you a Norse man making an effort to escape the Mediterranean Christian values that civilised Northern Europe?

Trying to escape the power of Greece / Rome, Norway is not far enough.

reasonvemotion wrote:reasonvemotion wrote:

I don't think this is his real name.

Isn't this so Hermes?

Brit Dems wrote:

What is "real"?

I get it. Your one of those pedantic poms.

Let me explain it to you succinctly.

Your personal name, is the real name which identifies you as an individual, which is given to you by the mother/father at birth.

So I ask the question again.

I don't think this is your real name.

Isn't this so Hermes? LOL

Hermes Trismegistus, to ask if this is a real name is to question reality itself.

Brit Dems wrote:Ah!

Are you a Norse man making an effort to escape the Mediterranean Christian values that civilised Northern Europe?

Trying to escape the power of Greece / Rome, Norway is not far enough.

Norse sounds wrong to my ears, but I guess you could say that in English. As a Norwegian however I would say "Nordic" instead of Norse, as Norse makes me think about the Viking era, with Norse mythology and Norsemen sailing on their boats across cold oceans. Best would be to just call me Norwegian though.

But you tell me, do I have a reason to try and "escape" from anything?

The Voice of Time wrote:

Brit Dems wrote:Ah!

Are you a Norse man making an effort to escape the Mediterranean Christian values that civilised Northern Europe?

Trying to escape the power of Greece / Rome, Norway is not far enough.

Norse sounds wrong to my ears, but I guess you could say that in English. As a Norwegian however I would say "Nordic" instead of Norse, as Norse makes me think about the Viking era, with Norse mythology and Norsemen sailing on their boats across cold oceans. Best would be to just call me Norwegian though.

But you tell me, do I have a reason to try and "escape" from anything?

That depends on what value, if any, you put on Nordic identity.

.

Why do you suppose it has anything to do with identity? I don't see identity being a driving force for any of it. There are Norwegian philosophers and although they have interesting ideas I'm not particularly interested in them, I treat them pretty much like any other philosopher out there.

Why should it matter what's my identity? Why can't I just use reason and skip such meaningless crap?

The Voice of Time wrote:Why do you suppose it has anything to do with identity? I don't see identity being a driving force for any of it. There are Norwegian philosophers and although they have interesting ideas I'm not particularly interested in them, I treat them pretty much like any other philosopher out there.

Why should it matter what's my identity? Why can't I just use reason and skip such meaningless crap?

CRAP?

Do you really think you are being reasonable about this issue?

Brit Dems wrote:

The Voice of Time wrote:Why do you suppose it has anything to do with identity? I don't see identity being a driving force for any of it. There are Norwegian philosophers and although they have interesting ideas I'm not particularly interested in them, I treat them pretty much like any other philosopher out there.

Why should it matter what's my identity? Why can't I just use reason and skip such meaningless crap?

CRAP?

Do you really think you are being reasonable about this issue?

There is a little-known political party in the UK called the British Democrats, a hardline breakaway from the extreme rightwing British National Party. The BNP (which collapsed amusingly into internal conflict a couple of years back) has a bit of a fetish about Nordic identity - tall strapping blond aryans and all that nonsense. Putting two and two together - and maybe getting five - are you connected with that party? Or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick?

Hermes Trismegistus should not be confused with the Greek god Hermes. They are two different characters, though I suppose there must be some sort of connection.

Hermes Trismegistus is the supposed author of a collection of mystical writings called the 'Hermetic Corpus' which had a vogue in late Roman times and has had revivals in popularity a few times since. Apparently it is mainly neo-Platonism plus Isis worship and general mystification. That era was big on mystery cults. Anyway, fans of this writing claimed that it dated from the age of the pharaohs and was written by a priest called Hermes Trismegistus, though a scholar called Casaubon a couple of centuries back showed that it actually dated only from the 2nd or 3rd century AD.

Brit Dems wrote:Do you really think you are being reasonable about this issue?

What issue?

RickLewis wrote:

Brit Dems wrote:

The Voice of Time wrote:Why do you suppose it has anything to do with identity? I don't see identity being a driving force for any of it. There are Norwegian philosophers and although they have interesting ideas I'm not particularly interested in them, I treat them pretty much like any other philosopher out there.

Why should it matter what's my identity? Why can't I just use reason and skip such meaningless crap?

CRAP?

Do you really think you are being reasonable about this issue?

There is a little-known political party in the UK called the British Democrats, a hardline breakaway from the extreme rightwing British National Party. The BNP (which collapsed amusingly into internal conflict a couple of years back) has a bit of a fetish about Nordic identity - tall strapping blond aryans and all that nonsense. Putting two and two together - and maybe getting five - are you connected with that party? Or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick?

Was that a shining example of Norwegian logic?

RickLewis wrote:Hermes Trismegistus should not be confused with the Greek god Hermes. They are two different characters, though I suppose there must be some sort of connection.

Hermes Trismegistus is the supposed author of a collection of mystical writings called the 'Hermetic Corpus' which had a vogue in late Roman times and has had revivals in popularity a few times since. Apparently it is mainly neo-Platonism plus Isis worship and general mystification. That era was big on mystery cults. Anyway, fans of this writing claimed that it dated from the age of the pharaohs and was written by a priest called Hermes Trismegistus, though a scholar called Casaubon a couple of centuries back showed that it actually dated only from the 2nd or 3rd century AD.

Nice work.

Brit Dems wrote:Was that a shining example of Norwegian logic?

I'm the only Norwegian here, please use your eyes so that you see who you are talking to.

This was taken from the Ritman Library, Hermes Trismegistus – Pater philosophorum The dissemination of the Corpus Hermeticum Thoth and Hermes and as I understood it.....

Hermes Trismegistus was regarded as a God, a king, or a priest and prophet, who was to have lived in Egypt around the time of Moses. He was also credited with the talents and inventions of Thoth, including the hieroglyphs. His teachings were inscribed in this holy language on the ‘pillars of Hermes’. Philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato were to have derived their wisdom from the hieroglyphs.

What is "real"?

You can't have the whole pie and eat a piece too.

Brit Dems wrote:Hello everyone here on Philosophy Now

My name is Hermes Trismegistus.

Pleased to meet you all.

Likewise, I'm sure!