I'd like to follow up on my last post because I think this is really important. A friend brought to my attention the insightful point that the concept of evil exists, and has a practical utility both in essentially deterring people from acting maliciously and preventing horrendous acts. This I readily accept. However, I believe this to in no way undermine determinism nor do I acknowledge that it allows for anything that can be considered 'evil' to exist in any ultimate sense. For example, surely we have less acts of malice because of the rise of civilization and law than we would have had otherwise, but that does not mean that when these comparatively fewer acts of malice do occur they can now be considered 'evil.'

How in the hell did I not take a philosophy class in college? Not a single damn one! A sin of epic proportions. I guess I got a decent dose of it in my history classes. I'm trying to decide whether I should get a book on modal logic; it looks like spicy stuff.

On NPR the other day I heard that John McCain has been flying coach and carrying his own bags to his destinations. Maybe that's common in campaigning but I think that's pretty bad-ass. He must do it to get in touch with the "average" American. Hehe. Whatever.

Saw "There Will Be Blood" the other night. Was less of a movie and more of an excuse to cast Daniel Day-Lewis in something he would accept. Perfect.