<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Floating Man]]></title><description><![CDATA[A blog about my reflections on the course Modes of knowing in Islamic and Persian philosophy]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:53:45 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Is Taqlīd anti-intellectual? - A debate on the value of tradition ]]></title><description><![CDATA[When we reason, when we think and formulate our thoughts we might think we are free and autonomous, in the sense that we come to our own...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/is-taql%C4%ABd-anti-intellectual-a-debate-on-the-value-of-tradition</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6214adb039fc32b5aa4b8e2c</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2022 09:39:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_d6cb59a4c4374e62a805496eb337594f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_500,h_360,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How I know]]></title><description><![CDATA[We looked at modes of knowing in the medieval islamic world, and we saw that theories of knowledge were diverse and widespread. Yet they...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/how-i-know</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61b74416dca7f600165852a0</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2021 13:20:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_c73bf698ac3c484aaf7422f56941d042~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_920,h_563,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The case of the animals against the humans]]></title><description><![CDATA[Another approach to knowledge is through teaching. The Ismaeili sect The Brethren of Purity did this through confronting the student with...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/the-case-of-the-animals-against-the-humans</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61ae10981dd63200165a03f3</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2021 13:38:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_68b806f705da4138ab6b25f16a8d3b69~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_500,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Knowledge through the Imam in Isma'ilism ]]></title><description><![CDATA[This week's blog will not be as interesting as I have been sick the entirety of last week and thus have not been able to engage with the...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/knowledge-through-the-imam-in-isma-ilism</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61a4f70f444a00001664c153</guid><pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:54:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_db05361b4a4649a88ffd58a794b8caa5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_667,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shamanism to see into the hidden]]></title><description><![CDATA[I described before how mysticism might be a mode of knowing; altering one’s state of consciousness in order to access divine knowledge....]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/shamanism-to-see-into-the-hidden</link><guid isPermaLink="false">619bb704b15b5f00174af778</guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:31:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_99e98a72384940dbbf871d009cf7e867~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_608,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Occult as a mode of knowing and a way of relating to the world]]></title><description><![CDATA[The world of experience hides in the world of the unseen. How deep is the unseen? What hides beyond the eye? What forces are at play...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/the-occult-as-a-mode-of-knowing-and-a-way-of-relating-to-the-world</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61916dd97a13d900438297ec</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 14 Nov 2021 20:15:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_bc284eaf263b443e9450232b7ee786d8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Through Experience to Mysticism to Knowledge]]></title><description><![CDATA[I come to know about the world through experience. My senses inform me of objects I encounter in the world. I can investigate them and...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/through-experience-to-mysticism-to-knowledge</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61746289d1ff740016a93fb5</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 23 Oct 2021 19:33:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2d157c2fa8d141f5b62a4b224ae4c3c3.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[al-Ghazali and the virtues to knowledge]]></title><description><![CDATA[When discussing al-Ghazali we covered his book about knowledge, which is part one in a long list of books, together forming four volumes,...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/al-ghazali-and-the-virtues-to-knowledge</link><guid isPermaLink="false">616c7e65a03a110016a08838</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 17 Oct 2021 19:51:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7b327683908942a5a7b52cb719efe171.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Christianity and Veganism - A Christian perspective on veganism]]></title><description><![CDATA[First some general comments to start with: No religious text in the christian tradition says we need to eat animals. It is no necessity,...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/christianity-and-veganism-a-christian-perspective-on-veganism</link><guid isPermaLink="false">616c4dfc20d0e800166503b7</guid><category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 17 Oct 2021 16:27:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_abd50e512f22499f94473200938ccd38~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Political Theory of Animal Rights]]></title><description><![CDATA[I will argue for animal rights from a perspective of social justice, based on John Rawl's theory of Justice and specifically his thought exp]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/a-political-theory-of-animal-rights</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6165fd9ab1bfaa0016685fc9</guid><category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 12 Oct 2021 21:42:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_c2072747c541466ba733ce979204e3d0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[God as foundation?]]></title><description><![CDATA[This blog was set out by suggesting that in order to have knowledge of the world I need to understand my relation to the world. Ofcourse...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/god-as-foundation</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6165dc493d0ba00017aac8f0</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 12 Oct 2021 19:06:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f69978d501c843f080fe1c3716bb800f.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Knowledge as a subjective mode of being - Is knowledge a part of who I am?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I suggest to read this with the following music playing in the background: https://youtu.be/_Nbi6oJsQVQ?t=1330...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/knowledge-as-a-subjective-mode-of-being-is-knowledge-a-part-of-who-i-am</link><guid isPermaLink="false">615ab8f9b2888e0017767121</guid><category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 04 Oct 2021 08:39:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43f69e9dea514fa89720e95449e3a344.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Roads to Understanding]]></title><description><![CDATA[How should I relate to the world to enable an understanding of it?]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/roads-to-understanding</link><guid isPermaLink="false">614ed814a57c2100162e3f2d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 25 Sep 2021 08:06:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_b5ed8030300d49c886c2e656b357b12d~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_676,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[On Utilitarianism - Can pleasure reduce the evil of an action?]]></title><description><![CDATA[To what extend can (sensory) pleasure be taken into account when determining the morality of an action?]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/on-utilitarianism-can-pleasure-reduce-the-evil-of-an-action</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6147087a50f2830016523689</guid><category><![CDATA[Ethics]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 19 Sep 2021 10:04:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9c3e43af2b0549bdbcc0c88bda3e1e1e.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Floating Man]]></title><description><![CDATA[Empty is the sky, yet full of lights. They come and go. In and out of my eyesight. As I turn and turn and spin around. Floating through...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/the-floating-man</link><guid isPermaLink="false">614600dfa909a0001638524d</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 18 Sep 2021 15:11:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_a7d34eb410114aecb06b5fd8db57ffbc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_830,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Joy of Physical Class]]></title><description><![CDATA[How exciting and wonderful it is to sit in a room on uncomfortable wooden benches crowded with other young eager people we call students...]]></description><link>https://rubenvenema.wixsite.com/thefloatingman/post/the-joy-of-physical-class</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6145fe5be9c7b60016fed2ad</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Sep 2021 15:01:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9a6d0_80188264d75d4070b881198b62c93668~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_680,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>The Floating Man</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>