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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Found these plants at the place we are staying in Paternoster. They almost looked fake, having a slight plastic look. But I really think they are beautiful and rather unique. Some sort of succulent.

An image containing some pink-ish succulents.

An image containing some pink-ish succulents. A single succulent is centered to show off its symmetry.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

On our way to a lovely seaside town for Christmas and the dogs are coming with. So far it's been a good trip, but the dogs are anxious. Good times!

Selfie of the two dogs and myself in the car.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Just another reminder to check out my latest post! Make sure to subscribe if you want to read more like this. open.substack.com/pub/ivanbock...

Post image with title: "Freedom Worth Having: A Compatibilist(ish) Theory of Human Freedom and Responsibility".

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

A public notice for those interested in philosophy blogs! #philsky #blog

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Pretty decent summary of Epictetus' views and teachings. It has that classic stoic sentiment and psychological theory, while also stressing Epictetus' 'role ethics'. That combination, I think, is a particularly useful and socially just perspective to take. #stoicism #ethics

Text from Epictetus' Discourses. It reads: "In our school, we picture the philosopher's goal more or less as follows: bring the will in line with events, so that nothing happens contrary to our wishes and, conversely, nothing fails to happen that we want to happen. Pursue it, and the reward is that neither desire nor aversion will fail in their aims; and we will fill all our roles in society - as son, father, brother, citizen, man, woman, neighbour, fellow voyager, ruler or ruled - without conflict, fear or rancour."

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Fun day at the #RedBullFlugTag ! We came without a plan and ended up getting some nice seats.

A picture of the Cape Town Waterfront, taken on Redbull's 2025 Flugtag event. There are some boats to the left, a large screen center left, and a blue runway on the right.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Truly a beautiful time in Cape Town as the flowers start to bloom. Our bird-of-paradise plants are looking great! #flowers #capetown

Picture of a bird-of-paradise flower (strelitziaceae).

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

This is such an amazing passage from The Brothers Karamazov! It is easy to see why some considered Dostoyevsky to be a prophet. Now more than ever, we must remeber this message. Don't foster solitude, foster brotherly love. #booksky

A long passage from The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

I just uploaded my new profile banner. I feel like it represents so much of life...so profound... Also...our dog is adorably cute... #dog

A photo composed of two panels of a medium-sized dog lying on a bed. In the first panel, the dog is staring at a ball being held up before them, licking their lips in anticipation. In the second panel, the dog has launched toward the ball, and they are just about to bite the ball with a hugely stretched-out mouth.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Went for a trip today to get lunch and check out some book shops close to the sea. Managed to find two introductions from the Oxford series, one on Hume and the other on Locke. Super happy. The best part is that I bought both for less than the price of a Big Mac meal here in SA. #booksky #philsky

An image of two different versions of books from Oxford's A Very Short Introduction series. One is on Hume by A.J. Ayer and the other on Locke by John Dunn.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

From the SEP article on wisdom: S is wise iff: S has a wide variety of epistemically justified beliefs S has a wide variety of justified beliefs on how to live rationally S is committed to living rationally S has very few unjustified beliefs and is sensitive to her limitations. #philsky #wisdom

A screenshot of section 5 in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Wisdom, which summarises the Deep Rationality Theory by Sharon Ryan as:
S is wise iff:
1. S has a wide variety of epistemically justified beliefs on a wide variety of valuable academic subjects.
2. S has a wide variety of justified beliefs on how to live rationally (epistemically, morally, and practically).
3. S is committed to living rationally.
4. S has very few unjustified beliefs and is sensitive to her limitations.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

I finished reading Campus' The Outsider and thoroughly enjoyed it! I think I liked it much more than Sartre's Nausea, but I still like both. Now, on to a big one, The Brothers Karamazov. #booksky #existentialism

A copy of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

I wanted a copy of this little essay for my bookshelf. I'm very happy to report my copy of On Bullshit by Frankfurt has arrived. It's a small, almost entirely black little hardcover book. I think this is a really important essay and concept to discuss in critical thinking classes. #philsky #booksky

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Just wanted to share my new Fyodor Dostoevsky novels. Look at this nice collection of hardcover books! I've only read one so far, so I'm very excited to get to the rest. #Dostoevsky #BookSky

A picture of a colorful collection of Fyodor Dostoevsky novels that are part of a selected works boxset. The collection contains Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, The House Of The Dead, The Devils, and Notes From The Underground.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

We had our first official Philosophy Cafe lesson today. It went better than I could have hoped for! The kids were engaged and keen to ask questions. It was one of the more theory heavy lessons, given that we focused on introducing key terms. So it can only get better from here! #PhilSky

Picture of a copy of Plato's Republic. It has the famous School of Athens painting on the cover.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Your last saved meme is your moral philosophy

Comics trip of various philosophers iterating on Socrates' claim that the unexamined life is not worth living, with Wittgenstein finally challenging this by asking if it does not make sense that some people don't want to be/enjoy being huge nerds, and the rest expressing disbelief.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

I finally received the physical copy of last year's Stellenbosch Socratic Journal. It came out beautifully, and the photo does not do the deep green cover justice. Well done to the team! You can access this volume and all the past ones at: www0.sun.ac.za/philosophy/s... #PhilSky #Stellenbosch

Front cover of the 4th volume of the Stellenbosch Socratic Journal.

Back cover of the 4th volume of the Stellenbosch Socratic Journal.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

A picture of the cover of the 4th volume of the Stellenbosch Socratic Journal.

Picture of the back cover of the 4th volume of the Stellenbosch Socratic Journal.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

I enjoyed reading the book Philosophers Take On The World. One of my favorite essays was the one by Korsgaard on treating people (and animals) like animals. You can read that essay here: blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2015/01/trea... #PhilSky #Ethics

A photo of the cover of the book Philosophers Take On The World.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

It has finally arrived! I waited so long for my free copy of @charactergap.bsky.social 's Character and Moral Psychology. I found it in my mailbox this morning! This is going to be a great resource for my studies. Thanks, Dr. Miller for the fantastic gift!!! #PhilSky #PsychSky

A picture of the cover of Character and Moral Psychology by Christian B. Miller.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I finally own a text on pragmatism for my bookshelf. My copy of William James' Pragmatism and Other Writings has arrived today! I'm very excited to read through this. #BookSky #PhilSky #Pragmatism

The cover of the Penguin Classics version of William James' Pragmatism and Other Writings.

The back of the Penguin Classics version of William James' Pragmatism and Other Writings.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

This was by far one of my hotest takes back on twitter. As I tried to clarify to someone: If there is no ultimate meaning, then meaning can be anything you make of it, or anything can be meaningful. There is a sort of freedom that comes with a completely meaningless life. #philsky #ethics

A picture of an argument with the conclusion that we should all accept our freedom and make of life what we want.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

I am starting my vacation reading today. I'm going to try and get through Crime and Punishment. Wish me luck! #booksky #existentialism

Picture of the book cover for Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I found this in a secondhand bookstore in Mossel Bay, Cape Town. I'm excited to start reading it! #Philsky #Booksky #Existentialism

Picture of a copy of Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Steven Earnshaw.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I am very excited that my new annotated version of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has arrived. I truly love the Maxwell Staniforth translation and think it is the nicest to read and quote. But this version by Martin Hammond is a brilliantly useful version, and the hardcover is beautiful. #philsky

A picture of a beautiful blue hardcover copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

A picture of the Contents page of a copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I'm just reuploading the image as it looks weird on my side on BlueSky

A photo of the cover of Voltaire's Candide, or Optimism. It is a Penguin Classics edition sporting a colorful cover illustration of the main character, Candide, with a background consisting of some of the aweful events he encounters throughout the book.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I just finished reading Voltaire's Optimism. Such a wonderful satire. The constant optimism contrasted with the aweful events that occur makes for an entertaining read. I think he forcefully shows that you can only think this is the best of all possible worlds if you don't think about it too much.

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Ivan Bock @ivanbock.bsky.social · 10/10/2024

Really been feeling lately

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