hotchocrates ☕️

Wisdom in a Cup of Hot Chocolate️

 

Generalists and Specialists

Education
Philosophy
Psychology
Should we be either generalists or specialists?
Oct 27, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Critical Thinking and Depression

Education
Philosophy
Psychology
Depression is a “sad, empty, or irritable mood”, accompanied by related changes that significantly affect the individual’s capacity to function” (American Psychiatric…
Oct 1, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Need for Critical Thinking

Education
Philosophy
Critical thinking is the active, careful and persistent consideration of both the justifications for and the implications of our beliefs (Dewey, 1933). An individual thinks…
Sep 16, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

An Argument Against Free Will

Logic
Philosophy
Religion
In a YouTube Short, Alex O’Connor argues that there is no free will. In this post, I formalise his argument against free will.
Sep 8, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Friendship and Forgiveness

Philosophy
In Consolations, Whyte (2019) argues that friendship is “a testament to forgiveness” and that its “ultimate touchstone is witness”. In this post, I argue that if I desire…
Sep 1, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Singapore’s Renewed Social Compact

Singapore
Politics
During a recent press conference, Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong stated that the aspirations and hopes that Singaporeans had shared during the Forward Singapore exercise…
Aug 25, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Danger of Nostalgia Weighing Upon the Present

Singapore
In The Danger of Nostalgia Weighing Upon the Present, Simon Tay warns that “[i]t is good to know our history, but we must be wary of invoking the past to make decisions…
Aug 14, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

St. Augustine on The Immortality of the Soul

Philosophy
Religion
In De Immortalitate Animae, St. Augustine proposes a proof for the immortality of the soul. In this post, I outline his proof.
May 12, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

How Repressed Emotions Make Us Sick

Psychology
The School of Life released a video which introduces the psychoanalytic concept of repression, its causes and its effects. In this article, I summarise the video.
Apr 15, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Problem with Counterfeit People

Philosophy
Politics
In The Problem with Counterfeit People, Daniel Dennett argues that “we must outlaw […] the creation of counterfeit people”. In particular, he argues that “reating…
Feb 27, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Honesty, Truth and Belief

Philosophy
It is not necessary that if an individual is honest, then his or her speech consistent with the truth. In other words, it is possible that an individual is honest but his or…
Feb 19, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Loving-Kindness as the Antidote to Anger

Buddhism
Philosophy
Psychology
If an individual experiences anger (paṭigha), then he or she has ill-will (vyāpāda). In Anger and Forgiveness, Nussbaum argues that anger is an emotion “that seeks the pain…
Feb 14, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Should Married Men Go To Strip Clubs?

Relationships
I came across a TikTok video in which a divorce lawyer argues that married men should not go to strip clubs:
Jan 15, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Pleasure and Desire

Philosophy
Last night, I was thinking about pleasure and desire. I found three thinkers who have argued for the following claims:
Jan 3, 2024
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Rethinking Serendipity in Love

Relationships
Philosophy
An acquaintance once advised me on love, “It is possible to find love, but you have to search for it.” In his view, love, like all other good things in life, comes to those…
Dec 31, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Peace without War

Brief Notes on Deterrence and Peace
Buddhism
Confucianism
Ethics
Philosophy
Politics

Dec 24, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

3 Lessons on Beauty

Summary of One of Nishida Kitaro’s First Original Essays
Buddhism
Philosophy
In 1900, Nishida Kitaro published one of his first original essays titled An Explanation of Beauty. In the essay, Kitaro argues for the relationships between beauty…
Dec 18, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Void and Compensation

Marginalia and Reflections on Simone Weil’s Gravity and Grace
Philosophy
Psychology
Relationships
In this article, I share marginalia and reflections on the chapter Void and Compensation in the book Gravity and Grace by Simone Weil.
Nov 14, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Avoiding Pathways to Unhappiness

Philosophy
Poetry
Psychology
Of the things that we dislike about ourselves, either we can change them, or we cannot change them. And of the latter class of things, our continued dislike of them is the…
Nov 6, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Islamic Scholar who Influenced Jewish and Christian Thought

Religion
Philosophy
The Islamic Golden Age (c. 750-1258 BCE) was marked by significant cultural, religious, scientific, and technological developments in the Muslim world (Abbas, 2011, p. 9).
Nov 1, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Writing Under an Autumn-Coloured Sky

Philosophy
Poetry
Psychology
To be is to be perceived. Like how a fallen tree makes a sound even when no one is around to hear it, the written word is felt even with no one else to read it.
Oct 30, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

A Guide to Benevolence in Confucianism

Confucianism
Philosophy
Relationships
In 551 BCE, Confucius was born to a once aristocratic family in a small state called Lu in East China. During his lifetime, he endeavoured towards the “impossible” goal of…
Oct 30, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Simone Weil on Friendship and its Adulteration

Philosophy
Friendship
Friendship is an important component of our intimate lives. Given its importance, it is not surprising that a number of philosophers including Aristotle have written on the…
Oct 6, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

How to Understand Anselm’s Ontological Argument for God’s Existence

Logic
Philosophy
Religion
Saint Anselm of Canterbury was an Intalian Benedictine abbot, monk, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from…
May 21, 2023
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Understanding the Relationship Between Leverage and Mahalanobis Distance

Data Science
Mathematics
Statistics
In Multiple Linear Regression, it is useful to detect the presence of outliers in the sample. An indicator of the presence of outliers is the leverage (McCullagh & Nelder…
Dec 15, 2022
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

What is the Barcan Formula?

Logic
Philosophy
In 1946, Barcan introduced an axiom schema in modal predicate logic which is now referred to as the Barcan Formula (p. 2).
Dec 12, 2022
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

How to Build a Logistic Regression Model from Scratch in R

Data Science
Statistics
In this document, I demonstrate how the Newton-Raphson Method can be used to approximate the Maximum Likelihood Estimates of the parameters of a Logistic Regression model.
Dec 8, 2022
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

How to Control Your Response to Bad Things That Happen

Buddhism
Philosophy
Psychology
Nothing bad that happens is outside our control. If something bad happens, then it is inside our control. And if something happens that is outside our control, then it is…
Jun 24, 2022
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Being Comfortable Not Being Alone

Relationships
Relationships require us to be comfortable being alone. They also require us to be comfortable not being alone.
Dec 30, 2021
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Abjection and Pride

The Relationship Between Two Contrasting Emotions
Philosophy
Psychology
In Ethics, Spinoza argues that “although abjection is contrary to pride, an abject person is nevertheless very close to a proud person” (Part IV, Proposition 57 Scholium;…
Oct 17, 2021
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Irrationality of Anger

Buddhism
Philosophy
Psychology
It is irrational for me to be angry at someone else for the occurrence of an event to which I am averse.
Oct 14, 2021
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Cowardice

Philosophy
Psychology
In The Ethics, Spinoza defines cowardice as “ascribed to one whose desire is restrained by timidity regarding a danger which his equals dare to take on themselves” In…
Oct 13, 2021
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Pleasure

Philosophy
Psychology
Pleasure is the desire of what is. If I cannot change what is, then I change what is desired.
Oct 2, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Right Action

Buddhism
Philosophy
In Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path comprises Ethical Conduct, Mental Discipline and Wisdom. Ethical Conduct comprises Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.…
Jun 14, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Understanding the Nature of Envy

Philosophy
Psychology
The green-eyed monster appears often and without warning. Envy permeates our lives. In this post, I meditate on the nature of envy.
Jun 6, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Proof 20200424

Logic
Philosophy
In a previous post, I formulated an argument based on a theorem that if ¬◊¬(φ → ψ) and ◊(φ ∧ χ) are provable, then ◊(ψ ∧ χ) is provable. In this post, I prove the theorem.
May 30, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Right Speech

A Comparison between Magga-Vibhanga Sutta and Abhaya Sutta
Buddhism
Philosophy
In the Magga-Vibhanga Sutta, the Buddha preaches that individuals should not engage in harsh speech. However, in the Abhaya Sutta, he preaches that individuals could engage…
May 24, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Right Speech in Dating Profiles

Buddhism
Philosophy
In Race Restrictions: Just a Preference?, Corvino argues that individuals should not express their racial preferences on their dating profiles. This is because such an…
May 16, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Right Speech

Buddhism
Philosophy
In Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path comprises Ethical Conduct, Mental Discipline and Wisdom. Ethical Conduct comprises Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.…
May 9, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

The Tale of the Stairs

Philosophy
Teaching Ethics with Short Stories (TESS) is a collection of short stories and guiding questions that encourages discussions over a wide range of ethical questions. In this…
May 2, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Préférence Nationale

Philosophy
Teaching Ethics with Short Stories (TESS) is a collection of short stories and guiding questions that encourages discussions over a wide range of ethical questions. In this…
Apr 26, 2020
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

A Guide to the Nature of Jealousy

Philosophy
Psychology
I get jealous; and I think that we all do. The experience of anger, anxiousness, sadness and shame in response to our partners’ real or imagined attraction to an other is…
Apr 19, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3)

Psychology
Loneliness is prevalent. A cross-section of community-dwelling adults in San Diego, California, revealed that 76% reported moderate-to-high levels of loneliness. In this…
Jan 9, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Pornography and Interpersonal Satisfaction

Psychology
Researchers from Indiana University and University of Hawaii conducted a meta-analysis of 50 studies including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries. Their results…
Jan 9, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Gay Male Body Image

LGBT
Psychology
In an article published in The Conversation, Phillip Joy states that a number of gay men are dissatisfied with their bodies, and that this dissatisfaction is associated with…
Jan 8, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Loneliness

Psychology
In an article published in International Psychogeriatrics, Lee and colleagues reported that loneliness peaks at the following life stages: young adulthood (late-20s); middle…
Jan 8, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

LGBT Individuals can Reproduce

LGBT
In the Japan Today article Japanese Lawmaker Under Fire for LGBT Comment, the Japanese lawmaker Katsuei Hirasawa was reported to have stated that “if everyone became like…
Jan 7, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Wonder is the Antidote to Hatred

Philosophy
In the New York Times article In Praise of Wonder, Simon proposes that “[w]onder is the antidote to hatred.” In particular, if a person (A) wonders at another person (B)…
Jan 4, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

In Praise of Wonder

Philosophy
In the New York Times article In Praise of Wonder, Simon argues that we should wonder. In particular, he argues that we should “put wonder at the centre of our personal and…
Jan 1, 2019
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Love as Commitment

Philosophy
Relationships
Love is a commitment. Individuals who embark on romantic relationships consciously dedicate their energies towards the object(s) of their affections; the individual who…
Dec 27, 2014
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

How rapid brain growth makes memories fade and disappear: A response

Psychology
If you have taken modules (or know a thing or two) about neuroscience and memory, please do share with me what you know. Here is my take on the study, which essentially…
Jun 20, 2014
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Ironic Suppression

Psychology
Before we begin, let us conduct a simple experiment on ourselves. In the next 10 seconds, whatever you do, do not to think of a white bear. Ready? Let’s go!
Feb 10, 2013
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Parallel Universe

Philosophy
We commonly interpret the term ‘parallel universe’ in a physical manner. A lay man might define it as a separate, but similar, world that we cannot sense. In other words…
Feb 9, 2013
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Famous Gay Scientists

LGBT
The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals is replete with famous personalities from the arts. Growing up predominantly as a science student, as…
May 1, 2012
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Why do some people never get depressed?

Psychology
By Geoff Watts BBC World Service
Feb 1, 2012
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

Significant Aspects of Client-Centred Therapy: A Summary

Psychology
Summary of a paper, Significant Aspects of Client-Centred Therapy, given at a seminar of the staff of the Menninger Clinic and the Topeka Veteran’s Hospital, Topeka, Kansas…
Jan 24, 2012
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin

 

On Being Sane In Insane Places – A Review

Psychology
In 1973, psychologist David L. Rosenhan published, in the journal Science, what is arguably one of the most widely read articles in the field of psychology, “On being sane…
Jan 15, 2012
Lam Fu Yuan, Kevin
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