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Reduced to Functions: A Social Metaphysical Analysis of Truckers
Truckers and the trucking industry are crucial to the U.S. economy. They are the primary means of transporting goods in many industries, including food, medicine, manufacturing, retail, and many more. Yet, despite this, truckers are a group of people we don’t normally notice. Of course we see them drive by every day, delivering anything from packages, mail, to food. But we only notice the trucks, not the people driving them; we see the trucks as only functions serving us, and
Thomas Fang
Jan 144 min read


Those vegetables I ate
One day, my parents were not home, and my grandmother, tasked with taking care of me, took me with her to play on her farm. I had no idea what to expect. Five minutes outside the condominium we lived in, Grandma led me through a large, missing portion of a wall. Turning the corner, I saw a little island of unorganized nature overgrown with trees, bushes, and tall weeds. Not knowing anything about farming or plants, I only realized that this was not my grandmother’s farm unti
Thomas Fang
Jan 145 min read


The Eyes of Hollow Men
The crowd cheered as the great painter Aurelio announced his new work to the public. On the benches below, Francesco and Aurelio’s other apprentices watched bitterly. In truth, Aurelio was not the hand behind his paintings; it was the apprentices who ground the pigments, stretched the canvases, and laid down the paint. The master arrived only at the end, signing the works with a flourish to claim them as his own. Aurelio never bothered sharing his wealth or fame. His apprenti
Thomas Fang
Nov 10, 20254 min read
Above the Door
劳動光荣 Mark black Chinese characters above a small wooden door of a shaggy old house where my father lived as a child, And where his parents lived when they were young, Back when the couplets along the door were not so faded and decayed, The walls not so stained and cracked, The weeds in front not so overgrown, The trees behind not so bare. My young father stood straight in front of the front door, Hands tucked in his new Mizuno winter coat He had bought with money he ha
Thomas Fang
Nov 10, 20252 min read


Hume and the Problem of Induction
Enlightenment philosopher and empiricist David Hume proposed the problem of induction. He begins by questioning causation, which is a...
Thomas Fang
Sep 7, 20255 min read


The Cartesian Circle
The Cartesian Circle Why circular reasoning is a logical fallacy Suppose two arguments, A and B. The conclusion of A is a premise for B,...
Thomas Fang
Jul 27, 20253 min read


Animal rights and their practical applications
Humans dominate Earth with advanced technology, developed governments, and unique social structures. More recently, philosophers have...
Thomas Fang
Jul 27, 20259 min read
The problem of Alvin Plantinga's modal defense of God
Alvin Plantinga’s defense of God remains one of the most sophisticated contemporary defenses of theism. However, Alvin Plantinga’s...
Thomas Fang
Jul 27, 20258 min read


A Short Guide to World-building
World-building is an essential part to every single fictional book, especially those with superpowers, based in space, or existing in an...
Thomas Fang
Jun 4, 20254 min read


Reading Death
Death is a fleeting concept. Perhaps we were born crying because we knew that we would die someday in this unpleasant world. But during...
Thomas Fang
Mar 30, 20253 min read


The Problem of Evil
Suppose that evil exists as the denial of good. Does that disprove the existence of God? I argue that the existence of evil does not...
Thomas Fang
Mar 14, 20257 min read


Bonfire
The bonfire, a pep rally before The Game, occurs every year, a tradition of Woodberry Forest. Like the last two years I have...
Thomas Fang
Feb 2, 20253 min read


Reflection: Death
On January 16th, 2025, my paternal grandfather passed away. It was not a surprise—his brain cancer was so advanced that the doctors could...
Thomas Fang
Jan 18, 20254 min read


Reflection: Happiness
The purpose of life seems to be obscured, and it is the nature of human kind to attempt to achieve happiness. Yet many nowadays, in their...
Thomas Fang
Jan 12, 20253 min read


Reflection: A busy life
Today, I was having a conversation with a teacher, and at the end of the conversation, he said something I did not quite understand, and...
Thomas Fang
Jan 7, 20253 min read


Personal Essay: What We Leave Behind
One summer, I served as a mentor for children at a Buddhist summer camp. On many afternoons we took the children, who were mostly eight...
Thomas Fang
Nov 24, 20242 min read


Flickering Night
Today I have finished a first revision of a short story I am working on. I added more to the background and general 'backstory' to make...
Thomas Fang
Nov 3, 202410 min read


Personal Essay: Mask (first draft)
I sat in front of the piano and began my performance. I played Winter Wind Etude—one of Chopin’s grandest and most technical pieces. I...
Thomas Fang
Oct 20, 20244 min read


Personal Essay: Shadow
One Saturday, at around seven or eight in the evening, I had been writing and playing piano in the art building of my high school when I...
Thomas Fang
Oct 13, 20243 min read


Who I Am
What I think is an important part of being a person is accepting the truth. Acceptance is the first step to change a bad habit, the first...
Thomas Fang
Oct 5, 20243 min read
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