Sam Mickey
@sammickey.bsky.social
Philosophy, ecological civilization, climate ethics, teaching at the University of San Francisco, podcasting for the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
"truth sinks in like rain into very hard earth. The rain is very gentle, and we soften up slowly at our own speed. But when that happens, something has fundamentally changed in us. That hard earth has softened. It doesn’t seem to happen by trying to get it or capture it. It happens by letting go"
September 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
"truth sinks in like rain into very hard earth. The rain is very gentle, and we soften up slowly at our own speed. But when that happens, something has fundamentally changed in us. That hard earth has softened. It doesn’t seem to happen by trying to get it or capture it. It happens by letting go"
"To live together in the world means essentially that a world of things is between those who have it in common, as a table is located between those who sit around it; the world, like every in-between, relates and separates men at the same time."
- Hannah Arendt
- Hannah Arendt
August 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM
"To live together in the world means essentially that a world of things is between those who have it in common, as a table is located between those who sit around it; the world, like every in-between, relates and separates men at the same time."
- Hannah Arendt
- Hannah Arendt
A beautiful summer day for the San Francisco Bay.
June 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
A beautiful summer day for the San Francisco Bay.
"Philosophizing presses on reflectively to the point where thinking becomes the experience of reality itself. … I must think constantly, though without attaining reality in such thinking alone. By way of a provisional, preparatory thinking I experience something more than thought."
- Karl Jaspers
- Karl Jaspers
June 9, 2025 at 11:34 PM
"Philosophizing presses on reflectively to the point where thinking becomes the experience of reality itself. … I must think constantly, though without attaining reality in such thinking alone. By way of a provisional, preparatory thinking I experience something more than thought."
- Karl Jaspers
- Karl Jaspers
RIP Alphonso Lingis (November 23, 1933 - May 8, 2025), a brilliant philosopher, writer, and photographer.
One of my favorite books of his is The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common
t.co/MpSFMM6E51
One of my favorite books of his is The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common
t.co/MpSFMM6E51
May 9, 2025 at 6:05 PM
RIP Alphonso Lingis (November 23, 1933 - May 8, 2025), a brilliant philosopher, writer, and photographer.
One of my favorite books of his is The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common
t.co/MpSFMM6E51
One of my favorite books of his is The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common
t.co/MpSFMM6E51
"we need to take time to think again about time…"
- Ben Ware
On Extinction: Beginning Again at the End
- Ben Ware
On Extinction: Beginning Again at the End
April 16, 2025 at 9:29 PM
"we need to take time to think again about time…"
- Ben Ware
On Extinction: Beginning Again at the End
- Ben Ware
On Extinction: Beginning Again at the End
"Our body and mind are both two and one. We usually think that if something is not one, it is more than one; if it is not singular, it is plural. But in actual experience, our life is not only plural, but also singular. Each one of us is both dependent and independent."
- Shunryu Suzuki
- Shunryu Suzuki
March 7, 2025 at 9:58 PM
"Our body and mind are both two and one. We usually think that if something is not one, it is more than one; if it is not singular, it is plural. But in actual experience, our life is not only plural, but also singular. Each one of us is both dependent and independent."
- Shunryu Suzuki
- Shunryu Suzuki
"Do not hang on to anything — even the realization that there’s nothing solid to hold on to."
February 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM
"Do not hang on to anything — even the realization that there’s nothing solid to hold on to."
"Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice deep looking directed toward the person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love."
February 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
"Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice deep looking directed toward the person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love."
I'll be giving a lecture (online) for the University of Toronto's Buddhism and Posthumanism series next month.
(March 13, 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
Registration is free. More information is available here: buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/events/coexi...
(March 13, 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
Registration is free. More information is available here: buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/events/coexi...
February 12, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I'll be giving a lecture (online) for the University of Toronto's Buddhism and Posthumanism series next month.
(March 13, 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
Registration is free. More information is available here: buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/events/coexi...
(March 13, 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
Registration is free. More information is available here: buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/events/coexi...
Some thoughts on the idea of energy poverty. Normally thought of as a lack of access to external sources of energy (e.g., electricity), it can also refer to a lack of access to internal energy (e.g., prana, qi, willpower). sammickey.substack.com/p/thinking-t...
February 10, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Some thoughts on the idea of energy poverty. Normally thought of as a lack of access to external sources of energy (e.g., electricity), it can also refer to a lack of access to internal energy (e.g., prana, qi, willpower). sammickey.substack.com/p/thinking-t...
"The Wisdom of the Universe"
Christi Belcourt (2014)
Christi Belcourt (2014)
February 5, 2025 at 11:46 PM
"The Wisdom of the Universe"
Christi Belcourt (2014)
Christi Belcourt (2014)
Hunter S. Thompson rightly observed that the American Dream ("pure Horatio Alger") culminates in excesses of fear and loathing. What was true about his books about Las Vegas and the campaign trail '72 is clearly evident today.
February 2, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Hunter S. Thompson rightly observed that the American Dream ("pure Horatio Alger") culminates in excesses of fear and loathing. What was true about his books about Las Vegas and the campaign trail '72 is clearly evident today.
A bit of advice from Søren Kierkegaard: go for a walk
January 24, 2025 at 6:52 PM
A bit of advice from Søren Kierkegaard: go for a walk
“The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time.… A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer
― Arthur Schopenhauer
November 30, 2024 at 11:39 PM
“The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time.… A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer
― Arthur Schopenhauer
"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts… but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically."
- Henry David Thoreau
- Henry David Thoreau
November 25, 2024 at 8:06 PM
"To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts… but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically."
- Henry David Thoreau
- Henry David Thoreau
“cultivating and exploring our immediate experience of the world around us is the most essential and profound method of self-cultivation and self-realization. It is the way to understand one’s deepest nature in its most expansive form: wild mind integral to wild earth.”
November 18, 2024 at 12:28 AM
“cultivating and exploring our immediate experience of the world around us is the most essential and profound method of self-cultivation and self-realization. It is the way to understand one’s deepest nature in its most expansive form: wild mind integral to wild earth.”
"The moon’s reflection on water appears without obstruction and seems to shine very brightly, yet it is simply the appearance of something that does not exist. There is no such thing as a moon in the water. Likewise, when one recognizes that thoughts have no true existence, one recognizes awareness"
November 12, 2024 at 2:47 AM
"The moon’s reflection on water appears without obstruction and seems to shine very brightly, yet it is simply the appearance of something that does not exist. There is no such thing as a moon in the water. Likewise, when one recognizes that thoughts have no true existence, one recognizes awareness"
Sunset on the California coast at Point Reyes
October 6, 2024 at 8:34 PM
Sunset on the California coast at Point Reyes
"I am free only to the extent that I interrupt escalations and that I am able to immunize myself against infections of opinion. Precisely this continues to be the philosopher’s mission in society."
- Peter Sloterdijk
Neither Sun Nor Death (p. 84).
- Peter Sloterdijk
Neither Sun Nor Death (p. 84).
September 4, 2024 at 7:18 PM
"I am free only to the extent that I interrupt escalations and that I am able to immunize myself against infections of opinion. Precisely this continues to be the philosopher’s mission in society."
- Peter Sloterdijk
Neither Sun Nor Death (p. 84).
- Peter Sloterdijk
Neither Sun Nor Death (p. 84).
"I feel particularly touched by the stories that bring us closer to the beings invisible to the clouded eyes of those who cannot walk on Earth with the joy we should imprint in every gesture, in every breath."
- Ailton Krenak (Ancestral Future)
www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
- Ailton Krenak (Ancestral Future)
www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
August 29, 2024 at 12:22 AM
"I feel particularly touched by the stories that bring us closer to the beings invisible to the clouded eyes of those who cannot walk on Earth with the joy we should imprint in every gesture, in every breath."
- Ailton Krenak (Ancestral Future)
www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
- Ailton Krenak (Ancestral Future)
www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Tornado God: American Religion and Violent Weather
by Peter J. Thuesen
A good book on the intersection of theology and climate in the United States. Shows how the weather has complicated Americans' sense of their own destiny and how much is beyond their understanding or control.
by Peter J. Thuesen
A good book on the intersection of theology and climate in the United States. Shows how the weather has complicated Americans' sense of their own destiny and how much is beyond their understanding or control.
June 13, 2024 at 6:49 PM
Tornado God: American Religion and Violent Weather
by Peter J. Thuesen
A good book on the intersection of theology and climate in the United States. Shows how the weather has complicated Americans' sense of their own destiny and how much is beyond their understanding or control.
by Peter J. Thuesen
A good book on the intersection of theology and climate in the United States. Shows how the weather has complicated Americans' sense of their own destiny and how much is beyond their understanding or control.
Sheep shearing, before and after
May 13, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Sheep shearing, before and after
If We Lose the Earth, We Lose Our Souls
by Bruno Latour
Latour sees the ecological crisis, and the cosmological mutation that it entails, as an opportunity for Christians to renew their faith and join the struggle to avert a climate catastrophe. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
by Bruno Latour
Latour sees the ecological crisis, and the cosmological mutation that it entails, as an opportunity for Christians to renew their faith and join the struggle to avert a climate catastrophe. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
April 30, 2024 at 8:30 PM
If We Lose the Earth, We Lose Our Souls
by Bruno Latour
Latour sees the ecological crisis, and the cosmological mutation that it entails, as an opportunity for Christians to renew their faith and join the struggle to avert a climate catastrophe. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
by Bruno Latour
Latour sees the ecological crisis, and the cosmological mutation that it entails, as an opportunity for Christians to renew their faith and join the struggle to avert a climate catastrophe. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Cloudy day in San Francisco
April 27, 2024 at 2:52 AM
Cloudy day in San Francisco