Welcome to Stepping Stones, my personal website, where I write philosophical and critical articles on a variety of subjects while sharing references to interesting literature and media. Below, I explain my purpose for Stepping Stones with the hope that you find the site useful.
Literature of Substance
I have long had a major interest in reading and seeking literature of substance to develop my understanding of life and the world, which is something I find personally rewarding. In the process, I’ve expanded my awareness of significant works, concepts, and themes via different forms of media: primarily books and articles but also audio/visual media, all of which include works of fiction.
For personal reference, I created lists of the books and articles I’ve read over these years (as well as audio/visual media), categorizing them by subject and type. In case anyone should find them useful resources, I’ve displayed these lists on the site via the Bibliography page and the sidebar.
Complementing Reading with Writing
Basically, I write articles designed to consolidate my thoughts on particular topics and aim to do so in a way that may be useful to other readers. This often involves referencing books, articles, and other media, and sometimes I base an article on one or more of these other works. Through these writings, I synthesize my own thoughts, refresh my mind of particular media and develop my capability of expressing thoughts effectively in writing (certainly a work in progress).
Form & Style
I’ve been experimenting with the online format since I started this site (the free version of WordPress) gradually learning its expanding features and trying out different ways of forming and presenting information. The same goes for the writing style, which I generally try to amend or vary with each new article. In addition to improving basic writing skills, I aim to tailor the form and style of writing to suit different subject matters and purposes, which is something I intuit as I go.
Substance
The ‘original’ articles I write for Stepping Stones are those based on my own thoughts, as opposed to posts based on, for example, a book or film. These original writings arise from the substantial thoughts I have about something that I have not seen fully or accurately expressed by anyone else. This principle also applies to my other articles, but less directly, indicated by the degree to which they involve commentary on other media.
In explaining my thoughts on a subject, I sometimes like to describe the process of how I came to develop this understanding of it. This personal reflection is something I’m inclined to do naturally. Where included, it represents a substantial aspect of the thoughts and understandings I share and is intended for those who appreciate the process by which we come to understand something.
On a related note, I should mention that being opinionated is not my motive for sharing my thoughts. Rather, I write to contribute the best of my thoughts to the mediasphere, so that they may be found and used by other readers and writers, and above all, thinkers. In so doing, I always aim to incorporate all the meaning I consider relevant, thus not compromising on breadth, depth, or grade of substance. Reflecting this purpose, I take as long as I need to fulfil the meaning of each article, and feel no pressure to post ‘content’ frequently or quickly.
Contact Me
Feel free to comment or email me about anything (within reason!) and I’ll be happy to respond.
Simon
Stepping Stones 