Category Archives: Philosophy

Ten influential books

The “10 influential books” meme is going around Facebook right now, so here are mine.  They’re not all on the list for the same reason(s), and after Lord of the Rings, in no particular order.  It is definitely the single most … Continue reading

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Perspective shift

So, a great deal of thought and blogspace, even time at conferences, goes into such topics as “PBL” (problem-based learning), “STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics”, and “21st-century learning” (which is either self-evident or means so many different things to … Continue reading

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March 18

The combination of working outside–laying electrical conduit underground, revamping the irrigation system for another year, and having gotten most of the things (especially trees and shrubs) that I wanted planted in the ground–with reading about literature (of different kinds or … Continue reading

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Laziness

A friend of mine in college was writing me his take on what he used to call laziness. I thought I would share my response. ———————————- I see I didn’t address your point about laziness.  I think for creative people, … Continue reading

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Philosophy(?)

(This post is from a letter to a friend.) I am re-reading Cornel West’s “The American Evasion of Philosophy” since I’m giving a talk on it this Sunday at the Unitarian Fellowship.  In reading what Dewey had to say about … Continue reading

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Plato or postmodern?

I started reading Rebecca Goldstein’s Incompleteness on Kurt Godel and his theorems—and life. It’s more a “popularization of science” text than anything else, which is not what I wanted. However, one interesting point has already emerged. Assuming she’s right, both … Continue reading

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New Year’s Thoughts

Seemed like an appropriate time for some thoughts from Whitehead on education:   Education is the acquisition of the art of the utilization of knowledge. In education, the broad primrose path. . . is represented by a book or a … Continue reading

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Notes from a talk on social justice

Rawls: Justice as Fairness Human justice is inherently a social construct. Individual justice is basically just vengeance Concepts of social justice Plato: the Republic and philosopher-kings Hobbes: benevolent monarchy Locke: social contract Kant and the categorical imperative—eliminate need for social … Continue reading

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Theory and Practice of Virtue

I’m rereading Meilander’s  The Theory and Practice of Virtue and not enjoying it quite as much as I did last time.  But it’s useful because it challenges my thinking at many turns, and I agree with many of his points–such … Continue reading

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Figment

Seth Godin’s blog today: A figment. It seems like the only thing you can be a figment of is someone’s imagination. Andy Warhol wanted the word FIGMENT etched on his tombstone. He understood that the only place he actually existed … Continue reading

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