Notes about researching and teaching philosophy…
On Manichean Histories of Europe
“This persistent closed-mindedness—the insistence that any and every text and phenomenon be read back into one grand Manichean narrative—is not a problem unique to Gregory: indeed, the work that his resembles more than any other is Jonathan Israel’s Radical Enlightenment, a clarion call for a robust secularity. Both of these books were written by venerable, erudite early modern scholars, convinced that the die of modernity were cast somewhere around 1650. They are both inordinately long—some of the longest nonfiction works published for mass consumption in the last few years. They are both obsessed with Spinoza. And both authors adopt the pose of a Cassandra, howling obvious truths into a world too blinkered by its iPhones to understand. Their great length, and unending cascade of details, stands in for a paucity of theoretical complexity. For both of them, the story itself is extremely simple: in the seventeenth century, there was a grand parting of the ways, and ever since then the children of light have been combating the children of darkness. Israel and Gregory are two sides of the same coin—and stamped on that coin we find the mark of a king.”
"An Intended Absence? Democracy and the Unintended Reformation," - http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/?p=38996
Paper versus Pixel
“Our eyes tell us that the words and pictures on a screen are pretty much identical to the words and pictures on a piece of paper. But our eyes lie. What we’re learning now is that reading is a bodily activity. We take in information the way we experience the world—as much with our sense of touch as with our sense of sight. Some scientists believe that our brain actually interprets written letters and words as physical objects—a reflection of the fact that our minds evolved to perceive things, not symbols... A recent experiment conducted with young readers in Norway found that, with both expository and narrative works, people who read from a printed page understand a text better than those who read the same material on a screen. The findings are consistent with a series of other studies on the process of reading. “We know from empirical and theoretical research that having a good spatial mental representation of the physical layout of the text supports reading comprehension,” wrote the Norwegian researchers. They suggested that the ability of print readers to “see as well as tactilely feel the spatial extension and physical dimensions” of an entire text likely played a role in their superior comprehension.”
Nicholas Carr, "Paper Versus Pixel" Nautilus Quarterly, issue 4, 2013 - http://bit.ly/15r5tWT
On Attention & Consciousness
“And so, whether or not the attention schema theory turns out to be the correct scientific formulation, a successful account of consciousness will have to tell us more than how brains become aware. It will also have to show us how awareness changes us, shapes our behaviour, interconnects us, and makes us human.”
Michael Graziano, "How Consciousness Works," Aeon - http://bit.ly/17R8jQL
Why Teach
“Mr. Edmundson strives to read and teach the authors who inspire him with what he calls ‘humane sensitivity.’ ‘The battle is to make such writers one’s own, to winnow them out and to find their essential truths,’ he says. He went to college to see if there were possibilities beyond what others had defined as his limits. You sense that he still goes to the classroom each semester seeking new possibilities — for his students and for himself.”
"Mark Edmundson's Essays Ask 'Why Teach?'" - http://nyti.ms/17R5nn5
Gaming Ethics
“They were only an hour from the summit [of Mt. Everest], and they debated whether to abort their climb to try to save the man. Hall’s partner was distraught - he wanted to help even if that meant abandoning the climb. Hall had no such ambivalence. ‘I thought I would have reacted differently, but when I looked at him, I realized that there was just nothing we could do,’ Hall says. ‘I felt really sad, but I figured he was dead or he was about to die.’ Hall persuaded his partner to keep moving, and they scrambled past the dying man. ‘It was a Day Z moment,’ Hall says grimly. The man died, and his body was left behind, encased in snow and ice. An hour later, Hall reached the summit. ‘The sight was so breathtaking it was like being slapped in the face,’ he recalled on the bog. ‘I immediately started crying... I’ve thought a lot about how to summarize that feeling, and the best I can do is to say that if there is a God, then it’s like looking upon his face.’”
Joshua Davis, "Master of Zombies: One Man's Obsession Turns into a Blockbuster Game" - Wired Magazine, September 2013.
Anglo Files
“I’ve grown accustomed to British friends who, when it comes to personal matters, don’t ask much, don’t tell much and really, really, don’t want to get into it. We lived for more than 15 years next to a couple who corresponded with us almost exclusively by letter. I have become an expert in the art of the anodyne weather discussion. I’m chronically sorry.”
Sarah Lyall, "Ta-Ta, London. Hello Awesome. " - http://nyti.ms/164tL1O
After Bellah
“Robert N. Bellah, a distinguished sociologist of religion who sought nothing less than to map the American soul, in both the sacred and secular senses of the word, died on July 30 in Oakland, Calif. He was 86... Professor Bellah, who was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton in 2000, came to wide attention in 1967 with a seminal article, ‘Civil Religion in America’.... ‘It’s a complicated relationship between politics and religion,’ he said. ‘But our tradition by and large has used religion to hold the nation in judgment and to assert that it should operate under higher moral standards.’”
"Robert Bellah, Sociologist of Religion Who Mapped the American Soul, Dies at 86" - http://nyti.ms/13RJdyA cf. “Civil Religion in America.”
Ibn Rashd (Averroes) on In Our Time
“Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosopher Averroes who worked to reconcile the theology of Islam with the rationality of Aristotle achieving fame and infamy in equal measure... Averroes was a 12th century Islamic scholar who devoted his life to defending philosophy against the precepts of faith. He was feted by Caliphs but also had his books burnt and suffered exile. Averroes is an intellectual titan, both in his own right and as a transmitter of ideas between ancient Greece and Modern Europe. His commentary on Aristotle was so influential that St Thomas Aquinas referred to him with profound respect as ‘The Commentator’.”
Ibn Sina on In our Time
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Persian Islamic philosopher Avicenna - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b00855lt
US Dept State Religion
“This past week, the US Department of State announced the creationof a new office that ‘will focus on engagement with faith-based organizations and religious institutions around the world to strengthen US development and diplomacy and advance America’s interests and values.’ Citing widespread religious persecution and violence overseas, proponents of the new office of ‘religious engagement’ hope to further institutionalize an official US commitment to globalize religious freedom, marginalize extremism, and promote interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance. There is great excitement in some quarters about the prospects for new partnerships among the US government, for the increasingly vast array of sub-contractors that work on its behalf, and for the various faith-based religious and civil society actors and institutions abroad. Yet this initiative also raises concerns regarding the intersection of religious freedom, religious establishment, and foreign policy.”
"Engaging Religion at the Department of State" The Immanent Frame Blog - http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/?p=38378