Today is to be a “normal” day at the office. Pay no attention that my mind seems to be in molasses, barely able to rise above idle. Perhaps that will improve as the day progresses. I struggled to read and understand the text in this mornings reading of the comparison between philosophy and science. …
These lines, the first four from What Is Philosophy by Deleuze and Guattari, and the last from this mornings front page of the New York Times have weighed on my mind. These are snapshots, evidence of a state of things that will continue to move, to change inexorably according to contingent factors which by…
Ideas associated with Christianity……. The idea that reciprocal pity is a sufficient basis for political association, that there is something wrong with imprisonment without trial, Or the use of war prisoners as slaves, Or public executions, Or torture to extract confessions, Or the use of hostages, Or the deportation of whole populations…. Were once…
A recurring topic among those of us interested in (seized by) philosophy is what is philosophy. What does this “thinking about thinking” mean? In this passage from Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s book, What Is Philosophy? a description of philosophy includes the concept of time dilation. Time is compressed (accelerated) or expanded, (slowed down). …
Last night’s discussion on Relativity Theory was rousing and wide ranging. It is remarkable that a group of fourteen adults, each with an individual history, different levels and types of education, and widely varied interests– would have the ability to discuss Einstein’s great work, with substantial understanding. It is also remarkable that differences in…
A tale about the human condition is conveyed by the rock anthem: Don’t Stop Belevin’ by Journey. The tune was included in the play list that we enjoyed while having dinner yesterday. I’ve listened to this song innumerable times. Sometimes I feel tears, as something deep within is touched by the slow building melody,…
Exchanged emails with a friend on the related terms: bullying, cruelty, and tyranny. Is not the recognition of this type of behavior a matter of skill? One learns by experience, and by exposure to literature, poetry, and story telling,–empathy. Empathy is learned. It is the profound appreciation of our capacity for suffering. The capacity…
Imagination is the chief instrument of the good… art is more moral than moralities. For the latter either are, or tend to become, consecrations of the status quo… The moral prophets of humanity have always been poets even though they always spoke in free verse or by parable. —John Dewey Art as Experience (New…
A liberal society is one whose ideals can be fulfilled by persuasion rather than by force, by reform than by revolution. by the free and open encounters of present linguistic and other practices with suggestions for new practices. ….an ideal liberal society is one which has no other purpose except freedom, no goal except…
The culture of liberalism should be one which was enlightened, secular, through and through. It would be one in which no trace of divinity remained, either in the form of a divinized world or of a divinized self. Such a culture would have no room for the notion that there are nonhuman forces to…
