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…
Sunday was a day of adventure. An adventure happens when one’s plans, actions and experiences which you counted on are thwarted by circumstances. We planned to visit the Morton Arboretum to take in the troll display. The Arboretum has a number of giant trolls constructed of wood placed throughout the grounds. The entrance to…
I remember a visit to a county fair. It happened when I was fourteen or fifteen. The occasion was memorable because I was not accompanied by my parents. I recall the glitter of the midway lights in the dark night, the aroma of cotton candy, and candied apples. Also the smell of sawdust, and…
I stopped in at the Roadster Shop several days ago with my camera. As usual I asked and was given permission to shoot a few photos of their work which is displayed on the showroom lobby of the business. There were a number of interesting, truly amazing works of automotive art on display, but only…
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…
By seeing every human being as consciously or unconsciously acting out an idiosyncratic fantasy, we can see the distinctively human, as opposed to the animal portion of each human life as the use for symbolic purposes of every particular person, object, situation, event, and word encountered in later life. This process amounts to redescribing…
