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Nature and Travel
When Nature Demands We Take Notice
There are some things in nature that evoke within us a feeling we have termed awe. Perhaps this is a poor word to express the reaction we have inside ourselves when we encounter such a thing, but it is the word we have. It is a word that attempts to give a voice to that […]
How To Live
Nature and Travel
Mary Midgley on How to Get Our Relationship With Nature Right
Are we a part of nature or separate from it? Perhaps you think the answer to this question is clear, yet for many of us, the way in which we view the natural world differs widely from individual to individual. Even within ourselves we carry a number contradictory beliefs regarding nature. Is it sacred or […]
How To Live
Nature and Travel
Walking with Thoreau
Walking seems a simple enough activity. We celebrate it when our children do it for the first time, but once that threshold is crossed, we think nothing more of it; we just do it. About the only time we appreciate it is when we feel like we are doing too much of it or cannot […]
How To Live
Mornings with Marcus
Once upon a time I taught World and European history. Both of those curricula involve the study of Classical Rome. Of course well known are names such as Julius Caesar and Augustus, but the second century saw a group of rulers known as The Five Good Emperors, a title bestowed mostly because they were not […]
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Ethics and Morality
The Life I Can Save: Helping Alleviate Global Poverty and Human Suffering
Last semester I mentioned to my students that I believe one of the purposes of philosophy is to unsettle us. I then offered the age-old example of Socrates who likened himself to a type of biting fly that arouses a sluggish horse to action through irritation and pain. I then mentioned the philosopher Peter Singer, […]
