Year: 2020
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, […]
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Being and Existence
Finding a Place Called Home
While recently finishing the intriguing book Galileo’s Error by Philip Goff, I was reminded of an interview with the author and Philip Pullman as part of the Philosophy in the Bookshop series hosted by Nigel Warburton. This monthly event takes place in the Norrington Room at Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford, England. While watching the YouTube video, […]
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Being and Existence
How To Live
Freedom and Responsibility (and Donuts) According to Jean-Paul Sartre
When I was growing up, a common refrain heard on the elementary school playground was: “I can do what I want. It’s a free county.” This was a frustrating argument my fourth grade brain knew on some level was not true, yet it was used to justify all kinds of nefarious school yard abuses. “It’s […]
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Being and Existence
Metaphysics
Religion and Spirituality
From Where Does Love Originate? Miguel de Unamuno Believed It to Be Shared Suffering and Pity
From where does love originate? Many thinkers have attempted to pin down its cause, but whether it be romantic or platonic, from where love originates remains elusive and amorphous. In one of the most beautiful descriptions of love, Michel de Montaigne left the cause of his friendship with Étienne de La Boétie firmly in the […]
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Metaphysics
Homescapes Raises the Question of Why We Do the Things We Do
I have been playing this phone game called Homescapes by the company Playrix which has caused me to think of how, in some ways, it brings to light issues related to why we do the things we do and the nature of reality. The premise of the game is that you are trying to help […]
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Metaphysics
Nature and Travel
A World Filled with Consciousness: How Panpsychism Bridges the Gap Between Matter and Being
What if the natural world were seen as something more than mechanistic matter obeying a theory of survival?
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Being and Existence
How To Live
Hope Amidst Uncertainty in Albert Camus’ Novel The Plague
How should one respond to uncertainty? With hope, passion, and a zest for life.
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How To Live
Ritual Is the Husk of Faith and Loyalty
How much more rich would our relationships be
if they were based in goodness or kindness rather than justice or, even worse, dogmatic behavior which only can lead to chaos?
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Being and Existence
Metaphysics
John O’Donohue on the Mystery and Wonder of Existence
Embrace the mystery and wonder of existence by acknowledging the immensity that is inside of you.
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