Postscript, April 25. I enjoyed our two sessions a great deal, even though I felt pretty crummy the first week. Shirley's baked goods rival my daughter's! Thanks to you all for your thoughtful posts and presentations, sorry time squeezed us in the second half last night. Please share any thoughts you didn't have an opportunity to express verbally in the comments space below. Looking forward to seeing many of you again, maybe in July. jpo
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For MALA 6010: Engaging the Humanities/Engaging American Philosophy (introductions)... Indicate your preferred PRESENTATION TOPIC in the comments space below. Please avoid redundancy, don't select the same topic as a classmate (or else coordinate with them to ensure you don't reduplicate one another's efforts).
Also see my American Philosophy site... Durant's Story of Philosophy... Sagan's Cosmic Connection... Sagan's Varieties... James's Varieties... Lachs's Stoic Pragmatism... Lachs's In Love With Life... More Lachs... Peripatetic (walking) philosophy: Gymnasiums of the Mind; and see "Why Walking Helps Us Think," below*)... My summer '25 MALA 6050 course (July session): Philosophy in Recent American Fiction ...
Week 1 Read the following selections and post (in the comments section on my CoPhi site, below) at least one discussion question and one comment pertaining to each: William James, Pragmatism Lecture 1 (FYI-a $6 paperback edition of this classic is available online, or a $.99 kindle version)... John Dewey, Take your pick... and my favorite passage in Dewey, from A Common Faith... Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature preface/introduction/ch1. GET YOUR PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT.
INDICATE your preferred PRESENTATION TOPIC in the comments space below. Please avoid redundancy, don't select the same topic as another classmate (or else coordinate with them to ensure you don't reduplicate one another's efforts).
Week 2 Read the following selections and post (in the comments section on my CoPhi site, below) at least one discussion question and one comment pertaining to each: Selections from contemporary sources like Martha Nussbaum, Take your pick; Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark; Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club; Doug Anderson, Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture; Oliver, William James's "Springs of Delight: The Return to Life-preface and introduction. PRESENTATION (tell us what you've learned about your topic, what questions you have about it, and what question(s) you'd like the class to discuss)
PRESENTATIONS (Week 2) - Summarize in just a few minutes your main takeaway from the assigned reading on your topic, then do a bit of research to learn something more about it. Tell us what you've learned, what question(s) you have about it, and what you'd like the class to discuss. We'll assign these topics before we leave in Week 1. If you already have a preference, indicate that in the comments space below this post.
- William James -
- John Dewey -
- Richard Rorty -
- Martha Nussbaum -
- Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark (and other writing, if you wish) -
- Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club (and other writing, if you wish) -
- Doug Anderson's Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture -
- Oliver's William James's "Springs of Delight: The Return to Life -
- John Lachs's Stoic Pragmatism, In Love With Life (or other writing, if you wish) -
- Will Durant's Story of Philosophy (and other writing, if you wish) -
- Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection, Varieties of Scientific Experience, Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot (or other writing, if you wish) -
- Another prominent classic American philosopher (C.S. Peirce, George Santayana, Josiah Royce, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Jefferson, ...)
- A prominent living (or very recently deceased) American philosopher (Agnes Callard, Peter Singer, Michael Sandel, Kwame Anthony Appiah [the NYTimes Magazine "Ethicist"], Cornel West, Daniel Dennett, Ronald Dworkin, more ...)
- Your proposal -
A good starting place for online research is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
There are lots of good philosophy podcasts... On YouTube, the School of Life has lots of entertaining short videos...
The philosophy books in MTSU's Walker Library are on the 2d and 3d floors (LoC and Dewey Decimal catalog systems respectively).
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*Since at least the time of Greek philosophers, many writers have discovered a deep, intuitive connection between walking, thinking, and writing. Why Walking Helps Us Think
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Engaging philosophy via our Lyceum speaker series:
April 11 (Linda Alcoff)... March 28 (Agnes Callard)... September 28 (Mariana Allesandri)... more
We lost a giant of philosophy when we lost John on November 14. Perhaps you’ve encountered one or more of those audio productions in the Giants of Philosophy series John edited in the 80s. He was an ideal choice to chair the APA’s centennial committee, tasked to “create a broader public awareness for philosophy by calling attention to its personal value and social usefulness.” That’s exactly what John did, always, throughout his long career (from which he formally retired only a couple of years ago at age 87).
When, for instance, my department at Middle Tennessee faced its existential crisis in the wake of the financial collapse of ‘08, John came and delivered a timely morale-lifting talk on the value of philosophy that got our university president’s and our dean’s attention. John was no ivory tower philosopher, but he did defend tenure as the institution that allows us to show the dean (and the prez, if we dare) any finger we like. Fortunately it never came to that, for us.
Those audiobooks are good, btw. Some of my best friends and former teachers are featured in them as authors, as channeled by professional actors. How strange to hear my old teacher John Compton talking about Sartre in the voice of Charlton Heston, or my old grad school pal and best man Daryl Hale on the Stoics and Epicureans… read by Lynn Redgrave.
John also got John Cleese to record a series of short PSAs “from the philosophers of America” extolling the value of philosophy in its centennial year of 2006. They reflect JL’s own voice, somehow elegant, earthy, funny, and profound all at once.
I’ve had occasion to pay public tribute to John before. In 2007 I was president of the Tennessee Philosophical Association and participant with a panel of my peers in tribute to John at that organization’s annual meeting. We thought he must surely be contemplating retirement at that time, at age 73. We were wrong.
I later contributed a very personal “addendum” to Krzysztof Skowronski’s festschrift tribute, in John Lachs’s Practical Philosophy (Brill, 2018). It was so gratifying to be recognized, in his reply, as a “kindred spirit”--I hope so– “and [he wrote] our love of William James brings us even closer together.”
John’s winking last words in that volume deserve to be heard, and smiled at, and pondered:
“Sad as it may sound to say it, the probability favors the view that death is final. Our delights are like the joys of the butterfly that hovered over a flower for a precious minute a thousand years ago. And then it is over in a moment of grace.
Of course we can hope for more. And, indeed, if the universe has an administration, we may be employed, like faculty, beyond our useful years.”
The last time I spoke with John, at his Nashville home not long before his precious time with us was at last over, we had a wide-ranging conversation that displayed once again his lifelong love affair with life. And his good-humored positivity and personal energy, even in the face of debilitating illness and the inescapable undeniable end. He said philosophers “ought to have the courage to look into the abyss alone and to face sudden tragedy and inevitable decline with equanimity born of joy or at least of understanding. I am prepared to be surprised to learn that we have a supernatural destiny, just as I am prepared to be surprised at seeing my neighbor win the lottery. But I don't consider buying tickets an investment.”
John left specific and detailed instructions for his memorial service in December, including these words from In Love With Life: “our lives can find meaning at each stage, and not lose usefulness even after death.”
He was a force of nature. He was a happy man. He was, monumentally to understate the case, “useful.” His example will endure.
There is so much more I’d like to say about John Lachs, his legacy, his contributions to this organization (president of the WJS 2007) and the founding of SAAP in the early 70s, his instrumental role in granting me and so many of my peers our profession, his professional and personal civility and kindness and decency. His fundamental humanity. He was a humane teacher, in a profession not always known for placing human values ahead of career ambitions. I’ll never meet a more exemplary model of genuine care and concern for the well-being of others, especially those others lucky enough to have entered his orbit.
Time presses here, though, so I invite you to go to my blog site Up@dawn and search his name. Here, he has the last words. From the epilogue of Stoic Pragmatism:
It is still very hard for me to picture him at rest, but: requiescat in pace, John Lachs.
When, for instance, my department at Middle Tennessee faced its existential crisis in the wake of the financial collapse of ‘08, John came and delivered a timely morale-lifting talk on the value of philosophy that got our university president’s and our dean’s attention. John was no ivory tower philosopher, but he did defend tenure as the institution that allows us to show the dean (and the prez, if we dare) any finger we like. Fortunately it never came to that, for us.
Those audiobooks are good, btw. Some of my best friends and former teachers are featured in them as authors, as channeled by professional actors. How strange to hear my old teacher John Compton talking about Sartre in the voice of Charlton Heston, or my old grad school pal and best man Daryl Hale on the Stoics and Epicureans… read by Lynn Redgrave.
John also got John Cleese to record a series of short PSAs “from the philosophers of America” extolling the value of philosophy in its centennial year of 2006. They reflect JL’s own voice, somehow elegant, earthy, funny, and profound all at once.
I’ve had occasion to pay public tribute to John before. In 2007 I was president of the Tennessee Philosophical Association and participant with a panel of my peers in tribute to John at that organization’s annual meeting. We thought he must surely be contemplating retirement at that time, at age 73. We were wrong.
I later contributed a very personal “addendum” to Krzysztof Skowronski’s festschrift tribute, in John Lachs’s Practical Philosophy (Brill, 2018). It was so gratifying to be recognized, in his reply, as a “kindred spirit”--I hope so– “and [he wrote] our love of William James brings us even closer together.”
John’s winking last words in that volume deserve to be heard, and smiled at, and pondered:
“Sad as it may sound to say it, the probability favors the view that death is final. Our delights are like the joys of the butterfly that hovered over a flower for a precious minute a thousand years ago. And then it is over in a moment of grace.
Of course we can hope for more. And, indeed, if the universe has an administration, we may be employed, like faculty, beyond our useful years.”
The last time I spoke with John, at his Nashville home not long before his precious time with us was at last over, we had a wide-ranging conversation that displayed once again his lifelong love affair with life. And his good-humored positivity and personal energy, even in the face of debilitating illness and the inescapable undeniable end. He said philosophers “ought to have the courage to look into the abyss alone and to face sudden tragedy and inevitable decline with equanimity born of joy or at least of understanding. I am prepared to be surprised to learn that we have a supernatural destiny, just as I am prepared to be surprised at seeing my neighbor win the lottery. But I don't consider buying tickets an investment.”
John left specific and detailed instructions for his memorial service in December, including these words from In Love With Life: “our lives can find meaning at each stage, and not lose usefulness even after death.”
He was a force of nature. He was a happy man. He was, monumentally to understate the case, “useful.” His example will endure.
There is so much more I’d like to say about John Lachs, his legacy, his contributions to this organization (president of the WJS 2007) and the founding of SAAP in the early 70s, his instrumental role in granting me and so many of my peers our profession, his professional and personal civility and kindness and decency. His fundamental humanity. He was a humane teacher, in a profession not always known for placing human values ahead of career ambitions. I’ll never meet a more exemplary model of genuine care and concern for the well-being of others, especially those others lucky enough to have entered his orbit.
Time presses here, though, so I invite you to go to my blog site Up@dawn and search his name. Here, he has the last words. From the epilogue of Stoic Pragmatism:
“I am grateful for living at a time when I can contribute to the recovery of American philosophy, a great and greatly neglected national treasure. The founding of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, in which I gladly participated, serves as clear evidence that just a few determined and persevering individuals can have a lasting effect on the future of a profession. We need to continue expanding the canon by adding to it thinkers whose work is excellent but who have, for one reason or another, been neglected over the years. I work on this, as I work on bringing philosophy into contact with a broader public, with the conviction that the energy and vision of a small band of people can make all the difference we need…And so he was, and so in our hearts and minds he continues.
In the end, I do not want to be absorbed in the technical details of the problems of philosophy. My passion is to deploy philosophy to deal with the important issues that face us as individuals, as a nation, and as members of the human race. There is a large public waiting anxiously for what philosophy can offer—for careful thinking, clear vision, and the intelligent examination of our values. That is where the future of philosophy lies, that is where American philosophy has always pointed us, and that is where I will continue to be.”
It is still very hard for me to picture him at rest, but: requiescat in pace, John Lachs.
Posted Nov '19:
In 2008, my Dad was diagnosed with late-stage leukemia. In his waning days that summer he picked up and annotated the inscribed copy of Lachs’s In Love With Life: reflections on the joy of living and why we hate to die (Vanderbilt, 1998 ) I’d given him in much earlier and healthier days. Dad wrote that it “took on much greater significance when thoroughly digested in 2008.” He died that September.
Lachs: “The lesson is clear. Love life so long as there is something worth loving… But at some point, wanting more life runs into the chill reality that the kind of life we can get is no longer worth the cost. This does not mean that we surrender our love of life. As in a broken love affair, we give up the loved one, not the love. With anguish or with quiet resignation, we face the fact that the days of love are gone.”
Dad: “Well expressed!”
Lachs: “All it takes to overcome tiredness with life is to open open our eyes. The world is throbbing with energy and promise, and if we can view it as kin to us, as our home, as in some sense ours, its movement will forever hold our gaze. The fascination abides even if we are too weak to do much more than see what happens next. We need simply to immerse ourselves in the energy of life all around us, as fish do swimming in the throbbing sea.”
Dad: “great!!” [Remembering & celebrating JCO, 1928-2008]
The current version of humans, at least, seems to be limited to something in the neighborhood of 122. How many more martinis would that be, Ed?
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William James's 1882 letter to his dying father:
"...We have been so long accustomed to the hypothesis of your being taken away from us, especially during the past ten months, that the thought that this may be your last illness conveys no very sudden shock. You are old enough, you've given your message to the world in many ways and will not be forgotten; you are here left alone, and on the other side, let us hope and pray, dear, dear old Mother is waiting for you to join her. If you go, it will not be an inharmonious thing. Only, if you are still in possession of your normal consciousness, I should like to see you once again before we part... As for the other side, and Mother, and our all possibly meeting, I can't say anything. More than ever at this moment do I feel that if that were true, all would be solved and justified. And it comes strangely over me in bidding you good-bye how a life is but a day and expresses mainly but a single note. It is so much like the act of bidding an ordinary good-night. Good-night, my sacred old Father! If I don't see you again—Farewell! a blessed farewell! Your
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William James's 1882 letter to his dying father:
"...We have been so long accustomed to the hypothesis of your being taken away from us, especially during the past ten months, that the thought that this may be your last illness conveys no very sudden shock. You are old enough, you've given your message to the world in many ways and will not be forgotten; you are here left alone, and on the other side, let us hope and pray, dear, dear old Mother is waiting for you to join her. If you go, it will not be an inharmonious thing. Only, if you are still in possession of your normal consciousness, I should like to see you once again before we part... As for the other side, and Mother, and our all possibly meeting, I can't say anything. More than ever at this moment do I feel that if that were true, all would be solved and justified. And it comes strangely over me in bidding you good-bye how a life is but a day and expresses mainly but a single note. It is so much like the act of bidding an ordinary good-night. Good-night, my sacred old Father! If I don't see you again—Farewell! a blessed farewell! Your
WILLIAM
William James reading
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Taking "tender-minded" and "tough-minded" out of context from the text, could this represent the known saying of "the world is black and white"? As you read on, you can see the takeaways from each, but by simply reading those two descriptions and stopping, would the out of context reference be taken to describe the divide amongst people?
Comment: I remember reading this, or rather something very similar, and I completely forgot about it. Its kind of crazy to think about what you learn and re-learn every year. As a take-away, I do believe there is a benefit in society to understand pragmatism in the world today. Although the section assigned is only a snip-it, the rest of the publishing goes on to talk about important notions that are lost amongst the greater public today, or they don't realize they are apart of it.
(My presentation preference is Martha Nussbaum, focusing either on Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities or Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education to explore how this applies to the academic struggles our country is facing right now.)
ReplyDeleteJames, Pragmatism Lecture 1
•Discussion Question: When engaging with the world, do you tend to lean more towards being a rationalistic (“tender-minded”) or an empiricist (“tough-minded”)? Or do you find yourself to be an even mix of the two types? Is it possible to be one over the other?
•Comment When it comes to pragmatism and its way of combining rationalism and empiricism, I see this as a way for the 19th and 20th century philosophers as a way to merge their religious and scientific beliefs together for them to coexist. One standout statement he made that I liked is, “Few people have definitely articulated philosophies of their own. But almost everyone has his own peculiar sense of a certain total character in the universe, and of the inadequacy fully to match it of the peculiar systems that he knows.” I see this resonating with the class as we begin this block based on a majority of the introductory responses we gave before class.
Dewey, A Common Faith
•Discussion Question: Given that society is much more diverse now than n Dewey’s time, what can we make of his idea that “God” and religion are integral to society?
•Comment: To me, Dewey’s take on the idea of finding a connection between nature and God is another way of trying to balance religion with philosophy. For me, he takes this idea too far in saying how important religion is to society as I don’t think this is applicable to everyone. I do agree with his ending sentiment of, “The things in civilization we most prize are not of ourselves. They exist by grace of the doings and sufferings of the continuous human community in which we are a link. Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying and expanding the heritage of values we received that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.”
Dewey, The School and Society (my selection)
•Discussion Question: Dewey stated in his first lecture on “The School and Social Progress,” “While our educational leaders are talking of culture, the development of personality, etc., as the end and aim of education, the great majority of those who pass under the tuition of the school regard it only as narrowly practical tool with which to get bread and butter enough to eke out a restricted life.” He gave this lecture in 1899. How much of this viewpoint do you think still holds up today?
•Comment: It is fascinating reading Dewey’s three subsequent lectures on the state of the 19th century American school system and his thoughts and suggestions for how it should be changed to better serve the children students and greater society as a whole. The changes he put forward, students having an active role in learning as opposed to just listening and reciting; allowing students the opportunity to create; incorporating learning from the world into the classroom and vice versa, are all components we see in our education system today. “Relate the school to life, and all studies are of necessity correlated,” is a standout statement to be in viewing the implementation of learning.
Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature
•Discussion Question: With bringing to mind our last block topic on the emotions and sentience of animals, how do you think the “problem of consciousness” and the “problem of personhood” factor into how humans separate themselves from animals?
•Comment: I must admit, this was a difficult reading for me to get through. I was able to gleam from it is the question of what the mind is and how does consciousness and reason have any relation to personhood. This is one of the classic philosophical quandaries.
WJ: "the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly and deeply means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos." Most of us don't articulate our individual "ways" with any precision, but (says WJ) just having them makes us potential philosophers. Expressing them well makes us good philosophers.
Delete"how important religion is to society as I don’t think this is applicable to everyone"--Dewey's point is that it is indeed universally applicable, when we reconstruct our concept of religion to mean a vital connection between humans and nature, and between humans and other humans. He called that "natural piety" and said it applies even to those who don't call themselves religious, and whether they acknowledge it or not.
Re: Rorty, he'd acknowledge that non-human animals, lacking our complexity of language, thus lack philosophical problems about consciousness. That may well be to their advantage, in many ways. But since we've got language, asking philosophical questions about everything including the nature of our own conscious existence, and conversing about them, seems like a worthy application of that tool. He just wants to discourage us from thinking that we're required to match our words in "mirror" fashion to something beyond nature and humanity.
My presentation preference would be on Martha Nussbaum's "Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice".
ReplyDeleteWilliams James reading,
Lecture V: Pragmatism and Common Sense
- Discussion Question: In this lecture James states: " 'How far am I verified?' is the question which each kind of union and each kind of separation asks us here, so as good pragmatists we have to turn our face towards experience, towards 'facts' ... Ought not the existence of the various types of thinking which we have reviewed, each so splendid for certain purposes, yet all conflicting still, and neither one of them able to support a claim of absolute veracity, to awaken a presumption favorable to the pragmatistic view that all our theories are INSTRUMENTAL, are mental modes of ADAPTATION to reality, rather than revelations or gnostic answers to some divinely instituted world-enigma? I expressed this view as clearly as I could in the second of these lectures. Certainly the restlessness of the actual theoretic situation, the value for some purposes of each thought-level, and the inability of either to expel the others decisively, suggest this pragmatistic view, which I hope that the next lectures may soon make entirely convincing." Is there such thing as ambiguity in truth?
- Comment: William James’s lecture makes a powerful case for the idea that truth is not a fixed, absolute entity, but rather something fluid, practical, and context-dependent. When he talks about theories being "instrumental" and "mental modes of adaptation to reality," he's emphasizing that our ideas and beliefs aren’t necessarily revelations of some eternal truth, but tools we use to navigate the world effectively.
So yes, from the pragmatist perspective James presents, there is ambiguity in truth. Not because truth doesn't matter, but because what counts as “true” often depends on what works, what fits, what proves itself useful in experience.
Right. James does not deny reality or facts, but acknowledges that what we take for true at any given moment reflects our present understanding and circumstances. Those are liable to change over time. That's what he means when he says truth "happens to ideas"... the commonly-perceived truth of the hypothesis of a globular earth, for instance, happened only after a sufficient accumulation of evidence that enough of us found persuasive. But it was always a factual reality. What we call truth is the story we're telling about the facts and reality at any given moment. Ultimate truth (Truth with a capital T) will always recede beyond the horizon. In that sense, truth is indeed ambiguous.
DeletePresentation Choice:
ReplyDeleteWould it be feasible for me to read "Alice in Jamesland" (the book about William's wife)? Then complete the assignment? If not, I'll choose Rebecca Solnit.
Yes, go for it.
DeleteIn lecture 1, William James pointed out that “everyone has a philosophy”.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: A life philosophy comprises components; what determines the standard of a “good” versus a “bad” life philosophy?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines philosophy as a “pursuit of wisdom or “the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.” The Dept. of Philosophy of Florida State University contends that, in a broad sense, “philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and each other.” Agent Thomas when he mentioned in his blog, entitled ‘ Why Everyone is a philosopher,' that philosophers explore ideas. To him, philosophy is about the “love of wisdom, the pursuit of truth. It’s a love story, and it's about a hunt.” He added that fundamental (real) philosophy is looking at ideas the way a jeweler looks at diamonds and trying to figure out which ones are valuable or worthless, real or phony. He says, “Philosophy is our blueprint of the world and ourselves, the ongoing story we’re telling ourselves that makes sense of the raw experience of life.
Authors and scholars agree that everyone seems to have a personal life philosophy, even if unaware. This is because everyone makes choices and lives their life based on underlying values and beliefs, which form the foundation of their personal philosophy. Finch (2024) mentioned that Philosophy is about making sense of the world and your place in it. Even if you haven't formally articulated your beliefs, everyone makes decisions, navigates relationships, and interacts with the world based on implicit assumptions and values.
I firmly believe that every one of us has something that we live for, one way or the other, and no matter what life throws at us, we return to our “deepest whys”. By holding on to those “ whys,” we do what we do, overcome obstacles, and hope to realize those aspirations that matter to us for the people we care about and the dreams we work to achieve. After all, it is between us and our God at the end of the day.
A Common Faith by John Dewey
This article mentioned two opposing groups, Roman Catholics and Protestants, where, according to Dewey, there is one idea held in common between these two opposing groups: the identification of the religious with the supernatural.
Question: When is a religious person considered religious, and when is spiritual, spiritual?
Baurain, in his paper, mentioned that Dewey rejects organized religion and belief in the supernatural, and reasons, illustrations, analysis, and consequences accompany his rejection. Baurain further stated in his essay that the point of raising religious or spiritual issues in schools is to promote reflection and inquiry on significant questions: students must get the message that spiritual ideals and values are essential, and they must feel free and equipped to make informed choices concerning them. Teachers would play a key role in this process.
For me, religion is what man does for God. And I believe that we continue to exist only by the grace of God. And what is grace? When I was in high school, a preacher once said, which I have tried to memorize, “A Man who deserves everything bad but is given everything good, and that for nothing, that is grace.” What man does with that grace is solely up to him, regardless of religion, belief, or spirituality. Whether he lives in contentment and happiness based on his practices or continues to live in misery for not finding the answers to the truth he seeks. The truth remains that life is so short and that we can only rejoice and try to give every day a chance to be the best day of our lives, and live life to the fullest and make a difference in the place we live in, with the best that we can, with what we have, for this generation and the generations to come– that, may be the best gift we can give for the grace we receive and enjoy.
My presentation topic will be Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit.
DeleteGood.
DeleteRe: God, Dewey uses that term but means something non-supernatural by it. His "natural piety" is an attitude of commitment to pursuing ideals and strengrthening the "heritage of values" we've received so that the next generations can continue to close the gap between how the world is and how we'd like it to be.
Prsesentation: Douglas Anderson or Phil Oliver
ReplyDeleteResearch topic: Rebecca Solnit- Hope in the Dark
ReplyDeleteCoordinate with Juvy, if you can, to avoid redundancy.
DeleteI will do Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club to not clash instead
DeleteResearch topic: Arthur Danto - "End of Art"
ReplyDeleteMy presentation will be on Jimmy Buffet and Philosophy in Song.
ReplyDeleteWeek 1: Questions and Comments
William James uses the approach that practical outcomes should judge the meaning of something. It is a method for resolving disagreements about the nature of reality. He said the truth “happens to an idea” when it works in life. For example, if someone asks if we have free will, he will ask what difference it makes if people believe in free will and if believing it leads to better decisions.
Comment: From a biblical perspective, God gave us free will. If people feel they are victims of circumstance, they will not think critically or form their own opinions. Making better decisions for oneself would involve time to reflect and consider different outcomes before pursuing actions.
John Dewey wants moral education to be integrated into school life. It needs to be modeled and practiced and is a continuous process in social interaction. It makes for a better democracy. He sees learning by doing and knowledge as a tool for solving problems. For example, he would ask what the responsibilities of our educational system are and what its aims are.
Comment: So much of our educational system has been professionalized. We have managers, policy makers, curriculum developers, and credentials. We leave the teaching of morals and values up to the parents or religious societies. So much of a person’s life is spent in mandatory educational systems (K through 12 at least). We could incorporate stories and lessons from the past (secular and religious) so our students are exposed to higher moral standards.
Richard Rorty is critical of modern philosophy. He is a pragmatist. In Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature he states the truth is not discovered but made through culture. He wants our language to help us live better together. A question he might ask is instead of asking what is right, what is better for building a better society.
Comment: We need better ways of talking and thinking that fit our ever-changing world. We need to focus on living together instead of winning arguments. If everyone used the same standards of communication, something good might be accomplished. Even in our small circle of contacts, this is difficult to achieve.
Jimmy, then, not me or Doug?
Delete"We need to focus on living together instead of winning arguments" - Our recent Lyceum speaker Agnes Callard, channeling Socrates, would agree that winning arguments is less important than learning from them; and appreciating others when they succeed in persuading us by their philosophical arguments.
DeleteI have prepared for tonight using information from Jimmy Buffet and Philosophy and your article within.
Week 2: Questions and Comments - Part 1 of 3
ReplyDeleteMartha Nussbaum: Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. She defends the role of the arts and critical thinking in that it shapes healthy societies. She feels that a lack of humanities leads to a decline in imagination.
Comment: Nussbaum might ask how the arts shape our understanding of culture and identity, and why they are crucial in a democratic society. Humanities matter because they help us understand what it means to be human. Stories, dreams, and values are offered through literature, history, art, and music across time. They help us experience different cultures by “stepping into it” and seeing the world from different perspectives. We need the humanities so we don’t become a society that is only economically minded.
Rebecca Solnit: Hope in the Dark attempts to defend hope as a force for change, especially in times of uncertainty or during struggle. She gives examples of movements that seemed impossible at the time. Hope is the belief that something better is possible, even when having trouble seeing a desired outcome.
Comment: Solnit might ask if we can keep going even if we don’t get to see the results of our efforts. The first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls publicly demanded equal rights for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, among others, hoped they would gain equal status in legal matters, education, employment, and voting. This was against longstanding societal norms that women were not full citizens with the same rights as men. They kept going and would not live to see the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1920 or the ripple effect their movement had on other issues in society.
"We need the humanities so we don’t become a society that is only economically minded." Indeed, the standard economists' model of homo economicus is extremely un-humanistic. It treats everyone as a selfish consumer interested only in maximizing his/her own advantage in every situation.
DeleteRe: Solnit - So many heroes of history persevered "in the dark," without any guarantee of success and without living to see the fruits of their efforts. Good role-models!
DeleteWeek 2 - Questions and Comments - Part 2 of 3
ReplyDeleteLouis Menand: The Metaphysical Club discusses the ideas of James, Holmes, Jr., Peirce, and Dewey and how they moved away from former ideologies and toward a flexible approach to knowledge in an unpredictable world. He published essays in The New Yorker magazine exploring how ideas shape American life.
Comment: Menand might ask if a college degree is still a meaningful indicator of knowledge or just a cultural credential. In my own experience, a college degree has been a requirement for interesting jobs or advancement. I feel it is regarded as a “rite of passage.” Depending on the type of life you want to live, if you don’t have it, then you better get it if you want to get ahead in communities that are fast-paced, technological and intellectual.
Doug Anderson: Philosophy Americana argues that philosophy is rooted in experiences, creativity, and cultural expressions. The love of wisdom is alive and well in American culture. He speaks about philosophy from a nonprofessional perspective.
Comment: Anderson might ask why people resist change even when the old ways of doing things are not working. In my work experience, I see this sentiment about every day. Employees resist a new policy or procedure, or the correct interpretation of an old policy, because they are used to doing things the same way as long as they can remember. They ask why all the time. I hope that the information they've been given helps them open to better ways of doing things and expands their horizons.
Re: Menand - so often, people will ask of a degree candidate "What are you going to do with that?" The (false) implication is that a degree is just a credential, and not a symbol of personal growth and expanded insight, character, etc.
DeleteRe: Anderson - Yes, people do tend to resist experience because it threatens to alter the familiar landscape of long habit. A philosophy that celebrates experience must be open to change.
Week 2: Questions and Comments - Part 3 of 3
ReplyDeletePhil Oliver: William James’s “Springs of Delight” shows how James’ philosophy can help us navigate uncertainty, despair, and the search for meaning. Even though we have struggles, we can “return to life” after taking time for reflection. Having a respite from care and concern is useful. We can then return to genuine engagement and appreciation for the world around us.
Comment: Oliver might ask what life would look like if we lived more fully in the present moment in relationships, work, and simple pleasures when constantly pulled away from genuine connections. In my family life, we have made it a point to shut down from life’s demands at a particular time every day so we can reflect and disengage. We take a day or two away from our work routine every week to do what we want to do without feeling guilty. Even though time is fleeting, disconnecting from the regular routine is refreshing and helps us appreciate other things.
I enjoyed the video American Philosopher. I now understand that this tradition focuses on a cultural way of thinking, things people do in a place and at a time (context). We have different experiences. We want to solve problems. If we think for ourselves, we may lose friends or family. However, it was stated that for a democracy to work, people need to think critically and form opinions. Unfortunately, philosophy and philosophers scare people, as if overthinking would wear people down.
Engaging with the Liberal Arts this semester has had an immediate and significant impact on my way of thinking. It began with exploring the play Our Town, followed by delving into dramaturgy. I then worked as part of a team preparing a training session for a company sending employees to a different culture. Telling cultural stories through a StoryMap and learning about human perspectives on animals further expanded my understanding and growth in various ways. I got a taste of subjects I had not previously had the privilege of studying. It was exciting to cultivate critical thinking skills across a variety of disciplines throughout the semester.
It was funny, wasn't it, that guy at the film's end worried about overthinking and running down his "batteries"? But if you take your moral holidays, weekly and even daily, that won't happen. Even philosophers don't think (or want to) all the time.
DeleteWeek One:
ReplyDeleteWilliam James: The Present Dilemma in Philosophy
To engage in philosophy, one must have courage. William James once said, “Believe me, I feel the full force of the indictment. The picture I have given is indeed monstrously over-simplified and rude.” To stand before an audience—aware that some professional philosophers may consider your perspective a “childishly external view”—shows that you’re focused on the bigger picture. The discomfort of being judged pales in comparison to the greater goal: sparking lasting, thought-provoking action. This, in itself, supports James’ point that “the history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.”
Question:
How much have conflicting temperaments shaped the evolution of philosophy? Does this reflect the presence of politics within philosophical circles—such as being shunned for being tough-minded rather than tender-minded, or vice versa?
John Dewey: A Common Faith
John Dewey touches on one of the most sensitive subjects of all time, in my opinion. Discussing God among nonbelievers can quickly become problematic—especially when the conversation involves those who believe in a divine supernatural being and members of the scientific community. The tension often arises because each side feels attacked by the other. For example, Dewey wrote:
“When historical knowledge has discredited the claims made for the supernatural character of the persons said to have founded historic religions; when the supernatural inspiration attributed to literatures held sacred has been riddled, and when anthropological and psychological knowledge has disclosed the all-too-human source from which religious beliefs and practices have sprung, everything religious must, they say, also go.”
Question:
How does one who is being dismantled listen to the dismantling without bias?
Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature by Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty is another brave philosopher who challenged his peers to examine the foundations of their beliefs. He once said, “Substituting facts for interpretations is one we can’t make any use of.” In other words, he urged us to recognize that how we interpret the world matters just as much—if not more—than the so-called facts we claim to know.
Questions:
Why do we view the mind as separate from the body?
Why is mental health treated differently from general health?
For example, why do most people undergo more physical checkups than therapy sessions? Why are physicals often required for jobs, while mental evaluations are not? These questions challenge us to rethink what we prioritize and how philosophy can push us to care for the whole person—mind and body.
"How does one who is being dismantled listen to the dismantling without bias?" Of course the best philosophy aims not to dismantle persons, but ideas and philosophies. Still, it's hard to separate oneself from one's treasured ideas. That's the Socratic ideal, though, to be grateful to be shown the errors in one's thinking.. not resentful or personally attacked.
DeleteWeek Two
ReplyDeleteCreating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach By Martha C. Nussbaum
The book opens with words I wish our country would fully embrace:
“The real wealth of a nation is its people.”
— Mahbub ul Haq
Martha Nussbaum echoes this sentiment when she states,
“Increased GDP has not always made a difference to the quality of people's lives, and reports of national prosperity are not likely to console those whose existence is marked by inequality and deprivation.”
Questions:
Is lowering the national deficit more important than ensuring the well-being of the American people—especially under the current administration? Does the defunding of veteran and healthcare programs signal a decline in our country’s values and priorities?
How wealthy is America, really, when viewed through the lens of Martha Nussbaum’s philosophy?
Rebecca Solnit: Hope in the Dark
Rebecca’s views on hope break down its meaning in a way that’s easy to understand and, more importantly, helps us apply it the right way.
She wrote,
“Hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. I say it because hope is an ax you break down doors with in an emergency; because hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer you out the door.”
Questions:
Has her perspective challenged your own understanding of what hope really means?
Do we, as a nation, still carry the same sense of "hope" that fueled the Civil Rights Movement?
The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America
The story of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. shows how our beliefs can be deeply shaped by our circumstances. He originally wanted to fight in the war because of his strong convictions, but that changed after he was shot multiple times. At one point, he even hoped his foot would be amputated so he could be discharged. Over time, he grew to hate the war. This experience not only caused him to lose faith in the war itself but also made him question the value of beliefs altogether.
Question:
If he had never been injured, would he have still held on to the beliefs that led him to join the war?How might this have influenced his decisions as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
Douglas R. Anderson: Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture
Douglas quotes William James:
“A perfect world given to us with no effort on our part, with no strenuous engagement, is not worth having.”
Understanding what makes life meaningful is a much-needed philosophy. It reminds me of the saying often passed around the “grapevine”: "Nothing good comes easy." For example, giving a teen a car vs. allowing them to earn it. Which would instill more significance?
Question:
Does this idea apply to those who have inherited the freedoms gained through the Civil Rights Movement?
Or is it more relevant to less significant, material things?
Dr. Phil Oliver: William James's "Springs of Delight": The Return to Life
The text that stands out most to me is:
James is a philosopher of celebration not because everything occasions glee but because nothing in our future yet requires despair.”
In my opinion, the world needs more hopeful outlooks. Time will move forward no matter what, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the right—or the reason—to be happy.
Questions for Dr. Oliver, Author and President of the William James Foundation:
What was your process for writing this book?
Even as president, did you have to seek any formal approval from the Foundation before publishing?
Are there any aspects of William James’s philosophy that you personally disagree with?
Presentation: My topic will be on Bell Hooks.
The above week two text was posted by Markeem Tyler.
DeleteI wrote that book long before taking on the Wm James Society presidency, but they wouldn't have had (or wanted) rights of refusal anyway. My process was to follow John Lachs's advice: get up early, write something--anything--before you do anything else. Revise later. Repeat every day.
DeleteDo you consider yourself a philosopher?
Delete-Markeem
DeleteRichard Rorty
ReplyDeleteComment: The the early sections of Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Rorty makes a bold move by challenging the foundational metaphor of philosophy and the "mirror or nature" - the idea that the mind reflects reality objectively. I found his historical critique particularly compelling, especially how he traces the emergence of epistemology as a central concern in modern philosophy, beginning with Descartes and Locke. Rorty's argument that this metaphor has constrained philosophical inquiry feels both radical and liberating, as he opens the door to rethinking philosophy's role - not as arbiter of objective knowledge, but as a cultural practice.
Question: Rorty critiques the idea of foundationalism and proposes that we move away from the notion of philosophy as a discipline that discovers universal, ahistorical truths. But if we adopt his pragmatist stance, how should we understand the authority or legitimacy of philosophical claims moving forward? Without a foundational basis, what distinguishes philosophy from other forms of cultural commentary?
John Dewey:
Comment: In A Common Faith, Dewey makes a clear distinction between "religion" as an institution and "religious" as a quality of experience. I found this distinction really insightful - particularly his argument that the "religious attitude" can exist independently of belief in the supernatural. Dewey's pragmatist approach reframes from religion not as a set of dogmas but as a human capacity for idealism, hope and ethical striving. This opens up a space for spiritual life that feels inclusive and adaptable to modern, pluralistic societies.
Question: Dewey argues for a "common faith" grounded in human experience and democratic ideals, rather than sectarian doctrines. But can this kind of faith really sustain the same depth of meaning or communal cohesion as traditional religions do for their adherents? How does Dewey's concept deal with the emotional and ritual aspects that many find essential to religious life?
"Without a foundational basis, what distinguishes philosophy from other forms of cultural commentary?" Astute question. Rorty's answer: nothing. Philosophers should be content to engage in cultural commentary and "the conversation of humanity" without appealing to foundations. To do otherwise, he thought, would be unwise.
Delete...
"How does Dewey's concept deal with the emotional and ritual aspects that many find essential to religious life?" I don't think it does. This is something I suspect he didn't feel a personal need for, himself. But many do. Alain de Botton wrote a book called "Religion for Atheists" that tried to fill that void. I'm not sure it succeeds.
Week 1
ReplyDeleteWilliam James Pragmatism Lecture 1
Question: Would one feel truly “Enlightened” if they combine rationalist and empiricist philosophies or would they live with uncertainty as they re-imagine their combined perception of reality?
Comment - William James Pragmatism Lecture 1 discusses the fundamental concept of pragmatism and lays the foundation for how it can be applied as a method for resolving philosophical disputes. He specifically does this by addressing the divide between rationalist (the knowledge that is derived from reason and logic) and empiricist (the knowledge that is derived from experience and experimentation) philosophies that have been often characterized respectively by a commitment to abstract principles and a clear focus on concrete facts. Pragmatism, in James’ perspective, evaluates ideas and beliefs based on their practical consequences and utility in such that our beliefs are fogged and must be tested for credibility and reason for living. Humans are naive and dull minded when it comes to experiencing real-world scenarios as if their vision is narrow sighted, only focused on what’s important to them at the current state of attention. James is justifying his philosophy on pragmatism through the parallels between one living in a tested rationalist or empiricist manner when it comes to related concerns in everyday society, culture, and livelihood. We human beings need to experience all fundamentals of living in order to live true to ourselves and to James' standards of pragmatism philosophy.
John Dewey’s Creative Intelligence - The Need for a Recovery of Philosophy
Question: Should Philosophy stay as an abstraction when it comes to reality or should it be actively engaged and paralleled to our perspective on reality as we humans advance?
Comment: Dewey’s perception on renewing Philosophy into everyday lives and advancements is crystal clear in his ideology of Philosophy. Dewey’s Creative Intelligence is a call to revive philosophy by making it more relevant and interconnected to the pressing needs of this era. In doing so, I also believe that humans will have a reawakened spirit and truth of reality and what all orbits around the phenomena of the human experiences of today.
John Dewey A Common Faith
Question: Should human faith and religious belief stay diverse or invited for all to come to an understanding of each and every religious perspective?
Comment: John Dewey redefines the concept of religion, emphasizing a humanistic approach that transcends traditional religious doctrines. We humans are all interconnected somewhere, somehow. There shouldn’t be a barrier of any limitations that blocks us from staying religiously biased and uncertain from another sentient human being. The hardships and endeavors we face as human beings trying to live in a rather advanced reality should be a gateway to live simultaneously and compassionately with one another, regardless of one’s background or characteristics. As a Christian myself, it hurts to witness or hear of a fellow brethren who alters, ignores or manipulates God’s word. We are all sentient children of God, no matter the faith, diversity, or opinion. We all live in a broken society all across the globe..
Richard Rorty Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature
Question: Should Philosophy be a tool for an enlightened outlook on reality?
Comment: Richard Rorty’s intake on Epistemology (the theory of knowledge) and "Representationalism" (Our thoughts and language serve to represent an objective reality) is one highlight in the conversation of Philosophical Enlightenment. He proposes a pragmatic approach that Philosophy should be viewed as a kind of ongoing conversation rather than a search for objective truth. I believe Rorty has wishful thinking in hopes that thoughts and words will be the tools to lay the foundation for a renewed sense of true perspective on reality. As if like looking in a mirror on an alternate world with pragmatic communication.
Re: WJ's pragmatism - He called himself a radical empiricist, but acknowledges that most of us draw our philosophies from both sides of the rationalist/empiricist (tender/tough) divide. Good philosophers try not to contradict themselves, but do acknowledge the difficulty and inadvisability of sustaining hard and fast conceptual divisions. For instance: many of us believe simultaneously in our own free will, our agency; but we also assert belief in some degree of causal determinism. Pushed too far, either of these commitments would contradict the other. But to flatly deny either seems inattentive to our actual experience of life. So we must tread lightly on our beliefs. But permanent agnosticism is untenable. In the end, WJ says "our errors are not such awfully solemn things" so long as we learn from them and keep moving forward.
DeleteRe: Dewey's Common Faith - he, like WJ, is a pluralist. He accepts and celebrates our diversity but also seeks underlying connection across all differences. He thinks our human and natural connections are deeper and stronger than what would divide us, if we but acknowledge them.
Re: Rorty - many traditional philosophers view Rorty not as a wishful thinker but as a reckless subversive who lacks sufficient regard for philosophy as a search for "objective" wisdom. But I think his vision is wishful in a good way: he wants to discourage dogmatism and encourage open discourse that is comfortable with conversational variety and non-conformity. Like him, I find professional/academic philosophy often narrower than its ancient progenitors, in this regard. And I think the classic American philosophical tradition of James and Dewey comes closer to realizing that wishful vision.
Week 1 readings (Part 1 of 2)
ReplyDeleteJames, Pragmatism Lecture I
—Question: In his Lecture I, William James characterizes certain concepts like religion, nature, and philosophy as female: “[O]r it is Spencer…bowing religion politely out at the front door: —she may indeed continue to exist, but she must never show her face inside the temple.” “Man is no law-giver to nature, he is an absorber. She it is who stands firm; he it is who must accommodate himself.” “And, if philosophy is to be religious, how can she be anything else than a place of escape from the crassness of reality's surface? What better thing can she do…” Given that James was likely speaking to an all-male audience, why would he ascribe female pronouns to these concepts? What might his choice of words suggest about his attitude toward women?
—Comment: For me, this lecture reinforced the idea that we as humans will always try to make sense of the world in which we live. Even though life and the universe are inherently messy and complicated, we have an existential need to rationalize the messiness, to find order in the chaos. James demonstrates this in the following line: “There is…a curious fascination in hearing deep things talked about, even tho neither we nor the disputants understand them.” Also, “[A]lmost everyone has his own peculiar sense of a certain total character in the universe, and of the inadequacy fully to match it of the peculiar systems that he knows.” I find it fascinating that even though we know we will never fully understand the complexities of the universe, we still try to do so.
Dewey, A Common Faith
—Question: Dewey’s statement that “Any activity pursued in behalf of an ideal end against obstacles and in spite of threats of personal loss because of conviction of its general and enduring value, is religious in quality” suggests that the descriptor of “religious” or “religion” could extend to concepts of an ostensibly non-religious nature. Given this definition, to what other non-religious/non-spiritual concepts or ways of thinking might we apply the word “religious”?
—Comment: I find myself fixated on the final paragraph, especially this line: “Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying and expanding the heritage of values we received that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.” I’m reminded of what we discussed in class about philosophy being a social activity. Not only does it benefit each of us intellectually to exchange ideas and pass on what we know to others; we have almost a moral responsibility to do so for the next generations. Even though Dewey was speaking about faith and religion, his words could apply to history as well. He basically echoed the old saying that “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” As a historian, I feel this same responsibility to conserve, transmit, rectify, and expand on historical information for the benefit of those coming after me.
Re: WJ's pronouns - I confess I've never really noticed or attended to WJ's female pronouns in this lecture, as applied to religion. I just thought it was a stylistic choice without further significance. Now you've got me wondering...
DeleteRe: Dewey - yes, he definitely has a historical sense of humanity as a singular and evolving entity, "the continuous human community"... this echoes WJ's "really vital question for us all: what is this world going to become, what is life going to make of itself?" I find that many younger students don't think in these terms, of themselves as continuous with a larger humanity. I wonder if that's a developmental or a generational phenomenon?
Week 1 readings (Part 2 of 2)
ReplyDeleteDewey, Moral Principles in Education: Introduction
—Question: Dewey notes that “The relations of education to the public are different from those of any other professional work” in that education is often influenced by the opinions of “laymen,” or those not working in education. Educators hold the expertise. Yet, because education “has power to modify the social order,” and we live in a democratic society where “it is the right of each individual to have a voice in the making of social policies,” many laymen believe they should have a say in how public schools operate. This conflict between expert opinion and public opinion is even greater today, as school systems in conservative areas are caving to the public’s fear of “wokeness” by banning books and prohibiting certain subjects from being taught. Should education be a public business? To what extent should we consider the opinions of “laymen” while still deferring to the expertise of educators?
—Comment: I find it interesting that Dewey talked extensively about the conflict between educators and the public yet didn’t mention the most important part of the equation: the students. I wonder if (or how much) he considered that students should have a say in their own learning. I disagree with the idea that students should be “converted into desirable types of men and women,” because this takes away their agency. If consideration is given to the opinions of people not working in education about how schools should be run and what information should be taught, then the students—the ones doing the actual learning—should get that same consideration.
Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature
—Question: Rorty often uses “ocular metaphors” and speaks of the “eye” of the mind when characterizing the differences between the mind and the body. If the phenomenal world consists of that which is perceptible by the senses, and we have five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch & smell), why might Rorty have chosen to focus mostly on sight? Why the mind’s eye, and not the mind’s ears, or the mind’s hands? Why is sight the default sense through which we typically understand the world as opposed to any of the other senses?
—Comment: Rorty’s assertion that “pains are not intentional—they do not represent, they are not about anything” can be disproved if one looks at the body as an autonomous system. We as humans have minds, and we have bodies. Just as we have control over our thoughts, we have control over our bodies in the sense that we can move, taste, touch, etc. of our own volition. However, there are aspects of our bodies that we cannot control. I can decide to go for a walk or wash my hair, but I can’t tell my stomach to stop digesting or my heart to stop pumping oxygen to my brain. The body does these things automatically. Through this lens, I would argue that pain can be intentional. Pain is the body’s way of signaling a problem. If a person falls and breaks their leg, their body will produce pain as a way of saying “Hey, there’s a problem here and you need to address it.” Pain, therefore, is intentional, because our bodies produce it for a specific purpose.
"This conflict between expert opinion and public opinion is even greater today" - Indeed. And the present preoccupation with "wokeness" connects pretty seamlessly with the same worries that propelled the Scopes Trial in Dayton TN a hundred years ago. Balancing expertise with popular opinion has never been easy in societies that aspire to democracy. And our country has always been skeptical of expertise (see RIchard Hofstadter's "Anti-intellectualism in American Life," 1963)... but has managed to suspend that skepticism when people feared the perceived threat of other nations. How else would we have trusted the experts who built the bomb, or the Apollo program?
DeleteRe: Rorty - "Why the mind’s eye...?" He claims that this has been the dominant metaphor in western philosophy, going back (for instance) to Plato's allegory of the cave in which a formerly benighted cave-dweller finally emerges to "see the light." He'd agree that we should consider the other organs of perception equally worthy to establish discursive metaphors, but he'd insist that we shouldn't think any of them better at capturing reality's essence. He's anti-essentialist, as pragmatists generally are.
And yes, pain definitely feels concrete. But is it about anything other than itself? That is, when experiencing pain am I looking for something in the wider world that correlates with it? I tend to feel involuted when suffering pain, as though my world has shunk and become extremely self-referential rather than intentionally directed away from my experience of self.
Week 2
ReplyDeleteMartha Nussbaum - Creating Capabilities
Comment: Nussbaum's capability approach offers a compelling framework that shifts the focus from economic metrics to the actual freedoms individuals have to live a life they value. I appreciate how she emphasizes dignity and pluralism, recognizing that each person's path to flourishing may look different, yet still deserving of equal moral concern.
Question: As I read Nussbaum's list of central capabilities, I kept wondering - how do we decide what counts as a "fully human life" across different cultures and contexts? Who gets to make that call?
Rebecca Solnit - Hope in the Dark
Comment: Solnit's reflections on hope feel both grounding and energizing. I like how she reclaims hope not as passive optimism, but as something active - rooted in uncertainty and possibility. It made me think differently about how change happens, often invisible and over time.
Question: Reading this made me wonder - how do we hold onto hope without becoming naive or detached from reality, especially when progress feels invisible or too slow?
Louis Menand - The Metaphysical Club
Comment: Menand's way of weaving biography, history, and philosophy together makes abstract ideas feel grounded in real lives and moments. It's interesting how pragmatism emerged not just as a philosophy, but as a response to the chaos and uncertainty of the post Civil War era.
Question: It made me wonder - was pragmatism a way to cope with the loss of certainty after the war, or a genuine shift in how people started to see truth and knowledge?
"how do we decide what counts as a "fully human life"..." - As John Lachs used to say, we should not "meddle" in other people's conceptions of their own good, so long as they don't meddle in ours. And as WJ said: "Hands off: neither the whole of truth nor the whole of good is revealed to any single observer, although each observer gains a partial superiority of insight from the peculiar position in which he stands. Even prisons and
Deletesick-rooms have their special revelations. It is enough to ask of each of us that he should be faithful to his own opportunities and make the most of his own blessings, without presuming to regulate the rest of the vast field." https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16287/16287-8.txt
Re: Solnit - "how do we hold onto hope without becoming naive or detached from reality" - These days, it's harder than ever? But taking the long view, hope just means we'll do what we can and trust...
...and trust that the example of our own effort, whether ultimately successful or not, will serve to inspire our successors to remain committed to the longterm human project. Hope is not just wishing or dreaming, it's also doing. But doing never comes with guaranteed outcomes.
DeletePresentation choice: Cornel West, The Dilemma of the Black Intellectual
ReplyDeleteI confess that I held him in higher regard before he ran for president. I did thoroughly enjoy his appearance at MTSU in Feb '23.
DeleteWeek 2 (Part 1)
ReplyDeleteMartha Nussbaum, Justice for Animals
Question: Do animals deserve their own rights and protection? Is it morally wrong to hurt animals?
Comment: Animals are sentient beings who deserve some rights for protection and environment control. They shouldn't be neglected or inhumanely handled. Martha Nussbaum argues that all sentient animals capable of significant striving should have opportunities to lead flourishing lives. This book calls for a global ethical awakening and movement to improve how animals are treated across various contexts, such as the factory meat industry, poaching, habitat destruction, and the neglect of companion animals. Nussbaum suggests creating a “virtual constitution” for animal protective laws and encourages specific regions to list the needs of different animals to support their survival and flourishing. This is clearly emphasized all throughout Justice for Animals and I agree wholeheartedly with Nussbaum’s ethical view on her call for action.
Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark
Question: Is there still hope for activists and thinkers who explore uncertainty in the periods of political turmoil and social upheaval to find encouragement and relief?
Comment:There will always be uncertainty as long as human beings thrive in a world full of political and social change movements. Activists and thinkers will always face hardships in any movement they protest or fight for. Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark helps give light to the darkness that engulfs activists and thinkers as they face periods of political turmoil and social upheaval. There will always be hope as long as someone fights for change.
Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club
Question: What is the renowned modern American thought and how do we respond to recent events and change over time?
Comment: Louis Menand’s book explores the development of American intellectual culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on the impact and evolution of pragmatism. He does this in the process of examining the lives and ideas of several key figures including Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William James, Charles Sanders Pierce, and John Dewey. Menand terms their group “The Metaphysical Club” who discussed and addressed their ideas that influenced the democratic and diverse nature of modern American thought, responding to significant historical events and social changes of their time. In today’s philosophy, recent events have altered our ideologies and many are left conflicted about what to do, what to believe, and/or what to fight for.
Doug Anderson, Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture
DeleteQuestion: Should Philosophy be present in everyday cultural practices and identity?
Comment: Doug Anderson explores how philosophical ideas have been woven into the fabric of American culture, addressing the ways in which philosophical thought can be made relevant and accessible to a broader audience within the context of American society. I agree with Anderson's point on bridging the gap between academic philosophy and everyday cultural practices/identities as he is presenting philosophy not just as an abstract, academic discipline, but as a living, dynamic part of culture that addresses everyday concerns and experiences. American (others of course too) traditions, norms, and values can and should engage in philosophy to help enlighten them.
Oliver, William James's “Springs of Delight: The Return to Life
Question: Is having joy and meaning in our lives wrong to have as we live in a harsh reality where some can’t have those rights? Could they if they tried or had the accessibility to it too?
Comment: William James emphasizes the importance of finding joy and meaning in everyday life, advocating for a return to simple pleasures and an appreciation for the inherent beauty of existence. If one is able to achieve happiness and a renewed perception of reality, accepting that there are inevitable hardships and pain, they will have a renewed outlook on life that invigorates their soul. Everyday life and experiences contorts and shapes our perception of reality, either breaking our spirits or rebirthing our appreciation for life. This is what William James writes about in his Spirits of Delight: The Return to Life. It’s unfortunate that there are those whose lives are manipulated and overshadowed, but they still mentally fight to keep their spirits high somehow.
Week 2 (Part 2) follows under Week 2 (Part 1)
DeleteI really like Anderson's borrowing of "Americana" as a musical genre adapted as a template for public philosophy.
Delete"This is what William James writes about in his Spirits of Delight: The Return to Life" - actually that's me, in "SPRINGS of Delight..." - though of course attempting to write in the spirit of Wm James, and in appreciation of his view that even though we may be prone to "a falling dead of the delight" we CAN recover our good spirits. "The music can commence again, and again and again, at intervals..."
William James writes, “The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.” He later breaks down this idea into tough and tender minded and creates divisions to distinguish between them. For instance, James believes those with tender minds exhibit more of the following traits: “Rationalistic, Intellectualistic, Idealistic, Optimistic, Religious, Free-willist, Monistic, and Dogmatical…” traits. While those with tough minded qualities exhibit: more “Empiricist, Sensationalistic, Materialistic, Pessimistic, Irreligious, Fatalistic, Pluralistic, Sceptical…” traits. Are there traits that cross-over between these groups? For example, how common is it to have idealistic people that are also empiricists? Are some of these traits naturally and categorically exclusionary? Can a religious individual also be irreligious at times?
ReplyDeleteJohn Dewey writes, “…aggressive atheism seems to me to have something in common with traditional supernaturalism. I do not mean merely that the former is mainly so negative that it fails to give positive direction to thought, though that fact is pertinent. What I have in mind especially is the exclusive preoccupation of both militant atheism and supernaturalism with humanity in isolation. “This is an interesting point I had not considered before. I am curious how agnostic people would be viewed in this period of history. Would anyone consider agnostics to be militant today?
Richard Rorty writes, “…eye of the mind – thought, intellect, insight – was identified as what separates us from beasts…no particular reason why this ocular metaphor seized the imagination of the founders of Western thought.” What problems were created by the focus on the human eye as a metaphor for understanding in Western thought?
My presentation will be about Dewey's ideas about the "Democratic State" found in The Public and its Problems
"how common is it to have idealistic people that are also empiricists?" - These days not so much, but George Berkeley is considered one of the classic empiricists (with Locke and Hume) and was also an immaterialist/idealist ("esse ist percipi=to be is to be perceived"). One can in theory believe that everything we know comes from experience, AND that we experience only ideas. WJ was a "radical empiricist" and DID believe that we experience matter, not just ideas of matter.
Delete"Would anyone consider agnostics to be militant today?" - Militant agnostic sounds like an oxymoron to me.
Re: Rorty - One problem with the ocular metaphor, at least from his perspective, is that it privileges the notion of truth-as-correspondence (to an external reality) as opposed to a more pragmatic conception of truth as "coping, not copying"...
week 2
ReplyDeleteDoug Anderson - Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture
Comment: In the writing, Anderson's attempt to locate philosophy within the texture of American life - through jazz, film, literature, and folklore - feels like a refreshing departure from traditional academic philosophy. His pragmatist leanings echo Dewey and James, but he broadens the scope of what counts as philosophical engagement. I appreciate how he elevates the everyday and popular culture as serious sites for philosophical reflection, making philosophy not just about thinking, but about living.
Question: Did anyone else find themselves rethinking what counts as philosophy after reading this? Like, the way Anderson brings in music and movies - did that change how you see philosophy showing up in everyday life?
William James Oliver - Spring of Delight: The Return to Life
Comment: I really liked how Oliver focused on the little things - like moments of beauty or connection - as a way back to feeling alive. It felt really honest, not preachy, and kind of comforting too. It reminded me that philosophy doesn't always have to be abstract; it can be deeply personal and grounded in everyday experience.
Question: Did anyone else feel like Oliver's take on coming back to life through small, everyday joys, really hit home? Like, did it make you think differently about how we find meaning or recover from burnout or disconnection?
"making philosophy not just about thinking, but about living" - exactly!
DeleteAnd check out the Open Court series on pop culture and philosophy (one volume of which, "Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy," includes an essay of mine): https://cricketmedia.com/open-court-publishing/
"philosophy doesn't always have to be abstract" - indeed, as WJ says: "For the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly and deeply means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos."
Our various "small, everyday things" aren't so small, are they, when they mark the difference between sorrow and joy? Baseball and dogwalking may be small, cosmically speaking, but they loom large in my imagination. They are among my treasured "springs of delight"... and we've all got those, in one form or another.
Week 2,
ReplyDeletePresentation: Martha Nussbaum, Political Emotions
Reading: Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark
Question: What does Solnit mean when she says that hope is "an embrace of the unknown? How does this perspective shift the way we typically think about hope and activism?
Comment: I found it really refreshing that Solnit doesn’t treat hope as something passive, it’s more like a form of resistance. Her point about change being unpredictable made me rethink how I judge whether activism works or not.
Agreed. Resistance is not known by us, in our lifetimes, to be futile.
DeleteWeek 2: Martha Nussbaum & Saul Levmore: Aging Thoughtfully
ReplyDeleteThe Introduction to this book pulled me right in. As a middle-aged woman I am beginning to think about my future. I'm beginning to feel older, which is both positive and not-so-positive. Two quotes that impacted me are the following: "the questions are about living more than about ending" and "one of the great pleasures of age, he says, is conversation with younger people."
Aging doesn't equal death. Yes, at the end, we will die. But Aging is still about living your best life in this new chapter.
Sharing life with younger people is fascinating and challenging and intriguing. Conversations are often wonderful, even if we don't necessarily agree.
Question: what have or would you ask someone who is much older than you, about the Aging process?
I have a hard time finding people "much older" than me, but I do like to ask if they can confirm the U-curve phenomenon which reports that people in every culture are happier, on average, in the second half of life. Most of them do.
DeleteWeek 1: "A Supplementary Essay: The Pragmatism of Peirce" by John Dewey (found in "Chance, Love, Logic: Philosophical Essays" by Charles S. Peirce)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get far in this reading. Wow, Dewey is a high thinker. He was commenting on Peirce's understanding of William James' thoughts. If I understand correctly, Peirce was the first to call William James' ideas "pragmatism." Of course, there was backlash to that as other philosophers had different ideas. This is what Dewey says about the Pragmatism of Peirce, which is the Pragmatism of James if I'm correct.
"a 'conception'... lies exclusively in its bearing upon the conduct of life. [Conduct=Practice] so that, since obviously nothing that might not result from experiment can have any direct bearing upon conduct, if one can define accurately all the conceivable experimental phenomenon which the affirmation or denial of a concept could imply, one will have therein a complete definition of the concept, and 'there is absolutely nothing more in it.' For this doctrine, he invented the name 'pragmatism'."
This much I think I understand: Pragmatism is a concept that impresses itself on the practice of life.
Question: Can anyone help me understand this better? Do you think I'm in the right ballpark?
"Peirce was the first to call William James' ideas "pragmatism" - Not sure if that's true, but at some point Peirce notoriously re-branded James's philosophy "pragmati-cism," a name so ugly (he said) that it would be safe from kidnapping. His implication was that WJ misunderstood his, Peirce's, pragmatism. He was not a gracious man, Peirce. WJ tried to credit him with the seminal ideas of pragmatism, only to be rudely rebuffed that way.
ReplyDeletePeirce's view, simply put, was that Truth (with a capital T, Truth that is eternal and unchanging and absolute) will not finally emerge until the last human runs the last experiment. In other words, never. We have instead plural lower-case truths always liable to revision. As WJ put it: "get what truth we can today, and be prepared tomorrow to call it falsenhood."
The facts are the facts, reality is what it is... and what we call truth is the story we're currently telling about facts and reality. That's why WJ says truth "happens to ideas"...
Week 2 - HOPE IN THE DARK: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
ReplyDeleteRebecca Solnit
-- Question: Amidst disasters, what are the standard best practices the government could employ in coordination with private entities in seemingly hopeless situations, and what are the strategies to sustain the same for as long as humanity and development are concerned?
-- Comment
Solnit said that hope means facing realities and addressing them by remembering what else the 21st century has brought, including the movements, heroes, and shifts in consciousness that address these things now. She was interested in the broad perspectives of ”hope” with specific possibilities that invite or demand that we act. Hope locates itself on the premises where we do not know what will happen and where there is room to act in the spaciousness of uncertainty. It is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists.
The response to the disaster was not a virtue, since virtue is often the result of diligence and dutifulness, but the passionate joy that shone out from accounts by people who had barely survived. The people who had lost everything, living in rubble or ruins, had found agency, meaning, community, and immediacy in their work together with other survivors. She added that this century of testimony suggested how much we want lives of meaningful engagement and membership in civil society and how much societal effort goes into keeping us away from these most whole, most powerful selves. She concluded that a disaster is like a revolution regarding disruption and improvisation, new roles, and an unnerving or exhilarating sense that now anything is possible.
I agree with the author that the response to the disaster was not a virtue, but the passionate joy shone out from accounts by people who had barely survived. One can only be amazed at how people who have barely survived disasters, lost homes, and maybe loved ones or community, could still find life’s meaning. During these times, those who were not affected can offer support by simply listening and emphasizing, and family and friends can offer their social support, which is a key to recovery.
It is usually during these situations that people seem to engage with others with trust and work together with other survivors, tend to be more open to possibilities, to offer help and comfort, and learn to trust government and private entities, and accept new roles where they can effectively function and be useful not only during the survival period but also to have concrete and intelligent potential solutions should calamities or disasters strike again. Seeing the positivity of people around and the collective efforts of government and private entities represents the light, and if there is that spark of light, there is hope.
While the perspective of hope may be broad in its sense, perhaps, those with the power and ability to help can focus more on the need for the hour, physical, emotional, and psychological survival initiatives for a better tomorrow for everyone. However, survivor or not, I believe that one must realize that it is not solely the government and its agencies, including the private entities, responsible for recovery; the survivors’ perspective would play a vital role in the recovery. One’s spiritual condition, values, and traditions would also come into play, where some situations call for compromises for the common good. In the end, as Solnit said, “Hope is about the future; grounds for hope lie in the records and recollections of the past”.
REFERENCES:
Book Review: Hope in the Dark – Rebecca Solnit
Solnit, R. ( 2016) . ‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times. Article retrieved 4/16/2025.
Week 2 : Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach by Martha C. Nussbaum
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Question: How can policymakers help provide, ensure, and sustain a life balance for their people through various initiatives and programs?
Comment:
This book attempts to situate the approach in narrative context of human lives, showing how it makes a difference to what policymakers notice in these lives and, hence, to the ability of the policy to construct meaningful interventions that show respect for and empower real people, rather than simply reflecting the biases of intellectual elites. Martha noted that improving people’s quality of life requires wise policy choices and dedicated action on the part of many individuals. She also mentioned that developing policies that are genuinely pertinent to a wide range of human situations means attending to diverse factors affecting human life quality. Any approach to human development must employ devices of aggregation. Still, if aggregation is to deliver pertinent information, we must begin by asking carefully which items ought to be given prominence.
Fitoussi and Malik mentioned that the basic idea of human development refers to the promotion of equal life chances for all, based on the principle that all people are of equal worth and that this notion of universalism implies the unacceptability of any form of discrimination based on class, gender, race, community and, importantly, the generation in which one happens to be born. They concluded that development progress must be achieved sustainably (2013). They defined sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Week 2: Part 2 of Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach by Martha C. Nussbaum
ReplyDeleteGovernment policies broadly impact the quality of life, affecting public health, economic well-being, and social equity. Positive impacts can include improved public health through vaccination programs, healthy food policies, and financial stability through unemployment benefits and affordable housing. Conversely, policies can negatively affect quality of life, such as increased energy prices impacting low-income individuals and families or creating artificial job obstacles. Bakst and Tyrrell ( 2017) said that if the government gets out of the way by curtailing cronyism, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and eliminating other government interventions that drive up prices, those in need would have a better chance of success. In their report they also mentioned that government policies often make it difficult for those striving to make ends meet. Many of the policies drive up consumer prices, such as for food and energy, which disproportionately hurt the poor, or create artificial obstacles to jobs, and all levels of government—local, state, and federal—need to look honestly at how they contribute to the poverty problem.
In the United States, U.S. adults broadly agree that the federal government’s role is to provide clean air and water (87%) and high-quality K-12 education (79%) for all Americans. More modestly, a majority say it is the government’s responsibility to provide health insurance (64%), adequate income in retirement (58%), and an adequate standard of living (56%)(2021).
I agree with Marta's conclusion that we live in an era dominated by profit motives and anxiety over national economic achievements. Economic growth, however, is a part of wise public policy and is just a part and a mere instrument at that. People ultimately matter: profits are only instrumental means to human lives. Global development enables people to live whole, creative lives, develop their potential, and fashion a meaningful existence commensurate with their equal human dignity. In other words, the real purpose of development is for humans (2011).
Citations:
Bakst, Daren , & Tyrrel, Patrick . 2017. Report. Big Government Policies that Hurt the Poor and How to Address Them. Published online by the Heritage Foundation. Accessed 4/21/2025.
Jean-Paul Fitoussi and Khalid Malik. 2013. Choices, Capabilities, and Sustainability. Published in 2013, Human Development Report Office. OCCASIONAL PAPER
Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Conclusion. In Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach (pp. 185–187). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2jbt31.12
Neumayer, Eric. (2010). Human Development and Sustainability. New York.
Report. 2021. Americans See Broad Responsibilities for Government; Little Change Since 2019. Published by the Pew Research Center
The other book by Solnit I mentioned, quite relevant to your moving presentation: A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster
Delete“This is a paradise of rising to the occasion that points out by contrast how the rest of the time most of us fall down from the heights of possibility, down into diminished selves and dismal societies. Many now do not even hope for a better society, but they recognize it when they encounter it, and that discovery shines out even through the namelessness of their experience. Others recognize it, grasp it, and make something of it, and long-term social and political transformations, both good and bad, arise from the wreckage. The door to this ear's potential paradises is in hell.”
Week 2 Readings
ReplyDeletePresentation will be on Martha Nussbaum's Not for Profit.
Solnit, Hope in the Dark
--Comment: Solnit's examples of small activist changes helped reminded me that change is still possible even when it doesn't feel like it. Your actions can help inspire or influence those around you. It's important to remember that the results may not be immediate, but maintaining hope can help one persevere through it to change the future. Her discussion of queer rights activism in chapter five is a personal matter for me and was bittersweet to read given the current political climate surrounding the trans community. I liked that she discussed how change for LGBTQ rights was helped not just through activism, but through the arts and media by writers and creators including queer characters and families in their shows, films and books that helped prompt change by including them. Literature, art, and film are ways to reach the larger, general audience and have them imagine life in someone else's shoes and experience their hardships. She also talked about the impact literature had on the eventual abolishment of slavery and the slave trade in Britain and America. These show how supporting and studying the Humanities along with making all forms of the arts available to people can support and help the goals of activists.
--Question: Are there ways you could incorporate thoughts of change into your creative or academic works?
Oliver, William James's "Springs of Delight"
I appreciate how James saw the importance for us to celebrate the moments of happiness in life while it not being at the expense of ignoring the negative and harsh realities around us. He valued what life experiences bring to our lives and self. They are ways to create value in the present and give us something to celebrate now and in the future. I find this notion of "making life worth living" worthwhile for us to remember when faced with national and global difficulties. This is something we should keep in mind as we go through the difficult times we're in. Finding moments of joy to celebrate is a way to persevere. I found reading this in combination with Solnit's Hope in the Dark to be complimentary. Finding ways to enjoy our personal happiness and finding hope through activism are going to be key ways to live through the current administration, which will be my main takeaway from this block.
Week 2 Presentation Notes:
ReplyDeleteWhen I started this project, I asked myself: What exactly is a philosopher? According to Merriam-Webster, a philosopher is someone who seeks wisdom, who thinks deeply, and who tries to understand life on a meaningful level (“Philosopher”). That definition fits bell hooks perfectly.
She wasn’t just an academic—she was a truth-teller, a challenger of systems, and a voice for those often left unheard.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on September 25, 1952, she later adopted the pen name bell hooks in honor of her great-grandmother. But it wasn’t just about heritage—she wrote it in lowercase to shift focus away from herself and onto the ideas she shared (“bell hooks”). That decision alone tells us a lot about her values. She wasn’t interested in personal fame—she wanted her message to shine.
Growing up in a segregated part of the South shaped hooks’ perspective early on. Those experiences fueled much of her writing and activism later in life (Herrington). At only 19 years old, she began working on Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, which was eventually published in 1981.
She earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford University in 1973, followed by a master’s at the University of Wisconsin in 1976, and then completed her Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz in 1983.
Teaching and Reaching Beyond Academia
hooks taught at several universities—including USC, Yale, Oberlin, and the City College of New York—but one of her most personal contributions was at Berea College in Kentucky, where she helped found the bell hooks Institute (“bell hooks”). What made her different from most academics was her ability to make complex ideas accessible. She believed that theory wasn’t just for classrooms—it should matter in everyday life (Herrington).
Her Philosophy: Intersectionality, Feminism, and Love
One of the key ideas hooks talked about was intersectionality, which is the way systems like racism, sexism, and classism overlap to create unique experiences of oppression (“Intersectionality”). She pushed hard against the idea that feminism could only be about gender. For her, it had to include race, class, and other forms of inequality too. She argued that if feminism ignored Black women and poor women, then it wasn’t doing its job.
hooks defined feminism not as “women wanting to be equal to men,” but as a movement to end sexism and oppression altogether (hooks, Feminism is for Everybody). That’s a deeper goal—one that doesn’t just tweak the system, but tries to change it from the ground up.
She made a distinction between reformist feminism, which works within current systems, and revolutionary feminism, which aims to completely reshape those systems (“Come Closer to Feminism”).
One of the most memorable things she ever said was:
“There can be no love without justice.”
That quote stuck with me. For hooks, love wasn’t just something soft or emotional—it was political. She believed that a society obsessed with power and control forgets how to love. In All About Love, she talks about how love requires honesty, care, and accountability. To her, those were revolutionary ideas (hooks, Love as the Practice of Freedom).
Her Books and Their Impact
Some of her most well-known works include:
•Ain’t I a Woman
•Feminism is for Everybody
•Teaching to Transgress
•The Will to Change
•All About Love
Part II: hooks didn’t hold back when naming the forces she saw working together to create inequality. She used the term “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” to describe a system where racism, classism, and sexism feed into each other. She shared a painful family memory where her lighter-skinned grandmother called her sister “Blackie.” That moment exposed how deeply white supremacy can impact even our closest relationships (Herrington).
ReplyDeleteWhy bell hooks Still Matters
Her voice is still relevant today. She gives us language to understand:
•Racial injustice/Current political climate
•Toxic masculinity and gender roles
•Mental health and emotional healing
•The value of unpaid care work
•Education as a way to liberate
“To love justice, to live in peace—that’s the real revolution.”
Questions to Consider
• Why are ideas like hooks’ so often left out of public education?
• Is a compassionate America something we can realistically achieve?
• Are we letting fear of “aid abuse” prevent real help from reaching those who need it?
• Did you know about bell hooks before this presentation?
Works Cited
“bell hooks.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Dec. 2021, www.britannica.com/biography/bell-hooks. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
“bell hooks Interview (1999).” YouTube, uploaded by AfroMarxist, 18 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTRDHb-8EF0. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
“Come Closer to Feminism with Renowned Author bell hooks.” Francis Marion University, 10 Mar. 2022, www.fmus.org/come-closer-to-feminism-with-renowned-author-bell-hooks. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Herrington, LaRyssa D. “A Sacrament of Love: The Life and Legacy of bell hooks.” National Catholic Reporter, vol. 58, no. 20, 22 July–4 Aug. 2022, p. 15.
hooks, bell. bell hooks: Love as the Practice of Freedom. Uploaded by Women’s and Gender Studies at Duke University, 23 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bmnwehlpA. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
“Intersectionality.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intersectionality. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
“Patriarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriarchy. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
“Philosopher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosopher. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
bell hooks said it, but Henry David Thoreau would concur: “Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.”
DeleteIn light of our discussion of hope last night, this missive from the director of the American Humanist Association might be of interest (William James originally wanted to call Pragmatism "Humanism," btw):
ReplyDelete"I don't ever remember a single day of hopelessness. I knew from the history of the labor movement, especially of the black people, that it was an undertaking of great trial. That, live or die, I had to stick with it, and we had to win." - A. Philip Randolph, American humanist
I want to talk about hope.
Since the inauguration, I’ve given about two dozen different talks to various humanist local groups and conferences around the country.
Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve talked about hope in the face of tyranny and cruelty. That, yes, profound harms are being done, and our freedoms are under threat - but that humanists have always been a core part of movements that brought this country to a better, fairer, place, and by harnessing the courage that comes from a strong shared values system and leaning into the tradition established not just by humanists like Randolph but Frederick Douglass, Jamie Raskin, Gloria Steinem, and Emma Goldman - we can find our way to something better.
I’ve heard from a lot of people that this makes them feel inspired - not just to believe that better things are possible, but a new sense of pride in humanist identity.
But I’ve also heard the idea that we shouldn’t embrace hope because it’s a “supernatural” concept - to them, it’s faith in something that isn’t yet proven.
I think that’s nonsense.
Hope isn’t supernatural. It’s scientific.
Hope is a belief in the possibility of change. And most problems we’re experiencing today are caused by human behavior. But we know - we have proof - that human behavior can change.
Brains are elastic - they grow not just in childhood but throughout our lives. People can change their minds, be deprogrammed from cults, find their way out of self-destructive cycles - because people have incredible resilience and potential for growth.
That’s the whole premise of research-based, humanist substance abuse treatment programs like SMART Recovery. Change is possible. Humans contain incredible potential. But it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes work.
And this is the value of hope - it gives us motivation to do the work...
https://thehumanist.com/
This is inspiring. Thank you.
DeleteWeek 2 Presentation Notes: JIMMY BUFFET AND PHILOSOPHY
ReplyDeleteErin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt/ Chapter 4 – Phil Oliver
Philosophy is thinking about living and meaning. It is a practice. We can benefit from reflecting on what we are doing and how we think.
What makes life worthwhile? What does it take to be refreshed? These are themes that Jimmy Buffett uses in his songs. They are based on his experiences as a middle-class person with a strong work ethic. He is a history major, a musician, an author, a businessman, and a thinker sharing his thoughts through song, which makes him a philosopher, although he would not claim to be one.
Buffett says, “Life ought to be lived like a song.” What does he mean by that? He wants us to think about what it means to live the “good life.” Life has its rhythm with a beat and a melody. We will have ups and downs, and we need to embrace both. Approach life with the same spirit as music – joyful, expressive, and meaningful. We all have our own song, which is our legacy.
Because songs are emotionally honest, they become mirrors for our own experiences. A melody or lyrics might hit you differently depending on your life situation. What once felt like a catchy tune in your youth might later feel like a profound truth when you’ve lived through something similar. That’s part of what gives songs such lasting power—they grow with us.
Songs connect strangers through shared feelings. Their meaning is brought out from experiences of life. We need to reflect on experiences, but we also need others to help make sense of them. We must learn to be flexible, let go, and look back but live forward. Live life “fast enough to get there but slow enough to see.”
Can we let go of the past? This is a difficult thing for most people. We can beat ourselves down about our mistakes and wish we had made different choices. When we reflect on our past, we must laugh, because there is nothing we can do to change it. It is OK to be a little crazy. Dance like no one is watching and sing like no one is listening. Take a holiday from your everyday cares – whether it be 5 weeks, 5 hours, or 5 minutes. Step away from the pressures of everyday life. Have fun. Be happy. Reflect on these things for a while, then step back, detach yourself from all the bad news, and re-engage with life. A little bit of breathing space helps keep us balanced.
What makes your life worthwhile? Are you constructive and productive? What does it take for you to be refreshed? Can you take respite from care and concern, or do you have the work ethic of a small European country? Don’t be afraid to step out and enjoy life’s small moments. Do something unplanned and unexpected for others and see how it feels.
Jimmy worked hard to achieve his chill. And to repeat: you don't have to drink, to visit Margaritaville.
DeleteWeek 2 - Selected lyrics - from these, one can see that we have a choice on how we look and think about life. Fins Up!
ReplyDeleteThe World is What You Make It (selected verse/chorus)
The world is what you make it
The world is what you make it, baby
The world is what you make it
Don't start to hit me with your "no can do"
Bluesin', losin', workin' up an attitude
Clean up them windows, let the sun shine through, uh-huh, uh-huh
There ain't no happy time without no pain
Heartbreak, new date, move on up the alleyway
Pick up the pieces, hit the road again, uh-huh, uh-huh
Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (selected verse/chorus)
Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again
If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I've seen more than I can recall
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane
Margaritaville (selected verse/chorus)
Nibblin' on sponge cake
Watchin' the sun bake
All of you Parrotheads covered with oil
And feathers, and signs, and pins
Strummin' my six string on my front porch swing
Smell those shrimp, hey they're beginnin' to boil
Wastin' away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my long lost shaker of salt
Salt, salt, salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
And I know this is somebody's fault
And of course,
DeleteNow I don't know, I don't know
I don't know where I'm a-gonna go when the volcano blows
One more now, I don't know, I don't know
I don't know where I'm a-gonna go when the volcano blows
https://genius.com/Jimmy-buffett-volcano-lyrics
I'll admit: I was bummed last night. I hope I articulated in my five minutes just how important I believe Alice Howe Gibbens James was. The author of her biography gave so many details. It was hard to summarize, even in the first four chapters I read. Also, I wonder if y'all understand the title of the book..."Alice in Jamesland." I didn't get to share how important Alice H.G. James was to the entire James family. She was a light in their darkness. She held that family together during the rough times. And after reading about her first twenty-five years, I understand why. I mentioned her parents were opposites, and her dad was an alcoholic who tried several times to stay sober for his family. When Alice was in her late teens/early twenties, he died by suicide. It seemed he was part of the cotton fraud scandal at the end of the Civil War. After word came to the Gibbens women, Eliza (Alice's mom) collapsed. She never fully recovered from the trauma. Alice took over her role as woman of the house. Alice wrote to an acquaintance of her father's and asked for details about his death. The friend wrote back, wording things gently but truthfully. To escape the community's talk and the memories that were all around them, Alice planned a trip to Europe (mostly Germany) for the four women and one of her mom's relatives. Because they didn't have a lot of money, they went from boarding house to boarding house. Eventually, they left Germany and visited Florence, which Alice loved. Years earlier, her father had gifted her with an art book which she remembered as she perused the beautiful artwork in Florence.
ReplyDeleteIn her early to mid-twenties, back in Boston (they moved from Weymouth), Alice and Mary taught at private school for girls. Alice enjoyed it, although the days and hours were long. Alice did make time for herself (these days we'd applaud her for "self-care"!). She continued singing and playing piano, which she also indulged in while in Europe. She continued writing letters to friends and family. She continued writing poetry. And she joined the Radical Club, a Boston intellectual society. It is here that she met William James. Two years later, after much "he loves me, he loves me not" (title of one of the chapters), William proposed. A few months later, they married. They honeymooned in the mountains of New York and enjoyed their new life together. It is said that Alice helped William begin to write "The Principles of Psychology" on their honeymoon. She continued helping him write papers all their lives. He dictated his thoughts to her, and she wrote them onto paper because his eyesight was poor. She helped him when his bouts with depression and anxiety grew deeper or when his stomach and back issues intensified.
So, I have some questions for y'all:
* Do you have a woman in your life that you admire? Who? Why?
* Do you have any stories to share about the beginning of a friendship or relationship that still brings you joy?
* Can you see how something in your childhood or young adult years has affected who you are today? Would you be willing to share?
"* Do you have a woman in your life that you admire? Who? Why?"
ReplyDelete--Many women. A couple of them should have been president. Wife and daughters too, of course.
Check out some of Alice's and William's letters. They married in 1878. Their son wrote: "It must be left to a later day and a less intimate and partial hand to do adequate justice to a marriage which was happy in the rarest and fullest sense, and which was soon to work an abiding transformation in James's health and spirits. No mere devotion could have achieved the skill and care with which his wife understood and helped him. Family duties and responsibilities, often grave and worrisome enough, weighed lightly in the balance against the tranquillity and confidence that his new domesticity soon brought him...."
Vol. 1 - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40307/40307-h/40307-h.htm
Vol.2 - https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38091/pg38091-images.html
Week 2: Presentation.
ReplyDeleteThe End of Art: A Philosophical Approach by Arthur C. Danto
Danto expresses his concern and belief on why Art is dying or if not dead already.
In a sense, he's right as traditional art is becoming more free and expressive, an uncharacteristic of older Art Historical ways and philosophies.
This is the link to my Google Slides Presentation. Take care!
file:///C:/Users/steal/Downloads/MALA%206010_%20Philosophy%20.pdf
If we'd had more time I was going to ask what we think of Marcel Duchamp's "The Fountain"... for my part, it doesn't "challenge traditional notions" so much as provoke and offend. There's a place for that in social criticism, but should we call it art? I'm more with John Dewey in his book Art as Experience:
DeleteWhen artistic objects are separated from both conditions of origin and operation in experience, a wall is built around them that renders almost opaque their general significance… Art is remitted to a separate realm, where it is cut off from that association with the materials and aims of every other form of human effort, undergoing, and achievement.
[…]
In order to understand the esthetic in its ultimate and approved forms, one must begin with it in the raw; in the events and scenes that hold the attentive eye and ear of man, arousing his interest and affording him enjoyment as he looks and listens: the sights that hold the crowd — the fire-engine rushing by; the machines excavating enormous holes in the earth; the human-fly climbing the steeple-side; the men perched high in air on girders, throwing and catching red-hot bolts. The sources of art in human experience will be learned by him who sees how the tense grace of the ball-player infects the onlooking crowd; who notes the delight of the housewife in tending her plants, and the intent interest of her goodman in tending the patch of green in front of the house; the zest of the spectator in poking the wood burning on the hearth and in watching the darting flames and crumbling coals.
[…]
The intelligent mechanic engaged in his job, interested in doing well and finding satisfaction in his handiwork, caring for his materials and tools with genuine affection, is artistically engaged.
Week 2- Presentation Notes
ReplyDeleteJuvy M. Burns
HOPE IN THE DARK: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
by Rebecca Solnit
This book was written in 2003 and early 2004 against the tremendous despair at the height of the Bush administration’s powers and the outset of the war in Iraq.
Main takeaway :
When life feels darkest, remember that darkness has never overcome God's light. His light continues to shine, offering hope, guidance, and transformation to all who seek it. Hope remains even in your darkest moment – because God's light never dims.
As long as there is that spark of light, there is hope.
What I have learned:
- Collection of 21 short essays. It was written in 2004 in the wake of the second election of President Bush.
- It covers global issues.
- Hope In the Dark calls to arms to be more politically active and engaged.
- Even small acts can have great effects.
- The dark in the title of the book is the future. The dark is the unknown.
Dark= unknown future
- We should do things we believe are right and hope they can affect the future positively, because they might and probably will.
Summary of the book:
- Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable.
Hope in the Darkness – A Story of Redemption, Faith, and Unshakable Love. For years, the weight of the past felt unbearable. The pain, struggles, and longing for love from those unable to give it seemed too much. Nevertheless, even in the darkest moments, there was hope. And not just any hope—hope through God.
How does hope help someone in dark times?
- Hope is not a guarantee; it is an invitation to imagine, act, and believe in the possibility of change.
- Hope is a form of energy that thrives in adversity. By cultivating hope, we survive dark times and emerge from them with a greater sense of purpose, connection, and strength.
Week 2- Part 2 Presentation Notes
ReplyDeleteJuvy M. Burns
HOPE IN THE DARK: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
by Rebecca Solnit
Solnit’s Concept of Hope
1. …Commitment of action
2. …Rebellion against despair
3. …Source of agency
4. …A way to live
5. …A virtue
6. …Resistance to defeatism
* The book offers a powerful and practical vision of hope, a powerful force for change that can empower individuals and communities to navigate difficult times and strive for a better future.
Questions: What are some challenges and obstacles to hope, and how can the government help overcome them?
What I would like to discuss in class:
Typhoon Haiyan: The Killer Storm-2013
https://youtu.be/yv5m25jZHF8?t=7
- Super typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons in history, struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, as a Category 5 storm
Govt. response: developed a “Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan”
Implementation in 5 clusters:
1. Food and water distribution
2. Peace and order
3. Shelter and reconstruction
4. Social Services
5. livelihood, employment & commerce
Primary impact: buildings and bridges were destroyed.
Secondary impact: People were homeless, causing distress, poverty, ill-health, or death due to a lack of shelter. The cost of rebuilding was expensive, and some people may not have insurance.
Throughout the response, the United States provided approximately $143 million in humanitarian and development assistance, including critical food, health, protection, shelter assistance, and water, sanitation, and hygiene support. (Nov 6, 2023)
Lessons learned:
Life is temporal; treasure each moment; act now and do not wait for tomorrow, as it may never come, it being not promised; plant seeds now that some may reap tomorrow; expect the best but prepare for the worst.
Week 2- Part 3 Presentation Notes
ReplyDeleteJuvy M. Burns
HOPE IN THE DARK: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
by Rebecca Solnit
REFERENCES:
Book Review: Hope in the Dark – Rebecca Solnit
Solnit, R. ( 2016). ‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown ’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times. Article retrieved 4/16/2025.
Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado, and Max Roser (2022) - “Natural Disasters” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters' [Online Resource]
Asian Development Bank. SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENT 6: TYPHOON YOLANDA-AFFECTED AREAS AND AREAS COVERED BY THE KALAHICIDSS NATIONAL COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. Retrieved 4/23/2025.
Philippines: Typhoon Haiyan Emergency Appeal Final Report (MDRPH014). Published by Relief Web on June 30, 2017. Retrieved 4/23/2025.
Typhoon Haiyan Case Study published by Internet Geography. Retrieved 4/23/2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5m25jZHF8
The Metaphysical Club brought out many historical details I did not know before. My question after reading is - If the Fugitive Slave Law had been crafted more carefully so as to not encroach upon the freedoms and liberties of the Northern white population, would it have radicalized these same Northerners toward war?
ReplyDeleteThe writings and history of Wendell Holmes held my interest because many of the arguments are very cogent but simple and still true today. "The only question for the lawyer is, how will the judges act?" Very simple but powerful way to keep the issues simple and play to the audience that matters. "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience." Culture, beliefs, and customs maybe more important facts in a case than all the logical reasons one put in a legal brief. "Logic is not responsible for what is living in the law." The idea of justice is much more involved than a simple search of the facts of a case, and a one size fits all / cookie cutter solutions do not work well when dealing with actual people and problems. The ideas put forth challenge and force one to encounter truths.
I found Justice for Animals by Nussbaum very thought provoking. My question after reading is - Should the capacities approach always be applied to all creatures? Are there certain harmful creatures that maybe not all want to flourish in the environment? How are problematic and dangerous animals to be considered?
ReplyDeleteI have read before the way elephants deal with members of their herd who have died. Reading about how elephants try to wake and to test whether their companions are capable of consciousness first and then covering the lost elephant with grass and earth after a death is confirmed is very surprising. Years ago, animals were almost seen as tools for people and their emotions and even physical pain was not considered relevant. It does seem that people are evolving to a broader understanding and respect for more sentient life forms that are non human.
Hope in the Dark is a message that people need now. My question after reading is - how can regular people change what is happening around us? She states that the scale and scope of the global peace movement has been continually underreported for many years. What can regular citizens do to remedy this?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote from this book was in the opening lines, "Your opponents would love you to believe that it's hopeless, that you have no power, that there's no reason to act, that you can't win." Hope is a power we do not have to give away.
Solnit, A Hope in the Dark
ReplyDelete—Question: If struggle generates hope, and hope is a counter-reaction to despair, is there a purpose of hope without struggle or despair? Is hope only useful when the state of the world is in shambles?
—Comment: I appreciated Solnit’s reminder that when our hope leads us to action, we shouldn’t expect to see sudden and immediate changes. We often feel discouraged when we don’t see immediate results from our efforts. But change happens slowly, and we don’t notice it when we’re in the midst of it. Watching a sunrise seems like a painfully slow process, but if you step away for a few minutes, you’ll come back to find the sky much brighter than you last remembered—with beautiful streaks of pink, orange, and blue that you didn’t notice before.
Nussbaum, Anger and Forgiveness
—Question/Comment: Nussbaum defines anger as “a wish for things to go badly” for an “offender,” but does that definition still apply when the object of one’s anger is oneself? A person might get angry if they make a careless mistake or forget something important; but I don’t imagine that person would wish any ill or “payback” on themselves. Is anger at the self actually anger, or is it closer to another emotion like frustration, regret, or embarrassment?
Menard, The Metaphysical Club
—Question: Even though Dr. Holmes didn’t want to deny three Black men admission to Harvard Medical School, he changed his mind to go along with his colleagues who had the opposite opinion. Why do some people cave to peer pressure when their beliefs go against those of the people around them? Why is it easier to conform to the majority than dig in our heels and stick with what we believe is morally right?
—Comment: I find it counterintuitive that abolitionists were against using law and policy as a means to halt the spread of slavery. I can understand their aversion to politics and not wanting to be part of a political system that they believed was corrupt and ineffective. But pretty much all societal changes we’ve seen in this country have arisen due to changes in the law. The institution of slavery ended because the 13th Amendment made it illegal. Segregation of schools ended because the Supreme Court made it illegal. Factories no longer conscript children to work 14 hours a day because there are labor laws that prevent it. It would be nice if morality alone could affect change; but without changes in the law itself, I don’t see it happening.