Questions Sep 2

Remember, you don't have to respond directly to my questions (but some of them will be on the exam, so you should in anyt case look for the texts that address them. If you can come up with relevant comments on your own, or additional discussion questions, please do.

Aristotle's "happiness" is flourishing, a life of virtuous rationality or eudaimonia. He differed sharply from his teacher Plato. See Existential Comics, for instance...

Aristotle-LHP 2. Rec: FL 3-4. HWT Sections 1-3 

In CoPhi it's time again for Aristotle. A couple of years ago I talked about him in the Honors Fall Lecture Series [slideshow*]... and noticed some affinity between Aristotle and Socrates, maybe more than between Socrates and his supposed devotee Plato... (continues)

==

LHP 2

1. What point was Aristotle making when he wrote of swallows and summer? Do you agree?

2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's?

3. What is eudaimonia, and how can we increase our chances of achieving it, and in relation only to what? Do you think you've achieved it?

4. What reliance is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research? Are there any authorities you always defer to? Why or why not?

FL

5. What did Sir Walter Raleigh help invent (other than cigarettes) that contributed to "Fantasyland" as we know it today? Was he a "stupid git," as the Beatles song says?

6. What was western civilization's first great ad campaign? Does advertising and the constant attempt to sell things to people have a negative impact on life in the USA?

7. What did Sir Francis Bacon say about human opinion and superstition? Do you ever attempt to overcome your own confirmation bias?

8. Which early settlers are typically ignored in the mythic American origin story? Also: what about the early "settlers" who were brought here against their wills and enslaved?

9. What had mostly ended in Europe, but not America, by the 1620s, and what did the Puritans think would happen "any minute now"? Why do you think people keep making this mistake?

HWT

10. What is pratyaksa in classic Indian philosophy, and how does the Upanishads say to seek it? 

11. There is widespread belief in India that the practice of yoga can lead to what? Do you think it can?

12. What is metanoetics, in Japanese philosophy?

13. What does ineffable mean?  Is it possible, though paradoxical, to use words to indicate something you can't put into words?

14. Unlike the west, religion in Japan is typically not about what? And what is it about to you?

==

Aristotle on slavery and the subjugation of women

Aristotle was generally a brilliant ethicist, BUT…

"Aristotle wrote Europe's greatest foundational works of ethics and politics, but only in the context of free Greek males: everyone else was of a lesser nature. This meant women, of course, but also those he categorized as naturally born for enslavement. The way to identify such a person, according to Aristotle, was this: "Someone is . . . a slave by nature if he is capable of becoming the property of another (and for this reason does actually become another's property) and if he participates in reason to the extent of apprehending it in another, though destitute of it himself." This last clause was mainly to distinguish enslaved people from non-human animals, who could not even recognize reason when they saw it. With that proviso, the main point here was that you could spot those who were meant to be enslaved from the fact that they were currently enslaved. For them, clearly, "the condition of slavery is both beneficial and just." Aristotle further clarified the situation by comparing enslavement to the equally natural dominance of men over women. Aristotle's "slave nature" theory was used to justify centuries of later exploitation."

— Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope by Sarah Bakewell

==

Aristotle on the work of a human being

"If we posit the work of a human being as a certain life, and this is an activity of soul and actions accompanied by reason, the work of a serious person is to do these things well and nobly. …
But, in addition, in a complete life. For one swallow does not make a spring, nor does one day. And in this way, one day or a short time does not make someone blessed and happy either."

==

"Beyond the reach of social anxiety"

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you, if you realized how seldom they do."

"...in order to feel social anxiety, you have to believe that other people’s negative opinions of you are worth getting upset about, that it’s really bad if they dislike you and really important to win their approval. Even people  who suffer from severe social anxiety disorder (social phobia) tend to feel “normal” when speaking to children or to their close friends about trivial matters, with a few exceptions. Nevertheless, they feel highly anxious when talking to people they think are very important about subjects they think are very important. If your fundamental worldview, by contrast, assumes that your status in the eyes of others is of negligible importance, then it follows that you should be beyond the reach of social anxiety."

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson

 

* 

AristotleFriendship (1).pptx from Osopher

Aristotle at Existential Comics... Aristotle in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP)... The moral and intellectual virtues listed...

 

Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life by Edith Hall

Aristotle "developed a sophisticated, humane program for becoming a happy person, and it remains valid to this day. Aristotle provides everything you need to avoid the realization of the dying protagonist of Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), that he has wasted much of his life scaling the social ladder, and putting self-interest above compassion and community values, all the while married to a woman he dislikes. Facing his imminent death, he hates his closest family members, who won't even talk to him about it. Aristotelian ethics encompass everything modern thinkers associate with subjective happiness: self-realization, finding "a meaning," and the "flow" of creative involvement with life, or "positive emotion." 1 

This book presents Aristotle's time-honored ethics in contemporary language. It applies Aristotle's lessons to several practical real-life challenges: decision-making, writing a job application, communicating in an interview, using Aristotle's chart of Virtues and Vices to analyze your own character, resisting temptation, and choosing friends and partners. 

Wherever you are in life, Aristotle's ideas can make you happier. Few philosophers, mystics, psychologists, or sociologists have ever done much more than restate his fundamental perceptions. But he stated them first, better, more clearly, and in a more holistic way than anyone subsequently. 

Each part of his prescription for being happy relates to a different phase of human life, but also intersects with all the others. Becoming subjectively happy as an individual, Aristotle insisted, is your unique and momentous responsibility. It is also a great gift—it is within most people's power, regardless of their circumstances, to decide to become happier…"

— Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life by Edith Hall

Honors College workshops

 From Judy Albakry:

We’d greatly appreciate your help in promoting our upcoming Honors College workshops.

These sessions are essential for honors students who wish to be approved for early registration this fall for Spring 2026 registration. If students are unable to attend the workshop, there is a video they can watch instead.

 

While we’ve been reaching out via email, a brief announcement in your class would go a long way in ensuring students don’t miss this opportunity.

 

Early Registration Workshops – No RSVP needed

• September 4, 2025, 2:30 in HONR 106
• September 5, 2025, 1:00 in HONR 106
• September 5, 2025, 2:00 in HONR 106

Remind students to:

Check their MTSU email for workshop details

Contact their honors advisor with any questions

The A.I. Cheating Crisis

Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.

Since A.I. has made the mental effort of writing and problem solving optional, universities need new ways to require the work needed for learning.

I remember the moment I knew my approach to student use of artificial intelligence was not working.

Early in a meeting at N.Y.U.'s Abu Dhabi campus last fall, a philosophy professor, arms crossed over his chest, told me he'd tried one of the strategies my office had suggested — talking with his students about the ways A.I. could interfere with their learning — and it hadn't worked. His students had listened politely, then several of them had used A.I. to write their papers anyway. He particularly wanted me to know that "even the good students," the ones who showed up to class wanting to talk about the readings, were using A.I. to avoid work outside class.

This was a theme I'd hear over and over, listening to faculty members across disciplines at the end of the semester; even some of the students who obviously cared about the material and seemed to like the classes were no longer doing the hard work of figuring out what they wanted to say. Our A.I. strategy had assumed that encouraging engaged uses of A.I. — telling students they could use software like ChatGPT to generate practice tests to quiz themselves, explore new ideas or solicit feedback — would persuade students to forgo the lazy uses. It did not...

Clay Shirky

When responding to my daily questions...

Try to focus on Discussion Questions, or formulate them yourself, rather than repeating the same factual answer that classmates have already supplied about the assigned text. There's no need, for instance, to keep repeating Socrates's definition of a successful conversation, after someone else has already answered that correctly. But DO comment on what you think about it: Do you agree with Socrates on that point? Why or why not? Etc.

Questions Aug 28

 Questions pertaining to the assigned reading will normally be posted prior to each class.Always share your thoughts in the comments space below each day's post (at least three comments per class, so you can shade the whole diamond on the scorecard when you come to class and receive full participation credit each time... more than that gets you extra credit). Give yourself a base on the scorecard for every question you posted a response to before class. (You can also respond to your own questions(s) or your classmates' posted comments. Respond not merely with the authors' textual statements but also with your own thoughts & reflections.) 25 exam questions will pertain to the required texts. Additional bonus questions pertaining to the recommended texts will also appear.

1. What kind of conversation was a success, for Socrates, and what did he mean by wisdom?

2. What theory is Plato's story of the cave connected with? Do you think some or all humans are naturally, in some allegorical sense, stuck in a cave?

3. What did Socrates say his inner voice told him? Do you think "inner voice" is literal?

Weiner

1. "Philosopher" means what? Philosophy was what, in ancient Athens? (Introduction) 
2. What did Camus say is the one truly serious philosophical problem? Do you agree?
3. What did Marcus Aurelius need, at dawn, to remind himself of? (And ask me about his morning mantra, which I daily remind myself of. UPDATE: Turns out it wasn't Marcus, but a 19th century American named Elbert Hubbard, whose morning mantra* has been falsely attributed to the Stoic emperor.)
4. What was the first question young Needleman experienced? Have you experienced it? Do you think it is a good question? How do you answer it?
5. What kinds of questions most interested Socrates?
6. The Socratic dialogues consisted of what kinds of conversations? Do you enjoy participating in such conversations?
7. What did Socrates say about the unexamined life? What corollaries does Weiner propose? Do you think Socrates was wrong?

Plato's Euthyphro:

...EUTHYPHRO: Yes, I should say that what all the gods love is pious and holy, and the opposite which they all hate, impious.

SOCRATES: Ought we to enquire into the truth of this, Euthyphro, or simply to accept the mere statement on our own authority and that of others? What do you say?

EUTHYPHRO: We should enquire; and I believe that the statement will stand the test of enquiry.

SOCRATES: We shall know better, my good friend, in a little while. The point which I should first wish to understand is whether the pious or holy is beloved by the gods because it is holy, or holy because it is beloved of the gods.

EUTHYPHRO: I do not understand your meaning, Socrates.

SOCRATES: I will endeavour to explain...

Trial and death of Socrates:Plato's Apology, Crito, and Phaedo

...Having thus brought his subject to a conclusion, Socrates proposes to bathe himself, in order not to trouble others to wash his dead body. Crito thereupon asks if he has any commands to give, and especially how he would be buried, to which he, with his usual cheerfulness, makes answer, "Just as you please, if only you can catch me;" and then, smiling, he reminds them that after death he shall be no longer with them, and begs the others of the party to be sureties to Crito for his absence from the body, as they had been before bound for his presence before his judges.

After he had bathed, and taken leave of his children and the women of his family the officer of the Eleven comes in to intimate to him that it is now time to drink the poison. Crito urges a little delay, as the sun had not yet set; but Socrates refuses to make himself ridiculous by showing such a fondness for life. The man who is to administer the poison is therefore sent for; and on his holding out the cup, Socrates, neither trembling nor changing color or countenance at all, but, as he was wont, looking steadfastly at the man, asked if he might make a libation to any one; and being told that no more poison than enough had been mixed, he simply prayed that his departure from this to another world might be happy, and then drank off the poison, readily and calmly. His friends, who had hitherto with difficulty restrained themselves, could no longer control the outward expressions of grief, to which Socrates said, "What are you doing, my friends? I, for this reason, chiefly, sent away the women, that they might not commit any folly of this kind; for I have heard that it is right to die with good omens. Be quiet, therefore, and bear up."

When he had walked about for a while his legs began to grow heavy, so he lay down on his back; and his body, from the feet upward, gradually grew cold and stiff. His last words were, "Crito, we owe a cock to Æsculapius; pay it, therefore, and do not neglect it."

"This," concludes Phædo, "was the end of our friend—a man, as we may say, the best of all his time, that we have known, and, moreover, the most wise and just." Phaedo

Phaedo audio...

==

*"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." -Elbert Hubbard, probably... and not Marcus Aurelius, though the Internet seems to think otherwise. Don't confuse him with looney L. Ron...

And check out:

Virtual tour, map, & glossary of Ancient Athens

"Rescuing Socrates"

Socrates documentaries, podcasts

• 
  

Rec-

HWT

1. What's one of the great unexplained wonders of human history?
2. Do you agree that we cannot understand ourselves if we do not understand others?
3. What was Descartes's "still pertinent" conclusion?
4. Why did the Buddha think speculation about ultimate reality was fruitless? 
5. What aspects of western thought have most influenced global philosophy?
6. What do Africans not have, according to Kwame Appiah?

FL

1. What statement by Karl Rove began to "crystallize" Fantasyland, in Kurt Andersen's mind?

2. What are half of Americans "absolutely certain" about? What do a quarter believe about vaccines?

3. What is Andersen trying to do with this book?

 

More from The School of Life

  

==

In class on Opening Day I was asked if I could summarize my philosophy in a word or phrase like Sally Brown, who finally decides her philosophy is simply "No!"

I should have said Yes! The word is meliorism (closely related, in my philosophy as in WJ's, to possibility):

 Meliorism:

 

"...there are unhappy men who think the salvation of the world impossible. Theirs is the doctrine known as pessimism.

Optimism in turn would be the doctrine that thinks the world's salvation inevitable.

Midway between the two there stands what may be called the doctrine of meliorism, tho it has hitherto figured less as a doctrine than as an attitude in human affairs. Optimism has always been the regnant DOCTRINE in european philosophy. Pessimism was only recently introduced by Schopenhauer and counts few systematic defenders as yet. Meliorism treats salvation as neither inevitable nor impossible. It treats it as a possibility, which becomes more and more of a probability the more numerous the actual conditions of salvation become.

It is clear that pragmatism must incline towards meliorism..." Pragmatism by William James

Scientia et Humanitas-submissions welcome

Scientia et Humanitas, MTSU’s premier peer-reviewed academic journal, is now accepting submissions for its 2026 issue—and we’d love your help spreading the word to students.

We welcome original research from all academic disciplines, including the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. This is a valuable opportunity for students to gain academic recognition, strengthen their resumes, and experience the professional world of peer review and publishing.

In addition to publication, the Honors College Dean and Associate Dean will select one undergraduate and one graduate winner to receive a monetary award for their outstanding entry.

We’re also seeking enthusiastic students to join the Scientia staff. This is a great chance to gain hands-on experience in academic publishing and contribute to MTSU’s scholarly community.

Please encourage your students to visit https://scientia.mtsu.edu/ for submission guidelines and staff applications. The fall submission deadline is Saturday, October 18, 2025. The spring deadline is Saturday, February 7, 2026.

Thank you for supporting student scholarship and helping us showcase the incredible work happening across campus.

//SIGNED//

Robin E. Lee

Strategic Communication Specialist

MTSU Honors College

Honors Spotlight Host

Collage and Scientia Advisor

615-898-5759

robin.e.lee@mtsu.edu

USAF Reserve, Retired

HCR

A historian puts the news in context: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/august-25-2025?r=35ogp&utm_medium=ios

New life

"Men talk much of a new birth. The fact is fundamental. But the mistake is in treating it as an incident which can only happen to a man once in a lifetime; whereas the whole journey of life is a succession of them. A new life springs up in the soul with the discovery of every new agency by which the soul is raised to a higher level of wisdom, goodness and joy."

— Frederick Douglass, "Lecture on Pictures (1861)"

11 resources

MTSU offers many resources for students, but taking advantage of all of them often becomes overwhelming. So, here are eleven examples to kick off this upcoming school year. 

1 – The seed library

A new seed library located on the first floor of the James E. Walker Library allows students to select five free seed packets weekly, from flowers to vegetables. If a student cannot afford a pet or is looking for a new hobby, MTSU's plant library provides an opportunity to nurture something new this school year.

2 – The Makerspace

The Makerspace is also in the library and offers a variety of technology for MTSU students to explore. Any student from any major is encouraged to check out flight simulators, virtual reality headsets, 3D printers and vinyl printers. If students are unfamiliar with any of these tools, they can sign up for free training in the library.

3 – Free counseling sessions

MTSU provides six free therapy sessions through MTSU Counseling. These appointments offer short-term care rather than traditional long-term therapy. While this does come at some disadvantage, the counselors utilize each therapy session effectively, even providing patients with connections to long-term options that suit them. The counseling office also provides psychiatrists.

(Continues)

https://mtsusidelines.com/2025/08/25/11-resources-all-mtsu-students-should-know-about/

Introductions

I'm Dr. Oliver, teacher at this institution for many moons now. 

We'll use this site to support our course. 

What's philosophy? The pursuit of wisdom. So what's that? That's what we're going to study and discuss.

We'll begin with some more basic questions...

• Who are you?
• Why are you here?
• What does philosophy mean to you?
• Do you have a favorite philosopher, or a personal philosophy you can summarize succinctly?

Go to the comments tab below and share your thoughts. Include your section #: 1 (9:40), 2 (1 PM), or 3 (2:40 PM). Whoever goes first in each section will be rewarded with a bit of swag on Opening Day.

See you on the 26th, in HONR 117.

Dr. Oliver

E-texts available via the library

Suzanne Mangrum of the Walker Library reports that at least two of our texts are available for free (via the library) in e-text formats:

A little history of philosophy

https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9780300177541; https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctt5vkvxd


Sick souls, healthy minds : how William James can save your life

https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/73048

She also says: "To see more about the library’s effort to support students and faculty in offering affordable course materials, please check out our web page and new affordable course materials search."

Note also that most of our texts are available in Kindle ebook and audible audio formats, and can often be accessed for free via the public library (in Nashville, use the Libby app in connection with your public library card).

ALSO: On Sep 4 we'll meet in the library with librarian Rachel Kirk, to answer any questions you may have about accessing the library's resources. Watch the "NEXT" space in the right sidebar for more on that.

Convocation’25-6

Welcome to MTSU, Class of 2029!

Philosophy students flourish

Turns out studying philosophy is actually valuable. Philosophy majors don't just argue well, they actually become better thinkers and do better on tests.

Data from 600k students shows they outscore every other major on reasoning, curiosity and open-mindedness.

https://buff.ly/tDBEvuF

“Here’s What Happened When I Made My College Students Put Away Their Phones”

…I banned all cellphones and computer-based note taking in the classroom, with the exception that students could use a device if they wrote with a stylus. Initially, my students were skeptical, if not totally opposed. But after a couple of weeks, they recognized they were better off for it — better able to absorb and retain information, and better able to enjoy their time in class.

My policy required phones to be turned off, and, more important, not be visible on desks. I did allow students who were expecting urgent calls — say, from a spouse about to have a baby — to have a mobile phone readily available during class.

Class sessions are recorded, and transcripts of the lectures are available any time after class to students with academic accommodations or those who want to go over them again... 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/opinion/mobile-phones-college-classrooms.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

MTSU’s Career Development Center

 FYI- 

MTSU’s Career Development Center offers career coaching, job fairs, resume reviews, free professional clothing, and much more. The center exists to empower all students with tools and strategies to discover and engage in meaningful work and a purposeful life.
More information: mtsu.edu/career

Career Leadership Badge Program
A micro-credential that helps students develop and implement a plan to reach their career goals, sharpening skills that enhance career readiness.
Learn more: mtsu.edu/career/career-leadership-badge

Just sit, think, and write

Do you keep a journal? I recommend it.

And I challenge you all to sit for at least 15 minutes the night before each class and write your thoughts about the next day's assigned reading. You can respond to the discussion questions I've posted, or to classmates' posts, or to your own reflections-after you've done the reading. 

And then, as a bonus, you can claim bases on the scorecard the next day.

The bigger bonus will be your growing capacity for clarity and depth of focus, and your acquisition of a philosophy grounded in your own experience and considered perspective.

Plato would not approve this message

The Founders of This New Development Say You Must Be White to Live There

Housing rights experts say a community restricted to white residents is illegal, but the creators believe they could win a potential challenge in court in the current political climate.

...Eric Orwoll, the community's co-founder and its de facto spokesman, moonlights as a Platonic scholar on YouTube. ["Despite never studying it formally, he'd always been drawn to Greek philosophy, and eventually started uploading homemade videos about Plato..."]. 

Before he had four children, he made live sex videos with his now ex-wife on a porn site...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/realestate/arkansas-white-housing-return-to-land.html?smid=em-share

Short and anxious

The whale and the centipede

I usually invite students, at the beginning of a new semester, to consider the allegory of the whale: not Herman Melville's, but Douglas Adams's... This semester maybe I'll invite them to ponder the peripatetic centipede... (continues)

Philosophy is a "master discipline"

 "...anyone who says 'philosophy is useless' is already philosophizing... [thus] defeating their own statement in the very breath of uttering it." Brian Christian, The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive

And speaking of Artificial Intelligence and chat GPT...

I ran my list of recommended texts for our course by chatGPT, and got back some pretty impressive additional thoughts: the italicized sentences, and "Why now"... 

How the World Thinks (Baggini) – because Western philosophy is not the whole story.
It’s a passport to the intellectual landscapes of India, China, Africa, and beyond—perspectives that can unsettle our assumptions and widen our mental horizons.
Why now: In a hyperconnected world, knowing only one cultural tradition is like navigating with a map that’s missing half the continents.

Fantasyland (Andersen) – because the contemporary crisis of American democracy is rooted in our history.
Reading it is like pulling back the curtain on a magic trick that’s been running for centuries—you can’t unsee it once you’ve looked.
Why now: Conspiracy theories, misinformation, and political extremism didn’t come from nowhere—understanding the roots helps you resist the rot.

How to Think Like Socrates (Robertson) – because he was, as the Monty Python song says, "a lovely little thinker..."
It’s an invitation to sharpen your mind through dialogue, questions, and a willingness to admit you might be wrong.
Why now: Social media rewards quick takes, not slow thought; Socratic thinking is an antidote to the rush toward certainty.

How to Think Like Marcus Aurelius (Robertson) – because he was a wise Stoic and emperor, as close to a Philosopher-King as we've had or are likely to get.
His meditations offer a steadying hand when the world (or your own mind) feels chaotic.
Why now: Climate anxiety, economic instability, and personal stress demand a mental toolkit for staying grounded.

The Philosopher Queens (Buxton & Whiting) – because women have always philosophized too.
These stories restore missing voices to the conversation and prove that philosophy has never been a boys-only club.
Why now: Representation matters—for who speaks shapes what gets said, and which problems we notice.

Starry Messenger (Tyson) – because we are cosmopolitans, citizens of the cosmos.
It can give you the mental equivalent of looking up on a clear night—suddenly your problems and your possibilities are both reframed.
Why now: Space exploration, climate change, and AI are reshaping what it means to be human; perspective is a survival skill.

Question Everything (Catapano & Critchley, eds.) – short popular essays by contemporary philosophers, because philosophy is relevant to contemporary issues.
It’s proof that philosophy is not locked in dusty tomes; it’s alive in our headlines and our daily dilemmas.
Why now: Hot-button issues—from ethics of AI to climate policy—need slow, careful thought, not just hot takes.

Three Roads Back (Richardson) – because we'll all eventually lose someone close.
This is philosophy with skin in the game—how great minds navigated grief without losing their compass.
Why now: Pandemic losses, mental health struggles, and a culture allergic to mourning make wisdom on grief urgent.

Be Not Afraid of Life (Kaag, ed.) – because William James can save your life, or at least ameliorate it.
James’s words remind you that despair is not the final word, and that meaning can be remade.
Why now: Rising rates of anxiety and depression demand voices that offer both hope and hard realism.

Life is Hard (Setiya) – because we'll all eventually be challenged by something hard.
Setiya shows that facing limits and losses is not an interruption of the good life, but part of what makes it possible.
Why now: Resilience isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you learn, and we’re all being tested.

Night Vision (Allesandri) – because all is not sunshine and light.
This is a philosophical flashlight for moving through the shadows without pretending they aren’t there.
Why now: Instagram happiness culture can make real struggle feel shameful; this book insists it’s part of the human condition.

==

My policy on using AI for learning is simple: be transparently honest. Never claim the AI's "thoughts" as your own, but do share them --suitably flagged, as with italics or some other obvious marker-- if you find them interesting, helpful, or provocative. And always corroborate any factual statements. Sapere aude, think for yourself... but not by yourself. Sometimes the machine can be a useful interlocutor. But it should never be a substitute for your own thinking.

Margaret Boden, Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88

A cognitive scientist, she used the language of computers to explore the nature of human thought and creativity, offering prescient insights about A.I.

...She was among the skeptics.

“The notion of there ever being a time where we could have a natural language-using program which was able really to converse in a rich and subtle way with an intelligent and educated human being about anything under the sun — from, you know, football to fossils — seems to me to be a fantasy,” she said on “The Life Scientific.”

Today, such abilities actually exist with large language models like ChatGPT. Professor Boden entered a care home before these tools emerged and wasn’t able to use them.

I put the question to ChatGPT: Would Professor Boden have been surprised by its existence?

“Margaret Boden probably wouldn’t have been shocked that something like ChatGPT exists — but she would likely have been both fascinated and deeply critical,” ChatGPT responded. “She stressed that computers don’t ‘think’ or ‘understand’ in the way humans do — they manipulate symbols without consciousness or intentionality.”
...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/science/margaret-boden-dead.html?smid=em-share

Recommended and reserved

 [Recording at Substack]

Students don't seem to read as much as they used to, or maybe it's just that they've lost the knack and patience for long-form texts in the face of so much distraction from the unceasing fire-hose of short texts and videos, and games, and social media threads, and so on and on.

That perception has led me and many of my colleagues to make fewer and shorter reading assignments. I've tried to compensate for the loss by adding more and more RECOMMENDED texts, with a promise of reward in the form of exam bonus questions drawn from those non-required readings. I may be fooling myself, but at least it appeases my conscience to offer a traditional reading buffet to those who might wish to partake. 

So here's the list of RECOMMENDED TEXTS I've placed on reserve for check-out at our school library... (continues)

Benefits of Studying Philosophy workshop

"Philosophy majors outperform all other majors on tests of verbal and logical reasoning and on a measure of valuable habits of mind. Studying philosophy makes us better thinkers…"

Begin forwarded message:

From: American Philosophical Association <apa@apaonline.org>
Date: August 14, 2025 at 10:37:25 AM CDT
To: Phil Oliver <Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] APA Weekly: Department Chairs Workshop, Teaching Hub Deadline, APA Live
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In this newsletter... • • • Reminder: Sign up for the Next APA Live Event, "Benefits of Studying Philosophy"

Reminder: Sign up for the Next APA Live Event, "Benefits of Studying Philosophy" Are you a faculty member trying to convince university administrators that philosophy is important? Are you a student wondering about the benefits of taking philosophy courses? According to "Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers," an article by Michael Prinzing and Michael Vazquez that was recently published in the Journal of the APA—which draws on a sample size of half a million undergraduate records—philosophy majors outperform all other majors on tests of verbal and logical reasoning and on a measure of valuable habits of mind. Studying philosophy, they argue, makes us better thinkers. We invite philosophers at all levels (faculty, graduate students, undergraduates) and in all areas of specialty to join us on Wednesday, August 27 at 6 p.m. Eastern for an open and accessible discussion of the benefits of studying philosophy. Registration is open to all. Register now. Coming Soon… Important Dates 8/15: Central Division and Pacific Division Teaching Hub submissions deadline 9/2: Pacific Division paper submissions deadline 10/15: Nomination deadline for the 2025 Lisska Prize Upcoming APA Live Events 8/18-8/19: Annual APA Workshop for Department Chairs 8/27: Benefits of Studying Philosophy

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