When I was in college studying philosophy, there was a lot of hand-wringing about how exclusive the discipline was. There was a noticeable lack of women and people of non-European descent. (Today we would add a lack of LGBTQA+ people, but it was the early nineties and that didn’t seem to concern anyone as much…
The song Levon, by Elton John (@eltonofficial) and Bernie Taupin (#bernietaupin), opens with the line: Levon wears his war wound like a crown He calls his child Jesus ‘Cause he likes the name And he sends him to the finest school in town Then, there’s a line in Elton John’s and Bernie Taupin’s song Tiny…
I was driving with my daughter the other day when she asked, “Why do we have to pay for things?” I told her that there’s a cost to making things, so we have to pay that cost. She’s nine, so of course she asked another question, “But what about things that aren’t made? Why do…
I got a card in the mail from a friend. She wrote a little note inside saying that she was in town and thought of me, so she sent me a card. It wasn’t a huge gesture, but it made me really happy. That’s the power of friendship. It has a unique way of enriching…
I recently wrote a three part mini-series. Part one was on the self. Part two was on knowing other people. Part three was on Santa Claus. The connecting thread was the fact that these are three things that are experienced, but it is unclear (to say the least) in what sense they are real. I…
This is part three of my three part mini-series. Part one appeared two days ago and part two yesterday. They are separate, but linked, at least in my mind. Is Santa Claus real? That’s a question I had to deal with directly this year. I guess it’s something of a right of passage for parents…
This is part two of a three part mini-series. Part one appeared yesterday. Part three will be tomorrow. While they do not have to be read together, I think they reinforce each other. When we say that we know someone, what are we saying? What is it that we’re claiming to know? The answer is…
This post and the next two posts will make up a mini-series. They are on distinct, but related, topics and, I think, will be more valuable (if they have any value) if read together. A couple of weeks ago, I ran across this headline: Brain scientists confirm your ‘personal identity’ survives throughout lifetime. I’m a…
Imagine a masochistic misanthrope. This person hates other people. It causes them great pain to be in company, to be pleasant, to be friendly. All of the social virtues hurt them. But, they get off on that pain. They crave it. They constantly desire it. So, they seek it out. They spend as much time…
This sign recently appeared in one of my neighbor’s yards: I don’t know these neighbors. And, seeing as they’re Trump supporters, I have no interest in getting to know them. Normally, I wouldn’t notice a campaign sign at all. I don’t generally take political advice from cardboard signs. It’s not clever or humorous or insightful….
