In his book Daybreak (Cambridge, translated by R.J. Hollingdale), Friedrich Nietzsche writes something remarkable about vanity: “Vanity is the fear of appearing original: it is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality.” (aphorism # 365)… Read more ›
In a previous post (see here) I presented an essay exploring the relationship between freedom and critical thinking. Here I want to briefly suggest that human freedom, that most elusive yet visceral of phenomena, can be understood in a very… Read more ›
The last two posts I looked at the interactive models of education proposed by Socrates (470-399) and John Dewey (1859-1952). Now it is time to briefly compare the two models and draw some conclusions for individual and political growth. Similarities… Read more ›
Anyone who studies the philosophy of education will quickly discover that there are two central models of how knowledge comes to be acquired: on one hand, we have an ignorant and passive pupil who receives information from an active and… Read more ›
Anyone who studies the philosophy of education will quickly discover that there are two central models of how knowledge comes to be acquired: on one hand, we have an ignorant and passive pupil who receives information from an active and… Read more ›
Can we, sometimes, make free choices? Obviously, a lot rides on what we mean by free choices. Mark Balaguer has recently formulated a helpful definition in his book Free Will (MIT, 2014): a choice is the product of my free… Read more ›
So many children, including my own son, had intense joy today because of, among other things, MANY lies told about Santa. I loved Christmas as a child and still do. I had a happy childhood and have become a well-adjusted… Read more ›
In part one of this series we saw how aesthetics can play a role in global education (see here). Let’s continue by looking at some other ways aesthetics can help us learn. In his book The Aesthetic Understanding, Roger Scruton points… Read more ›
According to many people the world was supposed to end today. Why did they think this? There are certainly many reasons. But I would like to suggest one reason, informed by existential philosophy, that is often overlooked: some people want… Read more ›
In his book Zarathustra, Nietzsche has his character Zarathustraboldly tell of a thawing wind which reveals that all is in flux: “When the water hath planks, when gangways and railings o’erspan the stream, verily, he is not believed who then… Read more ›
In the last post I noted the following virtues that John Dewey thought accompany intelligent action: Being conscientious or being interested in finding out what the actual good of a certain situation is Maintaining a bias toward fairness and objectivity… Read more ›
In the last post I noted the following virtues that John Dewey thought accompany intelligent action: Being conscientious or being interested in finding out what the actual good of a certain situation is Maintaining a bias toward fairness and objectivity… Read more ›
In the last post, I defined tragic conflict and suggested three reasons why we should take it seriously. Now, let us ask: How Can We Address Tragic Conflict? In 1960 Sidney Hook wrote an essay entitled “Pragmatism and the Tragic… Read more ›
In the following four-part post series I would like to explore the nature of tragic conflict, why it is important, and how such conflict can be intelligently addressed. I will be drawing upon a set of American philosophers in the… Read more ›
Ethical egoism is the view that people should always be motivated out of self-interest. The word ‘ethical’ here doesn’t mean good; it simply means that this form of egoism is not just describing but prescribing a course of behavior. So… Read more ›