My M.A. class in Bristol, from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, was composed of three other full time students; three brilliant and talented women from quite diverse backgrounds (I had a secret crush on each of them until I learned, one by one, that they all had boyfriends and/or husbands… tisk tisk – oh well – I’ve ended up with the very lovely Ana and won’t complain a bit). I’m very thrilled and honored to have studied with... Read more

I’m beginning to plan my thesis here (a year in advance), having learned my lesson from so many late papers in the past (anyone want to place odds on my being late with the thesis anyway?). The topic should span two of my major interests over the past three or so years: personal identity and ethics The answer to the question “Who am I?” plays a profound role in how we then answer the question “What ought I to do?”... Read more

No man ever steps in the same river twice.– Heraclitus In ancient Greek Philosophy, Heraclitus is the philosopher of becoming. His ideas are most clearly in contrast to those of Parmenides, the philosopher of being. The conflict between them is in relation to “ultimate reality.” For Heraclitus the seemingly static structures we encounter in life are unreal, merely our projections of stability onto a reality of flux. (for an interesting site carrying on Heraclitus’ notions into the quantum realm –... Read more

So I’ve only had one (I think) post on politics ever since I added it to my topics list (way back in February I think). So here’s a bit more…Al Gore was on SNL last week (I didn’t see it on TV, but did find a clip at crooksandliars.com Video-WMP Video-QT ). It’s very much worth watching – though I wish Al would take some speech coaching from John Stewart, his timing is terrible. The address goes as follows: President... Read more

Finals week has ended, the runaway train of life has ground to a near halt. And yet it goes on. The dust settles and the world around comes in to focus. The first thing I see? Capote, the movie. (more on that perhaps later) I was sick today, too sick to make it to my final class, too sick to give my scheduled presentation, too sick to hand in my scheduled paper. I almost went anyway, almost forced myself, hopeful... Read more

I’m in the home-stretch… four more days… Friday at 5pm, the last (except for one that I have an almost indefinite extention on) of my papers is due… Sartre test Wednesday – presentation Friday morning – paper by 5. No sweat. I think that only after last week could I make such an assertion. Then I had paper Wednesday, presentation Thursday, drive 200 miles and give a presentation Friday. Speaking of which… I think the Sartre paper turned out ok.... Read more

(begun Friday around 1pm) One week, no posts! Sheesh. Forces of nature, academia, and all the rest are conspiring against me, trying to keep me from my precious blogger. But, for a moment at least, I can thwart them (keep in mind that this is also a moment that I could be calling Ana in Spain… wait, hold that thought…). —- 2 hours later… Ok, so I did call Ana. And I’ve eaten a bit of lunch. And now I’m... Read more

I arrived home tonight (home being a house near campus where I’m house-sitting) to find a mentally handicapped 50 year old man on the front porch who will apparently be staying with me for the next four nights. He knows the woman who owns the house and she is a saint and always welcomes people who are passing through. He’s a Native American, Salish or Kootenai I assume, and tells me that the reason he’s ‘crazy’ is alcohol and ‘the... Read more

My schedule for the next three weeks will be insane, or at least close to that. I have three papers to write, approximately 60 pages in all (I’m already pondering taking an incomplete/extension on one, despite having sworn off doing so at the beginning of the semester), I have work (we’ve lost our administrative head, and now hiring an ‘assistant’ for me, and a new administrator soon), I have a conference (presenting my Kantian Analysis of Buddhist Ethics work for... Read more

Monday we covered Sartre’s section Concrete Relations With Others in “Being and Nothingness”. It paints an apparently dreary picture of love, and indeed, all of our relationships. But, perhaps one can find truth in its pessimism and acceptance of its apparent prescriptions for life. Or one can seek convergences with Kant and Buddhism that may help rescue Sartre from his own deep malaise. The chapter proceeds in three parts: Love, Language, Masochism; Indifference, Desire, Hate, Sadism; and “Being-With” (Mitsein) and... Read more