My big brother, whom I unfortunately seldom see in the flesh, is celebrating his birthday today. He and my sister-in-law LaVona have been through a hell of a year–but they are still standing and facing down all of the challenges that come their way. Help me celebrate this important day! In the 1946 classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Angel Second Class Clarence Oddbody is assigned as George Bailey’s guardian angel. It’s a challenging assignment; George has been driven to... Read more
Hey Justin! What if you had a ring that made you invisible when you put it on? Would you use the ring to take the books you’ve been wanting from the kid’s section at the bookstore the next time we go to the mall? No. Why not? Because someone would know. In the summer of 1989, as I prepared for my first PhD-candidate solo flight in the classroom scheduled for the coming fall semester, I solicited advice from anyone and... Read more
Although it often caused trouble and brought me grief during my primary and secondary education years, I have never tried very hard to hide my serious geekiness. Accordingly, I start today’s blog post with the ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar. I need to be careful here, because I have four colleagues and friends on campus who are trained classicists—for all I know, one of them might have written their dissertation on Pindar. Many of Pindar’s surviving poems are “victory odes,” celebrations... Read more
As we have been selecting the required texts over the past couple of weeks for our colloquium on “Faith and Doubt” next semester, my teaching partner (a Dominican priest) and I were both inclined to think outside the box. My most inspired suggestion (I have one of those no more than once per month) was that we should kick the semester off with something from Anne Lamott. The best thing anyone has ever said about my writing is that it... Read more
Dear Dr. Morgan: I’m writing to let you know that I won’t be in class today at 11:30. Our lacrosse match on campus that was scheduled for yesterday was rescheduled for today at 3:30. Our pre-game prep starts at 12:00, so I won’t be able to make class. I know that I have already missed a couple of classes this semester [four, as a matter of fact], but I’m hoping this won’t be a big problem. My academic advisor’s email address... Read more
Over the years I have developed dozens of strategies for getting students to participate in class discussions; the most reliable technique undoubtedly is to get them talking about their pets. Case in point: Next week, my ethics classes will be reading an article by biologist Frans de Waal. His decades of studying chimpanzee behavior have convinced him that we can learn a lot about the foundations of the moral life—a life often considered to be exclusively available to human beings—from... Read more
The best argument in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story. Richard Powers Richard Powers is one of my favorite novelists, perhaps the best living novelist that most people have either never heard of or haven’t read if they have heard of him. His latest novel, just out last week, is Bewilderment–I started it a couple of days ago. I’m not sure if I like it yet, but that’s not unusual... Read more
Today is the first day of October, and that’s a very good thing. Autumn is my favorite season, and for any number of reasons, October is my favorite month. This goes well beyond the beauty of autumn in New England. Permit me to explain. October not only means my favorite kind of weather, but also puts me in a reminiscent mood. October was an important month during my growing up years because both my mother and my brother were born... Read more
Do moral absolutes exist? Is human engagement with moral principles more like a treasure hunt, where we search for something that is already there but perhaps is deeply hidden, or are moral principles something that we creatively construct from various pieces of our individual and collective experiences as well as from the world around us? These are the sorts of questions that I always spend the first few weeks of any ethics course exploring with my students. On the first... Read more
One day, Jeanne said “I want a fish.” This was a rather random request, but Jeanne very seldom asks for anything, so within a few days we went to the pet store and purchased a Betta fish. Jeanne named him “Ezekiel” (more randomness), and he lived on the counter between our kitchen and dining room for well over a year. Google “Care of Betta fish” and you’ll get all sorts of conflicting advice concerning how often and what to feed... Read more
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