Author: Kleiner

Associate Vice Provost and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University. I teach across the curriculum, but am most interested in continental philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy as well as Catholic thought, all of which might be summed up as an interest in the ressourcement tradition (returning in order to make progress). I also enjoy spending time thinking about liberal education and its ends.

Create silence

“I have often said that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” – Pascal

“The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased.  If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply, ‘Create silence’.” – Kierkegaard 

Many of my Intro to Philosophy students will be undertaking an exercise in creating silence over the next two weeks.  The exercise begins tomorrow at the end of class and runs until April 4 at the end of class.  Students are agreeing to:
  • not watch any television, movies, or other video
  • not listen to an iPod or other portable music device
  • not play any video games on any sort of device
  • not check facebook, twitter, or any other social networking site
  • not get on the internet (exceptions only for legitimate school work)
  • check email for only 15 minutes a day
  • treat their cell phone like a land line (plug it into the wall and leave it there)
  • not text message, video message, or use any other messaging/texting on a phone, computer or any other electronic device

Feel free to join us in our little experiment of cutting ourselves off from the cacophony of the modern world for a while.  When the exercise is finished, I intend to post selections from short reflections on the experience that students will write.

New Fall 2012 course

Fall 2012 I have the opportunity to teach a special seminar:

Inkling Philosophy: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis on Myth and Truth.

Banner listing: PHIL 4900 ST: Tolkien and CS Lewis on Myth, cross-listed under RELS 4910-004 ST: Tolkien and CS Lewis on Myth.

MWF 9:30-10:20

Course Description:

In this course we will first read what Tolkien and Lewis have to say about myth and then we will read some of Tolkien’s and Lewis’ myths.  In reading about myth, we will seek to understand their philosophy of myth, asking questions about myth and its relation to truth, symbolic language and the limits of natural reason, and the role of the imagination in belief.  Then we will read some of their myths (Lord of the Rings, Narnia, etc) to see how perennial truths about God, man, and the universe can be expressed in, and perhaps only in, myth.

No pre-requisites or previous philosophical experience required.  But note that this is a 4000 level course so it will be reading intensive.  Those unable or unwilling to take on thick reading assignments should look elsewhere.

“Branding” the humanities – what is ‘critical thinking’?

Here is an interesting article on what ails the humanities.  The claim is that humanities professors have inflicted a lot of damage on themselves.  The piece is rather optimistic about the public attitude toward humanities, one person remarking that “I don’t think our civilization is so degraded that we have to defend giving attention to what is excellent.”  The problem, rather, is two-fold.  The first problem is related to overspecialization and the popularity of various approaches (deconstruction, postmodernity, anti-colonialism, feminism, marxism) in the academy.  One fellow in the article noted that “What matters to the public is Shakespeare, not the ‘logic of theatrical representation.’”  Ordinary people recognize that Shakespeare is a value.  We are not so lost that we have to argue that great things deserve attention.  The problem is that humanities faculties too rarely teach the great things, and when they do it is without proper respect (they are busy just “deconstructing” them).  If that is your college exposure to Shakespeare,  you are going to either not take university faculty seriously, not take Shakespeare seriously, or perhaps both.

Related to this is the failure of humanities professors to speak Continue reading ““Branding” the humanities – what is ‘critical thinking’?”