Author: Huenemann

There’s an interesting discussion over here on Brian Leiter’s philosophy blog.

What got it all started was this: the National Endowment for the Humanities set up a grant for professors to create courses which address life’s enduring questions (How should I live? What am I? What are my obligations to others? and so on), since it seemed to them that no one was asking these questions anymore. Philosophers said, “Huh. I thought that’s what we were doing.” So people began to wonder: are philosophers dealing with these topics? Should non-philosophers deal with them? Is the NEH just stupid, or are they dissing philosophers?

Anyway, it’s interesting to read the posting, and all the comments.

Okay, quiz time. Which philosopher would you most like to have lunch with? (Make the obvious assumptions: pretend they’re not dead, that you speak the same language, the service and food are good, etc.)

“Disorder is essential to the brain’s ability to transmit information and solve problems.” Read more here.

This is an interesting tidbit. The Templeton Foundation is a private foundation which provides support for thinkers who try to integrate contemporary science with traditional religion. It’s an enormously wealthy foundation which awards the biggest cash prize in the world, for anything (bigger than the Nobel). It’s always seemed a little fishy to me, since some of the awardees seem to me to be plenty smart but hardly the greatest intellects around.

Anyway, the link is to Dawkins’ blog, which recounts some of the correspondence between a journalist and Dennett and A.C. Grayling about being paid attendees of a Templeton conference. The main question is whether you do more harm than good in engaging in public dialogue with those whose views you think are silly.

Interesting review here of a book written by a guy who spent a year reading “the five-foot shelf,” or Harvard’s classic edition of the great books.