Huenemann

The “should be” greats

There have been some very interesting lists of “great 8” philosophers offered in response to Kleiner’s post — check them out! It leads me to raise a related question: what is your list of philosophers whom you think really are valuable and important but who are either unknown, or are wrongly neglected, or at any rate should be more widely read?

Patterns, stories, evolution

Here is a link to an interesting essay about the human ability to perceive and play with patterns, and the way in which it has led us to invent stories. The author contends that the art of making up stories and science are both based on the same phenomenon: that humans are born patternmakers.

“What are you going to do with a major in ___?”

Here is an article written recently about the relation between picking a major and getting a good job. Unsurprisingly, philosophy is an excellent choice!

Teachers & students

Here is a philosophical question for students and teachers alike:

What should the relationship be between students and teachers?

I’ll say a bit more to motivate the question. One model, maybe a traditional one, is that teachers are sort of “totally other” from the students: they have the knowledge, wisdom, and expertise, and they should command respect from the students and serve as a kind of challenge to the students. The icon here is Professor Kingsfield, the law professor in The Paper Chase — students do whatever they can to earn his respect, and he is constantly raising the bar for them.

A second model is the teacher as friend of the student, or a co-learner. In this case the teacher might even pretend to know less, to make the student feel as if he/she is making new discoveries along with the teacher.

I’m sure there are other models, or compromises between these two. What do you think?

New Philosophers’ Carnival

The latest Philosophers’ Carnival can be found here. One interesting feature (beyond the question of whether “all western thought” really is Cartesian, and God vs. the double-slit eraser experiment in quantum mechanics) is the fact that this Carnival is hosted by an undergraduate at Mississippi State. Very impressive!