Kraut on Russell on Aristotle on Happiness

Interesting review here of Daniel C. Russell, Happiness for Humans. An interesting passage:

Suppose that songbirds as they are presently constituted are not receptive to the beauty of their chirping, but that genetic manipulation could give them an enriched awareness of the musical features of their songs, with the result that they get much more enjoyment from their singing. Assuming that this had no ill side effects, their lives would be better — it would be better for a songbird to be a songbird than it was before. This thought experiment suggests that the appreciation of beauty would be a good thing for any creature who can be made receptive to it. So, it is not someone’s membership in the human family that makes it the case that it is good for him to appreciate beauty and bad for him to lack this receptivity. Rather, the appreciation of beauty is a good thing — good, that is, for the creature, of whatever species, who has it.

I wonder: what if, through genetic manipulation, I could be enhanced so as to view with aesthetic pleasure something truly and intrinsically ugly – that is, to incorrectly view it as beautiful. Would that be a good thing?

RELS journal opportunity

The Religious Studies program runs an online, student-run journal called the “Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies”.  To keep things running, they need a few students each year to volunteer to help.  It is a nice opportunity to get involved in editing and research.  Here is the official plea for student help:

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Dear friends,
Welcome to another exciting year at USU! The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies (hereinafter IMWJ) is looking for a few capable and anxious students in either history or religious studies to volunteer as staff for the coming semester. Expectations are rather simple, and demands on your time are minimal. However, the exposure to the world of academic journals as well as cutting edge research is both invaluable and insightful (not to mention it looks great on a CV).
I am holding an introductory meeting this Wednesday at 1:30 PM in the history department conference room. If you have even a remote interest in this opportunity, please come by and meet with my staff and me. If you are unavailable at that time, but still would like to work with us, please email me at your convenience.
Thank you, and I look forward to meeting with you in the near future!
Cory
Cory M. Nani
Managing Editor, IMWJ
History graduate student, USU
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