USUPhilosophy

The article by Galen Strawson, together with the suicide note of Mitchell Heisman, caused me to write a longer reflection about why I want to continue to be. Read it here, if you like.

In honor of the recent beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman, USU philosopher Richard Sherlock will present a lecture on Newman and the Idea of a University.  He will explore Newman’s defense of liberal arts education.

Monday, October 11, 4pm in Main 121.

All are welcome.

We’re selling philosophy books outside Main 204. Proceeds go to benefit Phi Sigma Tau, our honor society. Just imagine the thrill of reading your professors’ old books and psychoanalyzing their marginalia! Do it while it’s still legal in Utah!

Read the Boston Globe story here. Excerpts:

“Every word, every thought, and every emotion come back to one core problem: life is meaningless,’’ he wrote. “The experiment in nihilism is to seek out and expose every illusion and every myth, wherever it may lead, no matter what, even if it kills us.’’

…

He saw his emotions as nothing more than a product of biology, as soulless as the workings of a machine, making them in essence an illusion.

“If life is truly meaningless and there is no rational basis for choosing among fundamental alternatives, then all choices are equal and there is no fundamental ground for choosing life over death,’’ he concluded.

A very sad tale.