- See last time's questions pertaining to Romano's discussion of women in philosophy, #'s 16-19...
- Part Four of America the Philosophical is about "cyberphilosophy," a term that already sounds dated. (AtP is over a decade old now.) But do you think the presence of contemporary philosophers and students of philosophy on the internet is likely to make consumers of that content more reflective and wise, and ultimately to raise our culture's tone of discourse? Will it create conditions of greater public civility? Or has the internet just become a "place" where people go to find others who share their prejudices and political biases, rather than a place to challenge them and think them through?
- "You have the people of the book, which is the East Coast, and the people of the screen, which is the West Coast." 469 Are we all people of the screen now, even the relative few of us who still read for pleasure and enlightenment? Is my "Save the book" bumper sticker promoting a lost cause? (NOTE: I own, borrow, and read lots of books on my kindle, but a culture of the screen is one which seems to place less value on the word than the image. Are we there yet, or headed there?)
- Do you think the computer revolution is "a living fulfillment of... the pragmatism of James and Dewey"? 474
- "...the only solution [is] better educated citizens... dedicated to 'the common good.'" 482 True? Likely?
- "Machines are becoming biological and the biological is becoming engineered." Are Kevin Kelly, Ray Kurzweil et al prophets of the Singularity? Is it getting nearer?
- Is the "global brain" hypothesis kooky or plausible? Or Gaia? 489 Do both represent a misplaced "impulse to worship" (technology in the first instance, the earth in the latter)? 495
- Can you recommend any good sci-fi/cyberlit? 496ff.
- Is Jaron Lanier right? Are we, or will we become, "gadgets"? 531 Comment?: “But the Turing test cuts both ways. You can't tell if a machine has gotten smarter or if you've just lowered your own standards of intelligence to such a degree that the machine seems smart. If you can have a conversation with a simulated person presented by an AI program, can you tell how far you've let your sense of personhood degrade in order to make the illusion work for you?"
- Do you listen to any philosophy-themed podcasts?*
- Do you find Dewey's "sensible mysticism" preferable to an "otherworldly mysticism"? Do you agree with Anderson that it is more attuned to the "American quest"?142
- Springsteen, Little Feat, Warren Zevon, Neil Young... some of my favorites. Yours? What about any of the other musicians mentioned in Anderson's ch9?
- "Marcuse's one-dimensional man who is doomed to an Archie Bunker status": the exception in America, or the rule? 149
- What do you think of the juxtaposition of Springsteen's "Born to Run" with Thoreau's "Walking"? 153-4 Do both express something like Whitman's democratic vision?
- Dewey said "a democracy cannot long be sustained by an ignorant demos." Agree? Is that what we've got? 159 Can we effectively teach "sympathy with those who sincerely hold opinions different from our own"? 161
- What can be done to rectify the situation in which "the majority of our high school students arrive at college with no conception of what philosophers do or why [they] do it"? 166
- If "the community" cared for all children as the best and wisest parents do, would it be so "oblivious" to the children victimized by war and neglect? McD 169
- What do you think of the Montessori approach to childhood education? 174ff.
- Do you agree that we need "a radical transformation of the curriculum in teacher education programs"? 180
- Should students be more thoroughly introduced to "the experience of others," especially accomplished others in our cultural past, via the reading and study of biography? 188-9 Do you recall being impacted in school by a famous or accomplished person's biography? If so, who and how?
- What else in this week's reading would you like to discuss?
Recent books on women in philosophy I've enjoyed:
- Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life by Rachael Wiseman and Clare Mac Cumhaill...
- The Visionaries: Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil, and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Times by Wolfram Eilenberger...
- The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women by Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting...
- The Women Are Up to Something: How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch Revolutionized Ethics by Benjamin Lipscomb... Also see
- Maria Popova's Figuring and her excellent website "The Marginalian"...
The Philosopher Queens is a long-awaited book about the lives and works of women in philosophy by women in philosophy. This collection brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound – but for the most part uncredited – impact on the world.
You’ll learn about Ban Zhao, the first woman historian in ancient Chinese history; Angela Davis, perhaps the most iconic symbol of the American Black Power Movement; Azizah Y. al-Hibri, known for examining the intersection of Islamic law and gender equality; and many more.
For anyone who has wondered where the women philosophers are, or anyone curious about the history of ideas – it's time to meet the philosopher queens. g'r
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Women in philosophy blog (APA)... Seven female philosophers you should know about (Ethics Centre)
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*I asked AI (chatGPT) for a quick list of top philosophy podcasts. I recognize most of these as good, I hope it didn't "hallucinate" the rest. (Also good: Philosophy Bites (Listen to Kate Manne on Misogyny and Male Entitlement), In Our Time (de Tocq; archive, ...)
The Partially Examined Life A philosophy podcast by some former philosophy grad students discussing major works in a fun and accessible manner.
Philosophize This! Hosted by Stephen West, this podcast provides an engaging introduction to various philosophers and their ideas, starting from ancient to modern times.
The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps Peter Adamson's podcast covers the entire history of philosophy, episode by episode, from ancient Greece to contemporary thought.
Very Bad Wizards Not strictly a philosophy podcast, but explores philosophical topics in a humorous and engaging way, often combining philosophy with psychology.
Elucidations: A University of Chicago Philosophy Podcast Conversations with philosophers about their work and ideas, hosted by Matt Teichman.
New Books in Philosophy Interviews with philosophers about their new books across a wide range of philosophical topics.
Hi-Phi Nation A narrative-style podcast that brings philosophical ideas to life through stories and real-world examples.
The Philosophy Guy A podcast that explores various philosophical ideas and issues, often with a focus on contemporary topics.
The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast A British podcast that covers a range of philosophical topics and texts in an accessible way.
The American Philosophical Association Podcast Series Offers discussions and interviews with philosophers on various topics in American philosophy and beyond.
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The Tennessee State Museum is chock-full of Americana...
Centennial Park, too, site of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
The suffragettes who pushed Tennessee to ratify the 19th amendment in 1920 are represented there.
Question 8
ReplyDeleteI feel like we have briefly spoken about this topic in the first class, but it is always good to come back after learning new information. A couple ways to rectify the issue of highschoolers not knowing what and who philosophers are would be to incorporate low level philosophy classes, specifically introduce books pertaining to the different philosophers over the years, and or depending on what their curriculum is based from than teachers could share the philosophers that helped improve that area of study and so on. Though, I do think we come to a break in this concept due to communities and people not wanting the schools to be radically left or right sided (basically all religious or all scientific). Since religion and philosophy don't get along in the eyes of some individuals, I could see where this route wouldn't hold up very good.
But, we could also look at the aspect of the students that strive to do college level courses in highshool. At my highschool, those teachers were a lot more real when they spoke and would actually go into controversial topics. Though, in order to be in those classes you had to maintain a certain grade and GPA all throughout highschool, so it wasn't offered to a lot of people.
I also think it comes down to people in general. It isn't like these sources and material are not available at book stores or online platforms.
So would the problem really be opening highschoolers up to philosophy or making the parents and school board open. It would also have to consider different backgrounds and where they want to go in life. There were certain people at my highschool that could care a less about what they made in class as long as they graduated.
I think you would need the right people, during the right time, that actually gave a damn about what philosophy is.
And the way to create parents who give a damn is by raising children with a philosophical education so they'll grow up to be parents who don't feel threatened by the idea of a classroom in which THEIR children feel free to explore and exchange ideas.
DeleteIf I were philosopher-king, I'd make sure there was some form of philosophy in the earliest elementary classrooms. Christopher Phillips suggests a way to do it... https://www.amazon.com/Philosophers-Club-Christopher-Phillips/dp/1582460396/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MXMTC2A1IKVI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YK1lJU_u_ibNHudN75v28ae_ORXqCIWPTJritKUc_73YZE7RG3NfsyoniUzeRxaY5aClet5oqWND7S8siBRRnD-zLjwm5l26mrEZboB0GJgTUq6pJJlP4fbr20V6_s1qOmDjguAlwOLMGXmGRZi6qoTDtJnpY6g0ZFVqmYl3AuMQX9GSL0YRIIVixo48oJxsUv7uW94TK6KTIjgD6IKnmDiPSo6PmdX8SnbKhhZSUPI.qe5iKWnfyggZFfxy6yRMs_E88Ed_Ez1mo1NGArnijPw&dib_tag=se&keywords=christopher+phillips+philosophers+club&qid=1722284309&s=books&sprefix=christpopher+phillps+philosphers+club%2Cstripbooks%2C232&sr=1-1
There is a movement among some educators to bring philosphy to the elementary classroom: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/
DeleteQuestion 11
ReplyDeleteI think there should be an update to the current teacher curriculum but not necessarily a radical one. I know someone that are currently going through the teaching program and she always tells me whats going on. Like everything else in the modern world, it is going through a change. Even when I was in primary or middle school, it was different from when my parents were in it. I think they're should be some minor changes, especially in regards to middle and high school teachers with everything else going on in the world. The curriculum they are taute is supposed to help when they're in their field of work, but it doesn't matter what they learned if the county they are working in as others rules and regulations. There should be a fair across the board teaching that would help in any area and isn't strained by poticial, religious, or personal beliefs. Once a teacher starts teaching from their heart and feelings and not their mind, there is a disconnect that harms those that they are teaching.
Everything is radically changing, but I am not sure on what exactly would need to change since I am not currently a teacher learning the curriculum.
"teaching from their heart and feelings and not their mind"-- I think I understand what you're saying, but I'd put it this way: teachers should teach from heart, feelings, AND mind. Tilting away from any of these components of our humanity tends to lead to a distortive and dysfunctional learning environment. Heart, feelings, and mind are the roots of our humanity, and so any curriculum that neglects any of the roots will need a back-to-the-roots "radical" reconstruction. When the emphasis in education is on imbibing and regurgitating decontextualized facts, heart and feeling are missing. So, for that matter, is mind in the sense of a rounded and humane intelligence.
Delete#4 Springsteen, Little Feat, Warren Zevon, Neil Young... some of my favorites. Yours? What about any of the other musicians mentioned in Anderson's ch9?
ReplyDeleteI enjoy some music of Springsteen, Madonna, Joan Jett, Tracey Chapman. I very much enjoyed reading this chapter. The idea of moving or being in motion intrigues me. The idea of traveling the country or the world is a popular one in our culture, even with retirees. Age doesn't seem to matter. Americans like to be on the go. Literally and figuratively. I love being at home but traveling and movement invigorated me. I don't enjoy standing still for too long in my life. I want change and growth, while embracing the familiar. I believe there's so much more I could learn if I was financially and situational able to travel. I long for that. To learn more about the people in my country. To help them share their stories.
"Moving forward" is a phrase to be taken both literally and figuratively in a positive vein. The original peripatetics in philosophy followed Aristotle around the Lyceum. Nowadays people are more likely to mean, by that word, people with lots of frequent flyer miles. Either way, American philosophy and culture both endorse the idea of moving, looking around, seeing new vistas and old from different perspectives. Sedentary folk tend to get stuck in their views, and their thinking. They tend to be less open to hearing others' stories.
DeleteOR they live vicariously through other people, which tends to be an over step if you have ever encountered someone like this. But, I do agree. Humans are meant to roam and learn, it is just part of who we are. There are various things in the world to be discovered and even re-discovered from a different angle. Traveling and getting to learn the world I live in is a great opportunity that people tend to forget and act upon. It doesn't even have to be traveling to different country, referring back to the wildness part of Anderson's book, going for a hike or a walk on one of the greenways is still traveling and getting out of the everyday normal.
Delete"Take a walk on the wild side" doesn't just mean an urban jungle.
Delete#20 Should students be more thoroughly introduced to "the experience of others," especially accomplished others in our cultural past, via the reading and study of biography? 188-9 Do you recall being impacted in school by a famous or accomplished person's biography? If so, who and how?
ReplyDeleteYes. Biographical histories can teach us much. As well as be entertaining. Although I tend to be more of a magazine reader than a book reader, I find it interesting to hear or read another's life stories. I have several biographies and autobiographies on my bookshelf.... just waiting for the time to read them.
Students of all ages would benefit from learning about the people in history who have made and are making differences in our world. I even believe bios about criminals like Hitler would make good "textbooks" for mature students to learn and understand, then discuss, in hopes that crimes and hatred like his do not get repeated. Biographies are easy to find. And applicable for all ages. I even own some board book bios for my 9 month old granddaughter. It's never to early or too late to start learning about people deemed important in our world.
In high school, I discovered an autobiography by Guy Doud, who won 1986 National Teacher of the Year (www.guydoud.com). He wrote, "Molder of Dreams," stories about people who influenced his life. I devoured that book then read it again and again. It sparked a desire in me to write down all the people who'd ever made a difference in my life and to be somebody who would make a positive difference in the lives of others. That's back when I was 15 or 16 years old. This is just one example.
In about the 4th or 5th grade I read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X": what an eye-opener! Nothing in my experience to that point remotely resembled that of young Malcolm Little. For the first time I grasped the world's rich plurality as well as its inequities and injustices, and some of the circumstances that lead people's lives in different directions.
DeleteMuch later I read Will Durant's "Story of Philosophy," a collection of intellectual biographies of the great philosophers. I was hooked. A series of bios of William James, most recently Robert Richardson's, gave me a richer context in which to understand his ideas.
Van Wyck Brooks's "The Flowering of New England" introduced me to Emerson and Thoreau et al.
Alfred Kazin's "On Native Grounds" made me want to dive deeper into the library of America (and the Library of America, the most handsome collection of those classics).
Doris Kearns Goodwin's bios of the Roosevelts, LBJ, and others has been a political education.
Reading fictional lives has also extended my appreciation of the possibilities and complexities of human nature. Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe is more real to me than a lot of "real" people.
So to answer my question: Yes, emphatically: introduce young people to the lives of our peers and predecessors through the best biographical and autobiographical writing.
(I keep coming across praise for U.S. Grant's memoirs, guess I'd better get to it.)
I haven't listened to any philosophy podcasts but I found this link to a list of podcasts hosted by women or discussing women in philosophy.
ReplyDeletehttps://blog.apaonline.org/2021/08/25/select-philosophy-podcasts-co-hosted-by-women-a-listicle/?amp
Ellie Anderson on the Overthink podcast is very good.
Delete"You have the people of the book, which is the East Coast, and the people of the screen, which is the West Coast." 469 Are we all people of the screen now, even the relative few of us who still read for pleasure and enlightenment? Is my "Save the book" bumper sticker promoting a lost cause? (NOTE: I own, borrow, and read lots of books on my kindle, but a culture of the screen is one which seems to place less value on the word than the image. Are we there yet, or headed there?)
ReplyDeleteI am also a voracious reader, mostly for pleasure. Reading is how I take my "moral holidays". I have a KU subscription and I make sure I get my money's worth for sure!
Last fall I took the Medieval Manuscripts and Renaissance Book MALA course, and learned a lot about the history of the written word. We had a great discussion one day about what we thought the future of books would look like.
Books and home libraries used to be a status symbol, a way to show off wealth. I think that we will go back to that with the rise of digital media. I've seen an increase in special editions for books, customer funded campaigns to release extra special editions. I think we'll go back to making a physical book something beyond the words typed on a page. Its really exciting to see, I love that we seem to be going back to make books works of art.
I hope you're right.
DeleteI'm always saddened to visit a home without books, no matter how elegantly appointed it may otherwise be. "Books do furnish a room"...
...and a mind, and a life.
DeleteI am currently listening to the Women for Harris zoom call (the one that was Monday at 6) and I think it is really well timed that we're looking at women in american philosophy this week. Its been a humbling experience, listening to the stories and the reasons why women are banding together to support the Harris 2024 campaign. Its been interesting to see how quickly people have joined together under this banner, and it gives me hope for the future. There's a lot of Historic moments in this election, and for once I am feeling really excited to witness them.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers are staggering, there's over 120,000 on the call. That does not include people like me that are watching on someone's TikTok live. The speakers are diverse, from a woman in her 80s to a woman that graduated high school in May. There's a massive sense of unity, and I am excited to see what women will do.
The loudest women lately have been the Marsha Blackburns and Lauren Boeberts and MTGs et al, maybe we're about to hear from their betters.
Delete"...the only solution [is] better educated citizens... dedicated to 'the common good.'" 482 True? Likely?
ReplyDeleteI think this is true, but I may be a little biased. I think that you can never be too educated, more information will only help us as a society. But its not enough to have the education, there needs to be a direction or a guide for what to do with that education. Its not enough to have the information to solve a problem, you have to want to seek the solution and then follow through.
I do think it's possible to be "too educated," too scholastic, when the book learning isn't accompanied by emotional intelligence, interpersonal wisdom, and empathetic humanism. Such people haven't heeded Mark Twain: "never let your schooling interfere with your education." As you suggest, knowledge-as-factual information is inadequate. Wisdom is knowing what to do with and about the information, for the amelioration of life.
DeleteWhat can be done to rectify the situation in which "the majority of our high school students arrive at college with no conception of what philosophers do or why [they] do it"? 166
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience, philosophy courses can only be taken as electives. Normally advisors will recommend this style of course if it aligns with a personal interest or a future college degree. In my district, philosophy topics were not included in any core courses. So, it was not required for most students. Though, I believe philosophy should be introduced at some point in the high school curriculum. These topics could be implemented into a core course, in an introductory way. Such as: English, history, or any liberal arts course. This way, students are able to get a taste of the topics. Ultimately, it would spark an interest in many more students, who would have never thought to take a philosophy course in the past.
As I've said before, I think it should be introduced in a rudimentary and age-appropriate way in the earliest days of schooling. Ideally it would be introduced by parents and caregivers even before then. Just talk to kids, stimulate their curiosity and their questions, don't shut them down. It's never too early to seek wisdom.
DeletePhilosophy at MTSU does fulfill Gen Ed requirements in the humanities. Being "elective" is not the same as being peripheral or marginal.
#19
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have heard about the primary, middle, and secondary schooling in the US, is that there is a disconnect in the curriculum taught throughout various regions and types of schools (by types I mean public, private, catholic…). I think the curriculum should be the same at least statewide. When it comes to teaching, the curriculum is used as the rulebook because it is always referenced to and the basis of any class. I believe without a consistent curriculum; teachers cannot consistently teach no matter what their education looks like. Not to say that the teacher education programs do not need to change, because I definitely think they do. Also, I am not solely going off personal opinion because I did grow up in the American educational system. However, a few of my teammates were and currently are enrolled in education programs. They have voiced that there is some confusion in the teacher’s curriculum, and some have switched programs because of it.
I have noticed that there is a lot more emotions involved when teaching in the US. When growing up, each teacher had their own unique teaching style, yet every student learned the same topics no matter your teacher, school, or even city. From what I have heard, teachers seem to be given more leeway when it comes to what they speak on, and materials they use. I am not sure whether this is how the teachers are taught to do or if it is not regulated well throughout the school boards. I feel like this could be a large disconnect and something that should be addressed in the programs’ curriculum. Though, I think these issues are being talked about more often, so hopefully changes can be made incrementally.
Standard curricula should guarantee that the basics, and the facts of history (etc.) are uniformly included in every American classroom... but teachers should also be entrusted with academic freedom (subject to appropriate peer review). This has been challenged by the radical right who want to ban books and certain topics that might make some students uncomfortable about their forebears lately, at every level including the collegiate. If we value education with integrity we won't stand for it.
Delete#10
ReplyDeleteI have not personally listened to a full philosophy podcast, but I have seen philosophy videos all over social media. Some of these videos are made by the podcaster to promote their podcast. Some videos are explanations of a theory mentioned in their podcast. Sometimes they are created by the podcaster themselves, so they can provide more of an explanation. Other times, creators come across a video and add their input on a theory. I really like watching these videos because you get a taste of several theories. These videos are easily digestible to the audience, which gets you thinking. This is why the comment sections are full of discussions. I enjoy this part, as well, because you can see theories and opinions from any angle. This helps to widen the perspective of the audience and the creator. One day, I will sit down and find an intriguing philosophy podcast to listen to. Until then, I will be listening to philosophy through social media.