it used to be when you turned 60, you could go to university for free. a wonderful tradition and one that, i’m sure, didn’t cost the university very much at all. and then one day … well, read on. this is a letter to the editor by my friend ruth. on january 1, 2008, i… Continue reading blogathon: what happened to SFU’s seniors’ program??
Category: philosophy and education
josh waitzkin, an inspiring performer
the everyday becomes exquisitely beautiful. the notion of boredom becomes alien and absurd as we naturally soak in the lovely subtleties of the “banal.” josh waitzkin this quote is from waitzkin’s the art of learning, a book i’ll comfortably put on my all-time top 10 books on personal development. it’s not just a “good” book.… Continue reading josh waitzkin, an inspiring performer
albert schweitzer: reverence for life
the other day i found a little post on resonant enigma’s about reverence. these words here are inspired by this; in fact, it’s a slightly rewritten excerpt of a paper i wrote quite a few years ago in a course on environmental philosophy. here it is: my great-aunt mathilde had lots of books, but two… Continue reading albert schweitzer: reverence for life
unexamined belief: spiritual atheism?
here, finally, is the continuation of my conversation with jan about spirituality and atheism. says jan: well, really, how could mulder [from the X-files] possibly have believed in UFOs? something for which there is no tangible proof. he would have had to believe simply on the basis of … faith. that would be silly. believe… Continue reading unexamined belief: spiritual atheism?
creativity blocks, metaphysics and individuality
in our last conversation about creativity, jeremy from PsyBlogs talks about the difference between “chaotic” and “ordered” creatives and then moves on to discuss creative blocks. recently, i came across a doctoral thesis in divinity that talks about the connection between chaos, creativity and spirituality. kurt sander from northern kentucky university points out the important… Continue reading creativity blocks, metaphysics and individuality
6 kinds of love
valentine’s day tomorrow. let’s talk about love. but what kind of love? we’re all familiar with eros – the heady, emotional high of romance, sexual love and infatuation. it makes the world go round; or, more specifically, it twirls the world in a spin. agape (pron. ah-gah-pay) is another type of love people often talk… Continue reading 6 kinds of love
wordless wednesday with a twist
some of you have already made the acquaintance of my wonderful friend tina. i’ve rarely met someone so full of fire, fun and creativity. tina is working on a book project. until about 10 years ago or so, tina couldn’t read. it’s not because she’s stupid. far from it. she just experiences the world a… Continue reading wordless wednesday with a twist
two types of guilt
yesterday i started presenting joyce trebilcot’s dyke ideas, where she talks, among other things, about guilt. the topic yesterday was identity guilt, the type of guilt we can feel for who we are. trebilcot contrasts this with “official guilt”: what i call official or polite guilt stems from some particular violation of laws or rules… Continue reading two types of guilt
identity guilt and oppression
i just spent a little time reading through joyce trebilcot’s dyke ideas, a “passionate and insightful contribution to lesbian philosophy.” seeing that a little while ago we had an interesting discussion on guilt here on this blog, her thoughts on “identity guilt” and “official guilt” were particularly interesting. what i here call identity guilt is… Continue reading identity guilt and oppression
transformative learning: making the world a better place
i’m really taking you guys for a ride here. compassion, families, spamming buddhists – and now a little bit of educational research. i guess in my minds it all hangs together: it’s all about how people make a better life for themselves, and a better world for everyone. so … today we have part three… Continue reading transformative learning: making the world a better place