Today I’m happy to introduce a new weekly feature for the blog: Philosopher vs. Priest. This is an idea that Fr. Jimmy and I have worked on in the past, but we’ve brought it back in a new form here for Philosophy Matters. Each week, I will present Jimmy questions about the readings for that… Continue reading Philosopher vs. Priest: God As Shepherd
Category: Philosophy
Film Friday: Man on the Moon – Madness, Illness, and Genius
“There is no great genius without a mixture of madness” – Aristotle JJ: This week, we watched , which featured Jim Carey’s portrayal of Andy Kaufman. I’m an Andy Kaufman fanatic, and I was so happy to get to share this with someone who wasn’t familiar with Kaufman. From the outside, Andy Kaufman can seem… Continue reading Film Friday: Man on the Moon – Madness, Illness, and Genius
Is struggle necessary for happiness?
A passing comment on Twitter recently started an interesting conversation about how a person can achieve true happiness and peace of mind in life. In religious discussions, the presence of evil in the world despite the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present God is often reconciled by arguing that evil is necessary. In other… Continue reading Is struggle necessary for happiness?
Film Friday: When Harry Met Sally – Why Women Fake Orgasms
Today I’m happy to announce a new regular posting on Philosophy Matters: Film Friday (yes, I like alliteration!). Each week at Philosophy Matters, we will be watching a movie and thinking about it philosophically. This week, LKAwesome selected “When Harry Met Sally,” which I had surprisingly never seen before! The following entry is a collaboration… Continue reading Film Friday: When Harry Met Sally – Why Women Fake Orgasms
The Jetsons: Work in the Modern World
“George Jetson: age 34, is a loving family man who always seems to make the wrong decision. He works ‘full-time,’ 9 hours a week, at Spacely’s Sprockets as a computer engineer.” – Wikipedia For me, one of the most interesting “predictions,” so to speak, from the TV show the Jetsons, was the idea that George… Continue reading The Jetsons: Work in the Modern World
On Democracy and Raise Your Pints
I recently got to visit Mississippi’s first brewery, Lazy Magnolia, shortly after some significant changes to the Mississippi beer law went into effect. First, the alcohol limit for beer increased to 10% ABV. However, another big change is that breweries are now allowed to give samples of their beer at the brewery, and thus during tours of the… Continue reading On Democracy and Raise Your Pints
Chronic What? Cles of Jernia: More on Play
I’m not entirely sure that there is any way to put into words the magic, transformative experience that was this year’s Mississippi Governor’s School (MGS) session, but if there is a way, it must be through getting to know Jernia, the blue elephant. Jernia first appeared while me and another faculty member, Lea, were preparing… Continue reading Chronic What? Cles of Jernia: More on Play
Moral Monday: Going to Camp
I’m back from my hiatus teaching at Mississippi Governor’s School for three weeks. I had even less time to work on this blog than I thought I would, but the process of being there was amazing and life-changing, and is something I plan to write more about soon. This particular dilemma seemed appropriate in light… Continue reading Moral Monday: Going to Camp
Radiohead and Philosophy: On Rhetoric
To get started, check out the music video below, done by Radiohead in collaboration with Project EXIT: In I wrote about the way that this video utilizes rhetoric – a combination of logos (logic), pathos (passion), and ethos (ethics, or reputation). Let’s dig a little deeper into ways we could analyze the argument against child… Continue reading Radiohead and Philosophy: On Rhetoric
Moral Mondays: The Spam
You are the network administrator for a rather large company. You have a young family and need your job to support them. As part of your responsibility as a network administrator is to monitor the emails for the organization. Usually this just means occasionally allow through emails for staff members that have been accidentally blocked… Continue reading Moral Mondays: The Spam