Chapter 5 In Chapter 5, Lanham attempts to highlight the two different ways of seeing once again, through an at or through form of attention. Focusing in one way tends to mean we don’t focus in the other way. For example, Lanham gives the research who specializes in a topic, and can even teach that topic well, but struggles to put… Continue reading Economics of Attention Ch 5-8
Category: Rhetoric
Economics of Attention Ch4: An Alphabet that Thinks
Back to Chapter 3. I know you’re wondering about the image. I’ll get there! In this chapter, Lanham explains that ebooks have almost entirely attempted to simply reproduce print books. This is so much the case, that often the ebooks you find for sale are just PDF copies of the original book. Why would… Continue reading Economics of Attention Ch4: An Alphabet that Thinks
Economics of Attention Ch3: What’s Next for Text
Back to chapter 2. The third chapter of Economics of Attention is where things start to get really interesting, at least for my interests. Lanham traces the evolution of text in an attempt to understand how it’s been used to convey meaning in ways that are beyond the actual meaning of the words. These… Continue reading Economics of Attention Ch3: What’s Next for Text
Economics of Attention Chapter 2
Back to Chapter 1. This chapter explores the art of Warhol and the Dada Movement as part of its argument that {fluff,style,rhetoric} has made a come back and is equally, if not more important than actual stuff: “The lesson was simple and, once learned, tedious. Art is not stuff made out of stuff taken from the earth’s… Continue reading Economics of Attention Chapter 2
Economics of Attention: Chapter 1
Back to introduction. The preface and first chapter of [amazon_link id=”0226468674″ target=”_blank” ]Economics of Attention[/amazon_link] attempt to set the stage for what is to come. The author tells us that this book is written to answer the narrow question: “What happens when words move from printed page to electronic screen?” The answer, it turns out, is… Continue reading Economics of Attention: Chapter 1
Jesus vs. Socrates
vs. John Durham Peters writes in [amazon_link id=”0226662772″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Speaking Into Thin Air[/amazon_link] Socrates and Jesus represent two contrasting but enduring models of communication. Jesus serves as a model for dissemination, while Socrates models dialogue, which Peters claims has been widely accepted as the superior method. Socrates Socrates is well known for his… Continue reading Jesus vs. Socrates
The Difficulty With Discussing Gun Control
Let me state up front that I’m a moderate on this issue – I don’t own guns, but I also don’t believe they should be entirely banned. Also, I’m not making any claim to know exactly what the correct answer is in this debate. The real problem with discussing the issue of gun control is… Continue reading The Difficulty With Discussing Gun Control
Meme Analysis: Columbine Student’s Father 12 Years Later !!
Facebook Memes, Information Overload, and Religion in the Classroom Normally, I just don’t pay much attention to ridiculous memes on Facebook, and scroll past them with a “to each his own” attitude. However, a recent meme, in combination with a discussion that I had with fellow Philosophy Matters author, b0t, has gotten me thinking a… Continue reading Meme Analysis: Columbine Student’s Father 12 Years Later !!
On Disagreeing
A friend of Philosophy Matters recently linked me to an interesting article discussing new funding opportunities for philosophers researching some of the “Big Questions.” Research funding for philosophers is something that has, essentially, never happened before. Now multi-million dollar grants are being awarded for looking at questions regarding free will and immortality. First and foremost, I’m thrilled… Continue reading On Disagreeing
Radiohead and Philosophy: On Rhetoric
To get started, check out the music video below, done by Radiohead in collaboration with Project EXIT: In [amazon_link id=”0812696646″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Radiohead and Philosophy[/amazon_link] 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… Continue reading Radiohead and Philosophy: On Rhetoric