Author: mcherry

Fun at Free University

I had a great time at Free University this weekend. Free university is an organization committed to offering free and open education in parks and public spaces. Sessions are taught by activists, experts, and professors. Saturday’s event was held in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem on the theme “Assata Shakur’s Legacy & Lives of Resistance”. […]

Do Racists Have A Right To Be Heard?

In the annual Runnymede Race Debate our panel debate the limits of free speech. Speakers: Sunder Katwala, director, British Future; Catherine Fieschi, director, Counterpoint; Nigel Warburton, philosopher and author of Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction; and Kirsty Hughes, chief executive, Index on Censorship

Diversity In Philosophy Conference

Myself along with others Members of The Society of Young Black Philosophers (Quayshawn Spencer and Luvell Anderson) presented at the Diversity In Philosophy Conference on the Status of Blacks in Philosophy. It took place at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Our presentation was well received. I learned so much, met some great people, and […]

Angela Davis Speaks at the University of Chicago (VIDEO)

Angela Davis recently spoke at the University of Chicago for the CSRPC Annual Public Lecture and CSGS Classics in Feminist Theory Series. Her Lecture was entitled Feminism and Abolition: Theories and Practices for the 21st Century. Check out the video below.

Who Invented Writing?

As I am sitting here doing my morning writing and internet surfing, I came across a cool video. Matthew Winkler, author of The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters and Editors, takes us on a historical journey to answer the question: Who Invented Writing in this TEDed animated video. His answer may surprise you.

A Theory of Justice: A Very funny & Accurate Online Musical

Can you believe it? Some folks got together and decided to do a musical about Rawls’ political philosophy treatise, “A theory of Justice”. Yes, there actually is a musical filled with melodies about the veil of ignorance, the original position, and principles of justice. It bought me back to the day when my colleague Sophia Wong played a Rawls […]

My New Article: “Gays and the Myth Of The Christian Minority”

I have a new article at the Huffington Post called “Gays and the Myth of The Christian Minority”. In it I argue that the so-called persecution of Christians who oppose homosexuality is a myth. Not only do I critique this claim but I also offer up reasons for why this is a good time for […]

Have a good summer Philosophy 62

It’s been real and its been fun. I enjoyed your hard work, enthusiasm, sense of humor and insight you bought to the course. Have a great summer and don’t act awkward if we bump into each other next semester. 🙂

Philosophy For Everyone

The folks at Public Philosophy Network in New York City has a cool conversation series happening on the East Side. They are bringing philosophy to the public, the way it’s suppose to be. Check out the schedule below for some interesting topics. Then go to the bar with an open mind and talk/think your heart […]

My Event on “Collateral Consequences of Imprisonment” 4/24/13

The United States imprisons more people than any other nation in the world. An estimated 700,000 people are released from prison in the United States every year. Where do they all go? How do they imagine their lives? How do they find employment, housing, education and reunite with their families? Please join The Institute for […]

Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners

I’ve written so many posts on Angela Davis that I don’t know where to start. I respect her intellectually and always admire her passion to refuse to allow knowledges to stay within the ivory tower but to see it in the world through activism. There is a new documentary film about her in theaters NOW […]

Beyond The Bars

I had the opportunity to attend the Beyond The Bars Criminal Justice Conference at Columbia University this weekend. The weekend event kicked off Friday night with a lecture by Angela Davis and Marc Lamont Hill. Saturday, was a host of panels that were both informative and inspiring. I truly enjoyed the “Alternatives to Punishment Paradigm” […]

Writing Advice In The Palm of Your Hand (Literally)

This is pretty amazing. The People at Shared Worlds created a project called Hand In Hand. People working on the project asked fiction writers to scribble writing advice on their hands. This is what they came up with.

(If)Richard Dawkins Dies and Talks to God

Filmmaker Kevin R. Breen created a video called “Richard Dawkins Dies” which is “a delightfully South-Park-esque confrontation between Dawkins and God as the two engage in a smack-down at the heart of the creationism vs. evolution quasi-debate”, according to BrainPickings. Now the video is South-Park-esque, so that means it has profanity and could be perceived […]

The Politics of Emotional Dismissal

I have a new Op-Ed in the Huffington post this week called “The Politics of Emotional Dismissal”. Here’s an excerpt below. Check out the full article here and leave a comment on the site if you can. Let me preface: This is not a man-bashing reflection. What I am arguing is that anger has its […]

Your Inner Guru

Its Sunday and that means I am doing nothing but watching NetFlix. However, while being lazy I think I just saw one of the best documentaries with the best messages Ive seen in a while. I do not want to give it away here. The film is called Kumare. You can check out the trailer […]

The Power of Criticism

A lot of us hate to be criticized. No one likes to be told that their idea sucks or they are not living up to their potential, that they are not doing what they are suppose to, or they are not as good as they thought they were. Criticism can hurt and scar you if […]

R-Kelly and Descartes (Stuff My Philosophy Students Say)

** I was given permission by my student to retell the following story. So in my intro to philosophy course at LIU we just finished wrappng up personal identity. For a few sections we compared physicalism (which says that we are only a body) and dualism (which believes we are made up of a body […]

Detective Philosopher: A Short Lesson On Clarity (Humor)

They say, “you can take the woman out of philosophy but you cant take philosophy out of the woman.” (I dont know who said this, but someone said it). Philosophers are not only obsessed with questions but also with clarity and when and where our  obsessions comes out is not restricted to spaces of academia […]

One Sentence: A Few Thoughts on Wittgenstein, Russell, & Writing

I’m always striving to be a better writer. There are so many thoughts in my head and the challenge is to get them out in a concise, clear manner and not to tackle too much at a time. I also struggle with being creative at the risk of not conforming to the standards of philosophical […]

On Anger

One of my favorite research interests are the moral emotions specifically what Marilyn Frye calls “righteous anger” in “A Note On Anger”. I think that there is something valuable about moral anger. For example, it can be a strong motivation in the pursuit of justice and it can be an expression of self-respect. However, thousands of […]

The Science and Philosophy Of Love

Plato was contemplating love over 2500 years ago in The Symposium and Phaedrus. Today, philosophers like Irvin Singer, Kolodny, and Alan Soble are sitting in their arm chairs still wrapping their philosophical brains around the idea. I mean, love is complex!! At times these philosophers disagree with each other on the subject but scientists don’t. […]

Daniel Dennett On Spirituality

My students have been discussing Daniel Dennett’s “Where Am I” in class. We have just switched from ethics into metaphysics/philosophy of mind. The funny thing is, I don’t think they were expecting the dramatic switch and some assumed, by the reading, that we were switching into Science Fiction. The questions I’ve been getting via email […]

Diet Racism

It seems that people are all the rage about the Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial. Some feel that the white imitation of Jamaican dialect is racist. I think I hold Kamau Bell’s view of it here

Bell Hooks and Gay Marriage: My Response

My Response: Let me just say I love bell hooks. I think she is an excellent writer and a brilliant thinker. It’s nice to hear her voice once again in the public debate. It does appear that she has her criticisms about marriage. Sentence one had me very much intrigued. I wish she would of […]

Class Pictures

Well another semester is about to begin. As I try to get motivated to start another one and get off this couch, here’s a look back at my brilliant and full of personality students from Fall 2012. St Johns Ethics John Jay Ethics and Law John Jay Intro philosophy LIU Intro York Intro Prison Debate

The Central Park Five

I had the chance to go to a film screening of the Central Park Five. The event was followed by a Q and A by three of the now grown men who were falsely accused as teenagers. The film made me cry, angry, but then proud. Our criminal justice system needs to be transformed, the […]

Cornel West at John Jay College

Cornel West, Immortal Technique, and Khalil Muhammad came to our school to share information with our students. The discussion ranged from justice work to mass incarceration. My students enjoyed it and were greatly inspired. Much respect to the students of John Jay who invited the guests and organized the event by themselves. The next few […]

Young African Genius and Thoughts on Prodigies

I am very intrigued by geniuses and prodigies. My favorite movies are Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and embarrassingly Weird Science. Some of my favorite philosophers I consider geniuses: Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, and Kierkegaard. One of my favorite works by Kant is his universal idea where in thesis 4 he credits the “unsocial sociability” of man […]

Bertrand Russell and the 10 Commandments of Teaching and Living

I love Bertrand Russell. Not only do I think he was a brilliant mind who lived a very very very long philosophical life, I also think that he was pretty cool. Like OG cool. His suits, that cigar, and that critical mind of his…cool Russell. Heres a little message from Betrand Russell called the 10 […]

The Science of Procrastination

We’ve all done it. What you may ask? Hold on, I will tell you later…. Ok, we are back. Sorry about procrastinating. Hey we all do it. I consider myself an academic planner but I do at times procrastinate about reading, writing, grading papers, blogging here, calling such and such, responding to that email, etc. […]

Cornel West and Tavis Smiley After the Election

Cornel West and Tavis Smiley appeared on Democracy Now yesterday to discuss the election. Here are a few responses. The question is, are these critiques dead on or simply too harsh? On money spent on the election and Obama in blackface… “I think that it’s morally obscene and spiritually profane to spend $6 billion on […]

Obama Wins and His Anger Translator Celebrates

Here is some funny. Obama has been re-elected. Ok that’s not the funny part. That’s the “thank god, all fairies, and the stars and the moons because I was nervous” part. The funny part is Key and Peele or should I say Obama and his anger translator, Luther. They celebrated last night by doing the […]