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 […]
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.
The Science and Philosophy Of Love Read More »
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
Daniel Dennett On Spirituality Read More »
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
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
Bell Hooks and Gay Marriage: My Response Read More »
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
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
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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
Cornel West at John Jay College Read More »
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
Young African Genius and Thoughts on Prodigies Read More »
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
Bertrand Russell and the 10 Commandments of Teaching and Living Read More »