Month: June 2011
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Toward a tentative theory of new ideas (on the need for thinking during a period of collapse)
Thinking takes on new urgency during a period of collapse. Dougald and I both believe that we’re living through such a period, and he reminded me of this when in his recent post he wrote, Why this should be so [that is to say, why ideas are returning today with a freshness and immediacy] becomes…
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A philosopher is neither a professional nor a therapist nor a life coach
“So what do you do for a living?” “I’m a philosopher.” “So where do you teach?” “I don’t teach at a university. I work with individuals on meaning and value of life questions.” “You mean you’re a therapist?” “No, we write letters, take walks, drink wine, discuss ultimate values.” “Kinda like a life coach.” “…”
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Ivan Illich on friendship as conspiracy
Notes on Illich’s “Cultivation of Conspiracy” Upon receiving the Culture and Peace Prize of Bremen on March 14, 1998, Ivan Illich reflected on the nature of friendship. “You never know,” he told his friends, “what will nurture the spirit of philia, while you can be certain what will stifle it. Spirit emerges by surprise, and…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 