Month: June 2015

• June 30, 2015

  Having Lives to Lead: Part 2

  In the last post, I began with a simple yet unshakable intuition, which was that you and I want to make something of ourselves, to do something with our lives. I went on to suggest that two assumptions about leading our lives and realizing ourselves are at the root of this intuition. What does this…
• June 29, 2015

  Making Something of Ourselves, Doing Something with Our Lives: Part 1

  There is an intuition that you and I both have. We want to make something of ourselves; we want to do something with our lives. It is an intuition that we cannot shake or deny without ceasing to be human beings or, at the very least, modern human beings. The intuition is based on two assumptions: one being that…
• June 27, 2015

  The Eastern View of Selfhood: Metaphysical Premises and Puzzles

  There are three basic views regarding what animates all of reality. The Eastern view insists that I = the Absolute. The Greek view avers that the human self seeks to live at its peak within the bounds of finitude. The Christian view holds that there is a transcendent being which, animating all of reality, is…
• June 26, 2015

  Money, Our Elephant in the Room: Some Reflections

  Last night, Leon Berg, a founding member of The Ojai Foundation, and I hosted a conversation at The Ojai Foundation. The title of the conversation was ‘Money: Our Elephant in the Room.’ Could there be any subject that is more taboo than that of money? Common sense tells us that money is to be used but…
• June 21, 2015

  Eloquence Training: Episode 3. Misconceptions About Eloquence

  Eloquence involves saying the right thing in the right way with a sense of ease. An eloquent person, then, is someone who often or almost always speaks eloquently. In this third episode, Alexandra and I discuss misconceptions about the nature of eloquence: that eloquence is flowery speech, charismatic speech, or scholarly discourse. We urge instead…