Category: education

• April 5, 2011

  On speculative philosophical biography

  The strange thing about philosophy is that it is supposed to be lived or, if not lived, then livable. I call this “strange” because no one would say that a biologist should live biology or a surgeon live surgery. But for a philosopher not to live philosophically seems a contradiction in terms. At least that…
• April 4, 2011

  Eric Gill on holy work

  A synthesis of the thought of Eric Gill (1882-1940), sculptor, stone mason, wooden engraver: Of holiness. To work is to worship. Of the nature of man. Every man is a kind of artist (=craftsman) Of the nature of work. “Art is skill in making; the good work is the skilful work.” — Excerpts from A Holy Tradition of…
• April 3, 2011

  Time to rethink the concept of ‘higher education’?

  Professor X* reviews the state of higher education 2 years after his well-read Atlantic expose. A few choice bits: The university experience in the 1970s: “My pursuit was rather solipsistic and no doubt shortsighted but harmless–a solitary pastime, like collecting penguin figurines or breeding orchids.” The university experience the 2000s: College now “was a place where…
• March 31, 2011

  A professor’s life: A picture book

  Here is a picture of a university: Pretty I think. (Princeton, for the curious among you.) Here is a bio–rest assured: it is the abridged version–of a successful academic professional working in what was once referred to as the humanities: As one of the first translators of Jacques Derrida’s work into English, she in effect introduced…
• March 29, 2011

  On drudgery and artistry

  The book I had called up from storage was not on the pick-up shelf. It was 2 hrs. after I had made the initial request, not the 20 min. according to policy. The title of the book is The Life of Eric Gill. Today, Gill is perhaps best known for his clean, modern typefaces and fonts,…