Category: ethics

• June 9, 2011

  On the lectio divina

  In the Middle Ages, the lectio divina was the art of reading Scripture slowly and contemplatively. It was a gustatory experience if not also an experience in attunement. Still in Montaigne’s time, books were to be sat with, chewed on, mulled over, and taken in. Now, books are packets of information: Our eyes do the…
• June 8, 2011

  Count no man happy until he has died

  A friend of mine came to New York to interview for a fellowship. I hadn’t seen her in 6 years. After she left just now, I was left with the clearest of impressions: A person is not a block of wood but an organism that grows, flourishes, or wilts. Literature is vital for understanding the…
• June 7, 2011

  Bringing on the future: A follow-up

  A strange discussion ensued after commentators read Dougald’s post, “Bringing on the Future.” In his defense, I wrote the following: I could speculate about the misunderstandings and the miscommunications, but in the end such armchair thoughts would only amount to musings and conjectures. What struck me in what I read, though, was the extent to which…
• June 4, 2011

  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.” “…”
• June 3, 2011

  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…