Category: ethics

• 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 1, 2011

  On philosophical counseling and Willy Wonka

  This past summer, I was having lunch with a friend of mine. Over fish tacos, he asked me what reason I had to believe that I could work with end-of-life conversation partners. How did I know that I could bring them peace of mind? I told him I did not know, and my intuition was that…
• 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,…
• March 28, 2011

  On smoking

  My toes, I imagine, are wound round the chipped balcony bars. I’m sitting somewhat uncomfortably on the wooden chair painted a Mediterranean yellow and wobbly. I’m trying to be still, this morning time, to take in the scene all at once or in bits, but I’m chilled by the early spring, the sea breeze, the…