Category: philosophical counseling
-
On legitimacy and financial stability
Financial Stability In response to my Inside Higher Ed piece, “Models for Post-University Life,” one sharp poster named Minal wrote, This is a great article, but I have 2 follow-up questions: 1. Can you give us some non-academic examples? Perhaps intellectuals (writers/medical professionals, etc.) who fit in the 3rd category? 2. How does the Person…
-
Letting go of anger
Goals Moderate: The goal is not to manage anger; it is to make anger subside. Stringent: The goal is not to cope with anger; it is to ensure that anger doesn’t arise. What is Anger? Anger is the belief that someone has (1) deliberately harmed you and (2) that retaliation (in thought or deed) is…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 