I got a tweet this morning that warmed my Aristotelian soul. Many of my students in the Fall 2009 Ancient Philosophy course did their creative projects on Aristotle’s Four Causes. (See Physics II.3 and Metaphysics A.3.) I did have some houses, hair cuts, music recordings,and martinis. But coffee won out. I wonder why? Well, next to IN-N-OUT burgers it’s the “food group” I talk about most often.

But this illustration takes the prize.

How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee from Ben Helfen on Vimeo.

From the Telegraph UK Ben Fogle’s latest challenge: philosophy.

The discussions are expertly led, with the conversation focusing on how we can best apply ancient philosophy to our modern-day lives. Socrates, Sartre and Foucault are all cited as useful philosophers we can learn from.

There is a lavish breakfast laid out for us, which goes some way to settling any nerves we might have. The discussions are expertly led, with the conversation focusing on how we can best apply ancient philosophy to our modern-day lives. Socrates, Sartre and Foucault are all cited as useful philosophers we can learn from.

The event was part of American Express’ new Realise the Potential campaign which has been encouraging people to try new experiences and enrich their lives through learning new skills.

Philosophy is not only an interesting subject but it is invaluable in that it enables you to see your life through fresh eyes. There is a lot I am going to take away with me from this.

I hate to rain on someone’s newly found interest in philosophy, but I wonder about the approach to “philosophy” or “philosophizing” that was used. Of course, I’m partial to Socrates, the question apparently was, “How should I live my life?” But it seems as though “practical philosophy” was what they were doing. Hard to tell. I’ll monitor this for the promised updates.

From the NY Times: PTSD and war – a perspective from Sophocles.

The ancient Greeks had a shorthand for the mental anguish of war, for post-traumatic stress disorder and even for outbursts of fratricidal bloodshed like last week’s shootings at Fort Hood. They would invoke the names of mythological military heroes who battled inner demons: Achilles, consumed by the deaths of his men; Philoctetes, hollowed out from betrayals by fellow officers; Ajax, warped with so much rage that he wanted to kill his comrades.

From the NY Times:

Dogs, it seems, are Aristotelians, but with their own doggy teleology. Their goals are not only radically different from ours; they are often invisible to us. To get a better view, Horowitz proposes that we humans get down intellectually on all fours and start sniffing.

I just received info about a rally on Thursday. I’ll be there. Will you?

*WHAT*: Speak Out (in solidarity with a one-day strike of students, staff and faculty at the University of California.)
*WHEN*: Thursday, September 24th at NOON
*WHERE*: Malcolm X Plaza
*INFO*: www.ucfacultywalkout.com

*WHY:* To protest the budget cuts *AND* to show a campus presence that is ready to mobilize in larger form for next year

Today was NOCRAP day. (Northern California Readers of Ancient Philosophy) That’s the “unofficial” name. It’s really the West Coast Aristotelian Society. It was founded about 30 years ago.

We used to meet every other month at UC Berkeley and Stanford, but now we just meet at Stanford. So there!

There’s almost always a wedding at Stanford Memorial Church on our NOCRAP Saturdays. The church ss in the middle of the main quad area and a long stone’s throw from where we meet in the Classics Department.

It was a odd day, weather-wise. We had thunderstorms in the Bay Area. Not hot, not muggy, not cool. Something in between them all.

We began the afternoon by remembering our recently deceased colleague, Julius Moravcsik,  who died this past June. It is a tremendous loss for us. I shall miss my Uncle Julius.

We read through Aristotle’s Metaphysics Book Mu, chapter 8 led ably by Henry Mendell . We then moved on to chapter 9, under the capable leadership of John Malcolm (now emeritus from UC Davis). I’m on tap to do Book Nu, chapter 1. Can’t wait! It’s got lots of relatives in it! Right up my alley!

I’ve grown accustomed to thinking of Parmenides as the ultimate “cool cat”, you dig? It’s all about “What-Is”, man. You dig? In class today I mentioned bebop. But now that I think of it, he’s really much more laid back than the hard bebop cats. West Coast cool jazz all the way.

Speak Out! In Defense of Public Education from CrashofHearts on Vimeo.

Had to update the blog as the prior Wordpress version was becoming unstable. Standby.