In lieu of class this evening

Since UAA is closed because of the earthquake in lieu of class you can check the videos from the two sessions of my Introduction to Philosophy course that met this week. Here is the note from the Monday class Today we discussed William James and Pragmatism. The video is posted here. The quiz question was how does the pragmatist theory of truth - that truth evolves - fit with how you think of truth? and here is the note from Wednesday class: we discussed John Dewey and education. The video is posted here. The quiz question was who do you think influenced our democracy more, the Greeks or the Romans?

Early Modern Philosophy

Today we discussed Daniel Dennett and the Brights. The video is posted here. The quiz question was do you think having a higher education leads to taking a particular political side?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 27

Today we discussed John Dewey and education. The video is posted here. The quiz question was who do you think influenced our democracy more, the Greeks or the Romans?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 26

Today we discussed Contemporary Monotheism as a way to introduce many of those involved in current discourse on the topic. The video is posted here. The quiz question was what do you think of my isdentifying atheism as a religion?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 25

Today we discussed William James and Pragmatism. The video is posted here. The quiz question was how does the pragmatist theory of truth - that truth evolves - fit with how you think of truth?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 24

Today we discussed Richard Rorty. The video is posted here and here. The quiz question was how would you deal with the problem of the welfare state?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 24

The quiz question then was how do youo deal with the lack of connnection we have in modern society to the earth? Today we talked about Arendt and Scruton. The video is posted here.

Friday evening Introduction to Philosophy

I made three videos this evening because of a change in batteries. They are posted here, here, and the last half here. The first half was focused on Kant and his revolution leading to today where we consider the language we speak as the filter for how we think. Lera is a great example in her Ted Talk. The first quiz then was how do you think this tool enables us to understand many of the issues we face today? The second half of class was focused on Arendt and the issue of our intuition of good and evil. Scruton is mentioned again - since I really like what he says - and his discussion of our connection to beauty in the world. We also talked about the Native Language conference in Juneau this last week as part of this. The second quiz question then was how do youo deal with the lack of connnection we have in modern society to the earth?

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Sorry I got behind in posting notes but GCI was mean to me at the end of our billing month. They wanted more money and I said no. In any case, Tuesday in Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Alasdair MacIntyre and John Rawls. These are two further examples of Historians of Thought but each with a specialty. MacIntyre - ethics, and Rawls Law. Thursday we discussed Quine and some of his accomplishments. Videos are posted here and here. Though the battery went early on the first one. The quiz question on the first was Should we be pissed that there are no women allowed in the drinking clubs at Harvard? and the second was why would the death of Carrol Hofstadter be so sad (not just for Douglas but for those reading Le Ton Beau de Marot?). For Introduction to Philosophy on Wednesday we discussed Immanuel Kant again this time focusing on Lera Bororditsky's Ted talk about how language affects our thought and the video is posted here. By the way, her TED talk is posted here. The quiz question was how does this awareness of how language influences differences - even in sublanguages for groups - help us understand differences in important isses today?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 22

Today we discussed Existentialism. The video is posted here. The quiz question was what is the metanarrative you have chosen to believe?

Friday evening Introduction to Philosophy

Friday evening for the first half of class we discussed Identity using Appiah as our start. The quiz question was do you think when you use Google to do research it leads you to information you already liked before or does it show you contrary views? The video is posted here and a second here. The second half of class was not recorded because the camera was still uploading the first half. We discussed Kierkegaard and Existentialism. The quiz question was really interesting and came out of the discussion we were having but at the moment I can't remember what it was. Update - seems the quiz question was what do we have in common as Americans?

Wednesday and Thursday

On Wednesday in Introduction to Philosophy we discussed Identity. The video is posted here. The quiz question was when you use Google to do research does it lead you to things that already support your position or do you think it shows contrary points of view as well? For Thursday in Early Modern Philosophy we discussed Berlin and others that do History of Thought. The video is posted here. The quiz question was why did Taylor win the Templeton Prize?

Early Modern Philosophy lecture 21

Today we discussed Dewey, Russell, and Wittgenstein. The video is posted here with a second video after a bty change here. The quiz question was where in NOrway did Wittgenstein have his cabin?

Introduction to Philosophy lecture 20

Today we talked about Nietzsche's thesis that God is Dead. The video is posted here. The quiz question was who did God promise the land to?

Introduction to Philosophy Friday evening

This evening we started with the Post Aristotelians and dicussed the Cynics, Epicurus, Stpoics, and Skeptics. Then advanced to Descartes and Cartesian doubt. The quiz question was what is wrong with the homunculous theory? There was no video since I forgot to bring the camera. The second half we discussed Nietzsche's death of God theory. The quiz question was how does Einstein explain Gravity?

Early Modern Philosophy Thursday

Thursday we discussed phenomenology and Husserel. The video is posted here. The quiz question was how does Einstein explain Gravity?

Introduction to {hilosophy lecture 20

The video was short since the batteries died but it is posted here. Today we talked about Epicurus (and some other post Aristotelians) and a bit on Descartes. The quiz question was what is the main problem with the concept of the homunculous?