Greetings, ladies and gentlemen Have you noticed how, recently, a lot of people in many countries take to the streets as soon as they got some problem with the government (or someone else)? Examples: Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, the Zimmerman case. What I'm not so sure about is whether these people actually understand the situation they … Continue reading culture of protest →

South of Balbo St. (700S) and north of about were 11th St. would run if it extended across Michigan Ave. (1100E the park's western boundary), and bounded on the east by the Metra track tunnel again is an expanse of park nicely manicured but completely lacking in anywhere to sit, except (sort of) for the … Continue reading Grant Park Photo Diary – Logan Memorial statue area →

I thought I'd take a break from more highfalutin topics and start a little series about Grant Park, focusing on its statues and reading-friendly spots.  I've got about a month before school starts up again, and relatively little to do.  I live about 1/4 of a mile from the start of the park.  Walking around … Continue reading Grant Park Photo Diary →

Tonight I caught ESPN's "30 for 30" on Bo Jackson: You Don't Know Bo. It was very good, as are all the 30 for 30 specials I've seen.  Anyway, I was struck by a comment halfway though about how if Bo Jackson had burst upon the scene 10-15 years later, everyone would have thought that … Continue reading God, Steroids, and Bo Jackson →

This is the third installment in my series of synopses of essays on the philosophical significance of disagreement.   In "You Can't Trust a Philosopher," Richard Fumerton offers us good news and bad news.  The good news is that epistemic peer disagreement (EPD) concerning philosophical issues does not, in itself, undermine the rational justification of … Continue reading Fumerton on Disagreement →

I'm only about 280 pages into this 1000+ page behemoth of a novel (and they're not smaller, wide-margin pages, or even pages with a lot of dialogue to help the pages turn by generating a lot of white space)... I wanted to share my first impressions of this book. I might regret such an overstatement … Continue reading Infinite Jest – first impressions →

This is the second installment in my series of posts on essays on the problem of disagreement. I like Carolyn's succinct description of the disagreement problem: The disagreement problem comes up when I (1) think that P, (2) think that some other person thinks that not P, and (3) think that that other person is … Continue reading Elgin on Persistent Disagreement →

Suppose David and Nates disagree about the morality of Capital Punishment.  David thinks that CP is unjustifiable, whereas Nates--ever the Kantian--thinks that CP may under certain circumstances be not only justified but morally required.  David and Nates are aware of their disagreement with each other--they're facing off in the seminar room.  Now consider this question: … Continue reading Disagreement: Stage-Setting and Kornblith’s Skepticism →