This post in the thirteenth in a series on Science, Technology, and Society. The previous post in the series is here, and the next one is here. All posts in the series have previously appeared on the Partially Examined Life group page on Facebook. Nobody is a social constructionist at 10,000 feet. –Richard Dawkins In order to ridicule the claims of humanist upstarts, Sokal Continue Reading …
Not School Report: Philip Auslander on Postmodern Theater
Our Philosophy and Theater Group was occupied last month with Philip Auslander’s From Acting to Performance: Essays in Modernism and Postmodernism, and our discussion of the book's first three essays is now available for PEL Citizens to listen to on the Free Stuff page. In this talk, Philip Cherny, Carlos Franke and myself discuss various topics including the therapeutic value Continue Reading …
Not School Report: Grotowski’s ‘Akropolis’
Our Philosophy and Theatre Group spent most of the winter studying the perplexing work of Jerzy Grotowski. As I've mentioned before, Grotowski had many ideas about the nature of theatre, performance, humanity and its essence. At a certain point, we decided that we needed something concrete to get a better grasp on what we'd read, so we turned to Akropolis. Carlos Franke, Philip Continue Reading …
Rick Roderick on Derrida
Watch on YouTube For anyone still trying to sort Derrida out, here's a hopefully helpful attempt at explication from Rick Roderick. I liked Roderick's approach in directly opposing Derrida's theory to the "Theory of Reference." This is an allusion to Gottlob Frege, who was discussed in an earlier PEL episode. I found it impossible to follow Roderick's argument toward the Continue Reading …
Amateur Philosophy at it Worst: How to Write a David Brooks Column
Here's how you write a David Brooks column: Take a common conservative meme: some easy complaint or claim that has been beaten to death -- in its usual form -- in political opinion pieces far and wide. Dress it up and soften it significantly -- avuncular-ize it -- by replacing the usual objects of axe-grinding with less direct symbols taken from your vaguely-remembered Continue Reading …