Philosophy

Saving Social Science

Paul Stoller | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: American Society, Philosophy, Social Life, College, College Funding, Social Science, Anthropology, The Humanities, Science, STEM Education, Education News

STEM is important in the future of higher education, but so are the social sciences and humanities which teach students how to think critically and to how assess the social and cultural ramifications of rapid technological change.

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The Future Belongs to the Flip-Floppers

Tom Huston | Posted 05.24.2012

Read More: Mitt Romney, Fox News, Philosophy, Evolution, Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, Obama Marriage Equality, Obama Evolution, Obama Gay Marriage, Obama Gay Marriage Evolving, Obama Flip Flop, Marriage Equality, Politics News

The flip-flop is a moral impugnment, almost always issued by those whose code of ethics was first set in stone on Mt. Sinai and remains just as static today. The only problem is, human beings are not static or etched in stone.

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The "Wisdom" of Pearson's Pineapple Passage

Alan Singer | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Testing, Merryl Tisch, Philosophy, Plato, Pearson Education, Common Core, Wisdom, Aristotle, Standards, Pineapple Question, New York, Thomas Aquinas, Education News

If Pearson and Merryl Tisch were teachers being evaluated based on lesson of the pineapple, hare, and owl, they would both be rated "Unsatisfactory."

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Eight

James Napoli | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Rock Paper Scissors, Video, Happiness, Meaning of Life, Living With Meaning, Eastern Philosophy, Inspiration, Spiritual Development, Philosophy, The Inner Life, Success, Meaning, Healthy Living News

So, you often find yourself wondering about why we are all here and what it all means. Well, you are not alone.

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My Struggles With Anti-Intellectualism

Paul Stoller | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Education, College, Pragmatism, Anti-Intellectualism, Anthropology, Elitism, Higher Education, College News

"Can do" pragmatism was the fuel of America prosperity. But that pragmatism was reinforced with an abiding respect for knowledge and critical thinking. It's hard to do anything in a place devoid of new ideas, a place where dreamers are discouraged from dreaming.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Seven

James Napoli | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Video, Happiness, Meaning of Life, Living With Meaning, Eastern Philosophy, Inspiration, Philosophy, Spiritual Development, The Inner Life, Success, Meaning, Healthy Living News

In this episode, the discussion branches off into art and creativity. Surely the desire to express ourselves cannot be excluded from any argument about the purpose of existence?

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The Consolation of Philosophy

Lawrence M. Krauss | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: A Universe of Nothing, Philosophy, Cosmology, Theoretical Physics, Science News

How can a universe full of galaxies and stars, and planets and people, including philosophers, arise naturally from an initial condition in which none of these objects -- no particles, no space, and perhaps no time -- may have existed?

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Love and Gravity

Gary Zukav | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Authors, Philosophy, Fear, The Balanced Life, Buckminster Fuller, Gary Zukav, Love, Spirituality, Compassion, Gps-Soul, Healthy Living News

Love grounds you. It orients you. Love brings your awareness to others and yourself. Love opens your mind and heart to others and yourself.

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Does the Invisible Hand Really Know Best?

Jeffrey Abelson | Posted 04.24.2012

Is the free market really free? Or does it come at the expense of civic values we neglect at our peril? That's one of many questions I found myself pondering after reading What Money Can't Buy by Michael J. Sandel.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Six

James Napoli | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: The Inner Life, Happiness, Inspiration, Video, Eastern Philosophy, Living With Meaning, Meaning, Meaning of Life, Philosophy, Success, Spirituality, Healthy Living News

All this time, you have secretly known exactly what you need. And that is to watch inanimate objects discuss the meaning of existence.

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Signs and Society: Acting Without Thinking

Samantha Tritsch | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Tragedy, Signs, Philosophy, Stereotypes, Trayvon Martin, Racism, Racial Stereotypes, Race, Symbols, College News

Ultimately, as it goes in America, a jury will ultimately decide what happened on the night Trayvon Martin was found dead. They will piece together all the evidence provided and images, and put together a narrative that we can only hope, will act in the name of equality and justice.

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Thoughts for College Dropouts: Love

O'Brien Browne | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Quotes, Conscious Living, New Perspectives, Philosophy, Spiritual, Mindful Living, Love, Wit and Wisdom, Healthy Living News

This quiet corner of the vivid and boisterous blogosphere is devoted to the passion and power of words. The ideas here, molded into one or two lines, are designed to delight, intrigue, annoy, question and soothe.

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The Moral Contemptibility of the Conservative Mind

Ian I. Mitroff | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Philosophy, Jonathan Haidt, Conservatives, Liberals, Liberalism, Kant, Morality, Political Philosophy, Morality and Politics, Liberal Morals, Book Review, Conservative Morals, Politics News

Author Jonathan Haidt enjoins liberals to make a sincere attempt to listen to conservatives and appreciate sincerely the values they hold dear, and even more, to see that that they are generally necessary for any society to hang together.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Five

James Napoli | Posted 04.05.2012

Read More: Success, Philosophy, Video, Happiness, Meaning of Life, Inspiration, Living With Meaning, Eastern Philosophy, Meaniing, The Inner Life, Spirituality, Healthy Living News

When you are seeking inner peace, sometimes nothing else will do but to watch a rock, a piece of paper and a pair of scissors discuss the meaning of life.

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I Think, Therefore I Eat Junk Food: Philosophy and Health

Wray Herbert | Posted 06.03.2012

Read More: Mind-Body Connection, Dualism, Philosophy, Behavior Change, Cognitive Psychology, Nutrition, Exercise, Health Psychology, Health, Priming, Social Cognition, Science News

So are you a dualist? Most scientists reject the notion that the mind has an immaterial substance that's unlike the physical world. Instead, they argue that the mind somehow emerges from the squishy matter called the brain -- a philosophy called physicalism.

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On Afghanistan: Reflections From the Past

Paul Schwennesen | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Philosophy, Democracy, Afghanistan, Military, Politics News

Author's Note: This essay was written in 2005 and recently discovered in a dusty electronic file underneath a pile of virtual packing crates ... It wa...

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'Green' Scientists Offer Controversial Blueprint For 'Engineered Humans'

Posted 03.30.2012

Read More: Dna, Video, Philosophy, Geoengineering, Human Engineering, Greenhouse Gases, Climate Science, Ethics, Bioengineering, Green, Climate Change, Genetics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Bioethics, Global Warming, Science News

By: Wynne Parry, LiveScience Senior Writer Published: 03/30/2012 07:27 AM EDT on LiveScience So far, conventional solutions to global warming ...

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Is That All There Is? Recursion

Dimitri Hamlin | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Recursion, Time, CRX Time, Philosophy, Crx-Time, Phenomenology, Excursion, Conversion, Crx, Mind, Religion News

Recursion is how conversion always turns together with itself as already having been, again, both different and the same.

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A Disturbing Trend

Jared Moffat | Posted 05.27.2012

Read More: Philosophy, Education, Education Reform, Capitalism, Humanities, College, Liberal Arts, Brown University, Universities, College News

Amid a struggling economy and a ballooning student debt crisis, parents and students are reevaluating the merits of a college education. There is no simple answer, because the return on investment depends on what you study.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Four

James Napoli | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Video, Happiness, The Inner Life, Success, Meaning, Living With Meaning, Meaning of Life, Inspiration, Spirituality, Eastern Philosophy, Philosophy, Healthy Living News

You need to see inanimate objects discussing the meaning of life. This series of videos features inanimate objects discussing the meaning of life. Talk about a win-win.

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Consciousness, Not Just Another Buzzword

Denise M. Wilbanks | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Quantum Physics, Politics, Philosophy, Linkedin, Human Evolution, Consciousness, Physics, Penrose-Hameroff Orch-or Theory, Power of Now, Healthy Living News

We are, without doubt, at a tipping point in our human evolution. The underlying theme seems to be "change," as in self-transformation, or get sucked in by the "quantum vacuum" of our dysfunctional system.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Three

James Napoli | Posted 05.16.2012

Read More: Video, The Balanced Life, Mental Health, Humor, Inspiration, The Inner Life, Success, Meaning, Happiness, Meaning of Life, Living With Meaning, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Eastern Philosophy, Relationships, Philosophy, Healthy Living, Healthy Living News

Have you ever gotten to a point in your life where you feel like the old paradigms just aren't cutting it? Have you entertained the thought that maybe "all is vanity and striving after wind"?

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Can We Change Our Life by Changing Our Story?

Jen Grisanti | Posted 05.13.2012

Read More: Change, Philosophy, Desire, Books, Writing, Storytelling, Jen Grisanti, Spirituality, Goals, Gps-Soul, Mindfulness, Healthy Living News

In doing the research and diving into the many books regarding personal change, I've recognized that writing down our story (and the way we want to see it) is the perfect platform to revise our personal story so that we can change our lives.

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The Undergraduate Whisperer: No "Right Answers"? Wrong!

Rebecca Schuman | Posted 05.12.2012

Read More: College Students, Literature, Philosophy, College, Professors, College News, Teaching Methods, Campus Life, Teaching, College News

Did you hear about that philosophy final where the professor came in and wrote "Why?" on the chalkboard? And a student got an A+ by answering "Why not?" I guaran-effing-tee you this has never happened in the history of college.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors: A Dialogue -- Part Two

James Napoli | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Video, Happiness, Living With Meaning, The Balanced Life, The Inner Life, Mindfulness, Mental Health, Spirituality, Humor, Relationships, Inspiration, Philosophy, Success, Meaning, Meaning of Life, Eastern Philosophy, Healthy Living News

Does all suffering come from desire? What is desire, anyway? What would we be without it? The debate continues in this, the second installment of an ongoing philosophical discussion among three strangely-vocal inanimate objects.

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