You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in logic or mathematics to read Logicomix. You don’t even have to have taken logic, or even know who Bertrand Russell was (though it will admittedly make the work more interesting if you do). Beautifully illustrated, compellingly narrated, Logicomix is a brilliant examination of why and how logic matters. Really.

The Brain Science Podcast is not fancy, high tech, or highly produced; it’s largely the work of one woman who is passionate about the field of neuroscience.  She works hard to make her programs accessible to people from a range of backgrounds. I think, therefore, I am sure you will find them interesting.

Read the full article here: Britain Apologizes to Gay Codebreaker Alan Turing – NYTimes.com

Photo by Mariusz Kubik, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kmarius

The Polish-born philosopher Leszek Kolakowski died July 17 at the age of 81. Theoretically, his work moved from Soviet-style Marxism, to Marxist humanism, to a view that eventually rejected Marxism altogether, on the grounds that it was guilty of all the sins of capitalism, plus a few of its own.

His sizeable corpus includes everything from scholarly works on Spinoza, Bergson and Husserl, to a three-volume history of Marxism and a massive study of seventeenth-century non-denominational Christianity, to a satirical indictment of Stalin (What Socialism is Not). His delightful “General Theory of Not Gardening” gave me all the theoretical ammo I’ve ever needed to avoid planting anything more than the occasional tomato. A complete obituary for Professor Kolakowski is available in the Daily Telegraph.

“The Sixteenth Annual Philosophy Born of Struggle Conference will address a variety of approaches to religion in contemporary society and particularly the interconnections between race, religious practices, and political action.”

Proposals of 150 to 200 words are due by August 10. See the attached flyer for details.

By I,Max. http://www.flickr.com/photos/_imax/126046432/

Bertrand Russell says it in The Problems of Philosophy, but I can’t seem to confirm the truth of this, so I’m inclined to think I made it up. You’ll find any number of online surveys, such as this one, asking you if you agree or disagree with the expression.  If you’d been around in, say, 1867, when the Journal of Speculative Philosophy began publication, you would have  found it on the masthead of the journal.

The claim seems to appear in print for the first time in the writings of one Georg Philipp Friedrich von Hardenberg, the philosopher-novelist also known as Novalis. Novalis managed to accomplish an awful lot, given that he died of tuberculosis at 28: he left an impressive collection of (fragmentary, unfinished) philosophical writings and letters, as well as two prose novels and a prose poem. He also left us with the assertion  that ““Philosophy cannot bake bread—however, it can provide us with God, freedom and immortality—now which is more practical—philosophy or economics?”

What you won’t find on google is much counterevidence to Novalis’s claim. But all that is about to change, as the 2009 graduates of the philosophy department take the baking world by storm.

Kate and her apprentice, up to their elbows in philosophy

Caleb Phillips has set out to put the lie to it, in his new blog, “Philosophy that Bakes Bread.” (Google THAT expression and all you’ll find is Caleb.) Find Caleb and his oat wheat bread recipe here. And Kate Goodpaster can be found this summer at the River Rock Cafe, earrrrrrrrly in the morning, baking all manner of bready objects, to the delight of the denizens of St. Peter.

A 1965 issue of Time magazine hauled out the old chestnut  about philosophy and bread in an article promising to answer that ancient question, “What (If Anything) to Expect from Today’s Philosophers.”  From some of us at least, you can expect, well, bread. Here’s some I baked today, in fact.

Summer is the perfect time for theory, don’t you think?

A tip o’ the pixel to my blog coach, Joe Lencioni, for finding this gem.

The six graduating members of the philosophy department presented their thesis research at the second annual Celebration of Creative Inquiry, held in the college dining rooms on Friday, May 1. Representing the department were Kate Goodpaster, Joe Hillman, Laurel Hoch, Rhea Muchalla, Jeff Nichols, Caleb Phillips.

The presentation is decidedly low-tech and minimalist (sometimes the microphone isn’t quite where it should be; the theme music–all three bars of it–could have been written by Eric Satie); in short, it’s just what you would hope a philosophy podcast would be. It’s all about the ideas.

The playing fields at Gustavus were busy on Saturday afternoon, April 25–so busy, in fact, that the second annual Classics-Philosophy kickball game found itself being played not on a regulation field, but on a grassy patch near Mattson Hall, using bases made out of cardboard boxes. No matter. Nor did it matter that last year’s ball cracked when it was re-inflated, and the participants were forced to make do with a bright-blue, undersized number designed for use in a swimming pool. (Well, I guess this mattered a little bit, since it made every kick a fly ball, and it rendered fielding almost impossible–the thing just could not be thrown.)

Nor, it turns out, did it matter that the Philosophy department was hopelessly outnumbered–so outnumbered that, when the bases were loaded (as they often were when Philosophy was up to bat) there was scarely anyone left to kick.

Despite all those disadvantages, the Philosophy department still managed to, um–how shall I say this delicately?–subdue the Classicists, by a score of 17 to five, in nine innings.

MVP status goes to Classicist Bob (last name unknown) who caught a truly astonishing number of the Philosophy team’s pop flies. (The man was everywhere!) And Professor Sean Easton wins the “Velma” award for losing his glasses not once, but twice, while valiantly pitching for the Classicists in the second half of the game. On the Philosophy side, Joe Hillman wins “Most Daringest Plays” for stealing bases at the craziest rate.

The Classicists were gracious losers, serving up the victors pizza and agreeing to a rematch in twelve months. Indeed, there were even some  high-flown discussions about a combined Classics-and-Philosophy team taking on some other department to a match.

How about it? Any other nerdy departments out there ready to take us on?

Note that the Classicists are bound to have much, much better images from the game; their team photographer had a MUCH bigger lens….

Most of the philosophy team. See how lean and mean were its numbers?

Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya image courtesy of Deane Curtin

Deane Curtin has shared two photos of the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage site that he and students visited during his January, 2009 course Buddhist India. Thanks to Deane for these images.

Image courtesey of Deane Curtin

And Doug Huff reports that he and students saw an offshoot of the original tree at a Buddhist monastery in Bangalore, in southern India.

George and Peg have yet to weigh in on the matter, but we have little doubt that, next time George finds himself in Biddeford, Maine, he will learn that a sprout has been planted there. And chances are good that Peg will see one planted near a tennis court, when she shows up for a tournament one of these days.

Watch this space for more developments!

Sun in the leaves of the Swedish descendent of the Bodhi tree.

Turns out that a cutting from the original tree also made its way to Sri Lanka, where it was rooted. A cutting was subsequently taken from THAT tree…and rooted in the botanical garden at the University of Uppsala.  (Did Neurath’s boat get repaired with wood from this fig tree? Did Plato’s third man perhaps sit under a third fig tree? Allusions to famous philosophical metaphors-of-once-or-twice-removedness are irresistable at this point.)

The documentary evidence

Lisa is spending spring break traveling and learning with the Gustavus Semester in Sweden program, led by Roland Thorstensson. Two philosophy students–major Alex Legeros and minor Andrew Nelson–are a part of the group. During our fascinating tour of the botanic gardens, we had a chance to stop and admire the Bodhi Tree’s Swedish offshoot. We were not, alas, able to stand under the tree long enough to be enlightened.

Thanks to Alex for making the photos.

There is an important connection between another member of the SLA and Gustavus, as Tidemann notes in this piece; this member, who was killed during a shootout with law enforcement officers, was Camilla Hall, the daughter of longtime Gustavus religion faculty member George Hall.

As Tidemann notes, “It [the SLA] was a strange group, but it was a group of young people with a global consciousness, with a deep passion for justice for the oppressed.” The lessons we can learn from them are complicated and even contradictory. But they are no less valuable for their complexity.

welcome-home-sara-jane-olson-3-18-09-1

The Rev. Paul Tidemann (’60) provided us with a written copy of his remarks.

Shel Silvernal (’90) discussed the ways in which her life as a philosophy major are deeply connect to her present life as a labor and delivery nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, a setting in which she has the opportunity to give women “the best care she is capable of giving them.”

Tad Marinac (’87) described the ethical challenges he faces as an appraiser–one of fifty in the state of Minnesota who holds the title of MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute). In these troubled and troubling financial times, Tad may find himself the one who must “walk into an institution and say ‘it’s time to turn off the lights and lock the door.’”

In the discussion following their talks, each speaker talked briefly about a current issue that is occupying their thoughts, and about which they are trying to make sense. Tad noted that current financial circumstances are, at present his entire focus. Shel described her efforts to think clearly about “what gets defined as the abortion debate, which often pits fetal rights against maternal rights.” She observed that she sees the issue as much more multifaceted and complex, as she works each day with mothers and infants, including many preterm and previable births. Paul spoke about the return of Sarah Jane Olson, and his hope that this longtime member of the St. Paul community would be welcomed back to that city.

If you’re a philosophy alumna or alumnus reading this post, wouldn’t you like to come back to talk with our students and faculty? We’d love to hear your story.

In January Term, 2009, Deane Curtin led a group of students to India, in a course entitled “Buddhist India.” Caleb Phillips, a senior philosophy member, was a part of that course, and he kept a journal while he was there. Below are some excerpts from his journal.

I don’t know if I wrote about Kolkata & Mother Teresa’s tomb, nunnery, & orphanage.  I openly cried reading of her uncertainties & tribulations, I cried over her unending-ness concerning her goals & deeds.  She spoke of emptiness, of being a temporary vessel for grace & goodness.  Some of her words tied neatly into Nagarjuna’s, but only some.  The nunnery was calm & austere, simple & welcoming.  I recited a Hail Mary at her tomb, feeling the tug of my history & the beauty of that place.  The museum was touching beyond compare.  Small children begged at their mother’s command outside.  The orphanage filled me with hope [with] smiles & laughter & innocence confined by a safe place…

We are leaving from here again, as snow-capped mountains walk about in their blankets of clouds.  We witnessed a perfect sunrise from Tiger Hill with Everest pointing her nose up for us to see…

I have reached the last week of my sojourn which has become our sojourn.  I want to return home & want to stay.  I wish to hike & climb & meditate here.  For now, though, I am just sitting, writing, & wearing my Tibetan style shirt, waiting for my compatriots to rise & for breakfasting.

-24 January 2009, from Pelling, Sikkim

I include this excerpt from my journal intentionally, though I cannot exactly specify that intention.  It reflects on the spirituality and of the ecology of thought and biology I witnessed, but hints at the ways in which spirituality can feel both familiar and foreign.  Mother Teresa was a foreigner, a stranger in the strange land of West Bengal, practicing a form of Christianity brought to India, not of India.  All the same, she succeeded in making it something of India by recognizing the needs and customs of that place, of Kolkata.

Such was not my aim; all the same, something like adaptation to strangeness did happen.  India encountered me, while I underwent my encountering.  Something intimate that was also invasive occurred; something about this process was also anaesthetizing.    At this point, under a psychological and cultural scalpel, I admitted my sense of despondence, of exhaustion, of eagerness to return home.

This was not homesickness, which I have known profoundly, and I was able to recognize it as something else early.  The malaise has become clearer now that I have engaged in overcoming it; it has shown itself to be the recovery from that sort of experience, the recuperation of myself now into something I was not before.  After any surgery, one is not what one was; one may be well or on the way to healing, but one is first beset with greater, even dangerous weakness.  My physicality is healthier, more so than before, but I can say that I am undergoing mental-I would add spiritual if I could avoid the kitsch of saying such-mending.  I returned drugged, intoxicated by the reality I left and the reality to which I was seeing again, experiencing it with a profound sense of novelty.  Even as India pulls away through time, I cannot shake this novelty; and with it, novelty’s dual sense of fear and excitement about the world.

The public discussion prompted this interesting follow-up email discussion among the three participants, particularly about the ways that ethnicity functions within Ghana, and across the continent of Africa. I reprint the discussion with their permission,.

PASCHAL: Lisa and Baffour, thanks for inviting Sidonia and I to be part of that conversation. One thing I wished I had been able to do before the evening’s conversation is re-read Nkrumah’s “Consciencism”. I would really want to refresh my memory on the ideology and philosophy that he espouses in that work so that I can reflect on what I think of it today as opposed to the time I read it the first time so many years ago.

ON THE MATTER OF ETHNICITY:  Nigeria has much in common with Ghana in terms of historical experience. Nonetheless, there is also something peculiar about Nigeria’s experience with problems of ethnicity. They had a civil war because of the problem of ethnic identity. One part of the country (Biafra) wanted to break away and form its own country. Ethnicity is also compounded by fanatic religious identity, and we have seen it fairly recently in the clashes between Muslims and Christians in the north. Ghana has had its own problems with ethnicity but thank God it has never been on the scale that we have seen in Nigeria. Understanding the issues surrounding ethnicity helps one also understand why some African countries are more politically and socially stable than others. I could go on and on, but I will stop here.

LISA: Why do you think Ghana has not had ethnic conflict at the same levels? I remember hearing the name “Biafra” as a fairly young person, and being very confused about it.

PASCHAL: We have had our own “share” of ethnic problems in Ghana. There are some areas of the country that are notorious for having these sort of problems virtually every year. They are often related to chieftancy disputes. Who has the right to be the next paramount chief etc? It has really been a thorny problem for some parts of the country because they never seem to find a solution. However, Ghana has been, should I say, lucky because we have never had ethnic disputes on the scale we have seen in Nigeria. There have been some scary moments in the past when we feared that election results would reflect such ethnic affiliation to some parties that it could provoke a real strife after the elections. This was the case during the years that Rawlings was elected and re-elected president, and the churches actually called on people to pray for peaceful elections. God did listen to our prayers!

The Nigerian situation is compounded by the fact that they have many more ethnic groups
and that there is a fierce competition between the north and the south to control political power. There is also a long standing rivalry between the Ibos and the Yorubas for political power, and If I am not mistaken it is one of the reasons why the civil war happened. I don’t want to sound like one of those zealous patriots but I believe strongly that one of the reasons why ethnic conflicts in Ghana have never been on the same national scale as is the case in Nigeria is that the country is more “politically mature” than Nigeria. How would one explain why  there are always serious problems with elections in Nigeria? I remember reading a piece  written by a Nigerian journalist after the recent Ghana elections and how he expressed admiration and envy for the peaceful and democratic elections in Ghana, especially given how close the results in both the first round and the second round of voting were. People in Ghana say that now that we have found oil, we have to be careful not to go the Nigerian route. Oil has been a source of corruption and violence in that country.

That’s my short take on the question. Sidonia and Baffour might have other ideas.

BAFFOUR: Just to add to what Professor Kyoore said about ethnicity in Ghana. I very much think that we have not had ethnicity problems on a large scale because of the culture and values of GHANAIANS as  whole. Sort of like the American values of individualism, success, hard work etc. Ghanaians pride ourselves in being a peaceful welcoming and warm people.

Like all values, these Ghanaian values always come up when ethnic tensions rise. It is a unifying factor in a way because, in having so many tribes and cultures, there must be something that brings the nation together to solve these kinds of problems. I would conclude that, in my opinion, it is the Ghanaian value of peace that has helped Ghana through these problems. Not to say that we are a perfectly peaceful nation that has not seen any war. We have had our fair share of violence and I think Ghanaians have just learnt lessons from those times.

SIDONIA: Very well said, Paschal and Baffour. This reminds me of the piece I read on the Ghana Home page a couple of years ago. I even bookmarked it. Find the link below.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=97142

The author talks a lot about how political maturity has a role in resolving ethnic tensions and violence in Ghana and how that could be played out in Africa as a whole.

Chieftancy has been a major cause of not only interethnic violence but also within the same ethnic groups. But as mentioned earlier, these kinds of unrest are now less common, perhaps because we have learned from the past and perhaps because there are now more interactions between different groups that the focus is on how similar we are rather than our differences. Yes, there is a sense of Ghanaian pride that transcends ethnic boundaries and the ethos of the country encourages respect, generosity and the love for differences especially towards strangers. I think education too has also played a role in bridging the gap and disparity between different ethnic groups and has fueled a sense of commonality and understanding. The runoff (without disturbance) during the last elections was especially a specific indication of political maturity on the part of Ghanaians.

PASCHAL: Though I find the article interesting, I also find it too repetitious. Also, it’s
interesting that at the end of the article the author is proposing something similar to what Kwame Nkrumah proposed decades ago: A United Africa. Sounds wonderful, but I don’t see it as something that can be realized in our life time. It’s not pessimism on my part (since I consider myself to be a strong for Pan-Africanist).  I am being pragmatic. If ethnicity is such a thorny issue within the borders of African countries, and if we are not tackling the problem well, how on earth can we ever create a United States of Africa.  We need to  strengthen  regional co-operation first. Make them work in practice and not just on paper! If those regional entities work in all domains (political, economic, cultural) we can then dream of using them to galvanize a real interest in trans-African unity. Otherwise, all talk of a United Africa is merely intellectual discourse that is interesting for only academics!

SIDONIA: Nice reaction to the article. I don’t endorse all that the author said either. And yes, a United Africa may be a dream but sometimes it better to dream and theorize on paper than not to dream at all . . .

I thought you might be interested in what Papa Yalae (author of the article below) has to say about the topic we have been discussing lately. He echoes what has been said and gives other perspectives on the issue of why ethnic violence has not been too rampant or too severe in Ghana.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=97142
1. The affinity existing among ethnic groups, the socio-political relationship cultivated by the educational policies of the 1st Republic. 2. The political neutrality of Fante-Akan, which prevents the two most antagonistic groups from political collision. 3. The recent emergence of popular abhorence against political monoplization (military or civilian) and against political violence.

Papa Yalae

In the midst of a stimulating set of interviews, religious historian Martin Marty made a remark that caught me. In his efforts to think about this current crisis Marty has been reaching for his favorite philosophers–including everyone from Marcus Aurelius to Adam Smith, Aristotle to James Madison. These great thinkers teach him, in secular ways a truth that he identifies with the Apostle Paul:  “we are all members, one of another.”

Prompted by these eight thinkers,  all of whom agreed this is a moral crisis every bit as much as it is an economic crisis, and prodded by Martin Marty’s observation that philosophy can be a tremendous resource in such times, I am inspired to turn to our philosophy alumni, to learn from you about how to think about this tumultuous moment in history.

How do you “make sense” for yourself in these times? Is it about hope? About self? About trust? Compassion?Where do you seek inspiration and insight? What ideas sustain you? And what insights do you have for philosophy students who will soon leave college and enter a “real world” that has gotten a whole lot shakier, a whole lot scarier?

Please share your thoughts  in the comments box.

John Hallsten is retired but enjoyed several “different lives” during his professional life; parish pastor in several parishes;  Lutheran University Pastor (NLCM) at CSU in Ft. Collins, Colorado;  clinical psychologist at UAF in Fairbanks, Alaska;  Clinical Supervisor, Yukon–Tanana Region of the Tanana Chiefs in Interior Alaska; and private practice in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Statue of Nkrumah at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, built in 1992 after the restoration of multi-party democracy in Ghana. (Used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en).)

Today, the West African nation of Ghana celebrates its fifty-second  independence day. Ghana  is  the first African nation to declare its idependence from colonial rule, which it did in 1957.

The nation holds a particular significance for some philosophers, because its first leader, Kwame Nkrumah, was himself a philosopher. Nkrumah studied in the United States, earning degrees from both Lincoln University and the University of Pennsylvania. Books by Nkrumah include Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah; Africa Must Unite! and Consciencism. He is regarded today as having been one of the most influential figures in the Pan-African movement. (He died in 1972.)

In celebration of Ghana’s independence, the Dining Service will be featuring regional specialties. And at 5 p.m., you can bring your tray to the St. Peter Room for a brief celebration of the day, including some readings from Nkrumah. (Yes, that’s the way philosophers celebrate: we read things from other philosophers and we eat.)

Philosophy seniors, smiling after receiving Socrates' stamp of approval.

Members of the philosophy department’s senior class recently took time out of their colloquium discussion to seek Socrates’ advice on their thesis topics. From left to right, they are: Caleb Phillips, Laurel Hoch, Kate Goodpaster (behind), Rhea Muchalla, Joe Hillman and Jeff Nichols.