Arbitrary Marks

And now, for something completely different:

Mondays: Arbitrary culture
Wednesdays: Philosophy text of the week
Fridays: Image of the week
Sundays: Link roundup

Mondays I’ll try to post something related to politics, religion or gender, several topics that recur here frequently. On Wednesdays I’ll post a passage from a paper or book I’ve read, perhaps with a bit of commentary [...]

Here’s what I’ll be working on this semester:

Wittgenstein and Kripke with John Deigh
A first year seminar (covering topics like philosophy of language and mind) with Adam Pautz
Indian Philosophy with Stephen Phillips
Sanskrit with Harzer Edeltraud
Grader for Jeff Leon’s Medical Ethics undergraduate section

If I have any free time (ha!) I may try to do some reading with [...]

It turns out my Arbitrary Marks ”splash” page has been broken for a while. Oops. I was planning to redo it, anyway, in honor of starting at a new school in the fall. I’ve taken down all of my papers and will be putting up fresh new ones (I don’t want potential employers to read what I wrote [...]

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m taking some online courses that are designed to teach me about assessment and teaching methods online. The problem is that I’m retentively particular about understanding the foundations of what I’m studying: so if an education article mentions “constructivism” and how self-evident it is that students “create knowledge” in community and the instructor is a facilitator, I want some argument and evidence.

I have read one book on educational approaches (Collaborative Learning) but I’m wondering if there’s a neat little primer on ed-psych stuff that I could flip through. At least one you would recommend…I’m sure there are a zillion out there.

*A side note: I can see why philosophers don’t talk about pedagogy very much. There’s so much jargon out there with thin argumentation that it’s a bit like reading a Lit-Crit scholar’s take on epistemology: i.e., there may be something useful in there, but you’ve gotta wade through some schlock to get it.

You’ll notice some new posts on Arbitrary Marks which include links with a bit of commentary. These are coming directly from my del.icio.us account, to give you things to explore around the Internet.

These are posted in the category “Linkdump” which you can also get to by clicking on “Categories” in the header of this blog.

One other administrative note: I have my comments settings designed to close all but the most recent ten posts in order to minimize spam. If you ever want a post to be re-opened for conversation, you can send me an email or comment on another thread.

Still cleaning off my bookshelves, this time with a tiny studio in Austin as an aim. Help me de-clutter by taking a few books which you might use? All I ask is that you pay for shipping by USPS through PayPal. Leave your email in the comments and I’ll get in touch:

Kevin VanHoozer: Is there [...]

Theme: I switched my theme over to a very simple format that I’d been working on several months ago. There will be a few changes to it to allow navigation through pages and categories, but de-cluttering is refreshing.

Content: Also, I’ll be switching gears back to Jaegwon Kim on the topic of reduction and Buddhist philosophers on that topic and a discussion of causality. The waters may get philosophically thick–at least I hope they will. Still, I’ll try to post some on liberal religion and gender as newsworthy stuff catches my eye.

Off to catch Indiana Jones with my wife, so look for something new later this weekend!

PS: A prize to the first one to catch my not-so-subtle analytic philosophy pun.

I have a substantial post that I’m drafting at present, motivated by, but separate from, the earlier discussion about race / sexual orientation. Basically, I’m working through what a conception of “emptiness” means for concepts that we use regularly (such as race). Taking a cue from Wittgenstein’s “family resemblance” theory, I’m trying to determine how to steer between the Scylla and Charybdis of nihilism and essentialism while not falling into idealism.

So in this upcoming post, I want to do three things. First, I want to clarify what I mean when I say “social construction” or “without essence.” Second, I want to clarify how I think folk concepts can be useful, with reference to the idea of conventional truth in Buddhism. Third, I want to return to the application–where this all started–of race, sexual orientation and human rights.

While I’m working and you’re waiting with baited breath, check out Philosophy Bites on Wittgenstein with Barry Smith.

I just got back from watching Expelled at a local movie theater, along with seven other people. Hey, it’s Tuesday afternoon. Watch for a detailed synopsis and review later in the week. Right now, I can say this: It’s a well-done propaganda piece that culminates in a rousing call for freedom. Unfortunately, the film has [...]

I’ve joined HubPages, a community of freelance writers similar to About.com or Yahoo! Answers. My focus will be, naturally, philosophy. I’m trying to create pages that make getting into philosophy more accessible, including guides to what’s online and which books to read. You can click on the link below or in the sidebar to view [...]