Another important thing, noted by him and by fictional Alaskan radio star Chris ("Chris in the Morning") Stevens* (and too little appreciated by the Ayn Randians among us):
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men — above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellowmen, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. Living Philosophies (1931)And finally, a peripatetic message (peripatetics can also ride):
It's absurd to follow Einstein with Allen, I know, but
There's an old joke. Uh, two elderly women are at a Catskills mountain resort, and one of 'em says: "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know, and such ... small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life. Full of loneliness and misery and suffering and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. Annie Hall [senior version]Our course has not been full of suffering and unhappiness (I hope!), but it's definitely over much too quickly.
And remember Dr. Flicker's advice: Don't stop doing your homework, and enjoy yourself while you're here!
Of course I must give our paradoxical last words to William James:
"There is no conclusion. What has concluded, that we might conclude in regard to it? There are no fortunes to be told, and there is no advice to be given. Farewell!"Actually that's wrong, Einstein's advice is strong. Curiosity and the questioning life are their own reward, the way to untold fortune. Good luck, all!
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*Northern Exposure “Lost and Found” (S3E17)
P.S. Chris also said "Be open to your dreams, people. Embrace that distant shore, because our mortal journey is over all too soon." (3/21, "It Happened in Juneau").
Speaking of dreams: I suggest continuing your study of philosophy with The Dream of Reason and The Dream of Enlightenment by Anthony Gottlieb (the third projected Dream volume is still forthcoming)... and a new book just out, Walking: One A Step at a Time by Erlin Kagge. Keep moving!
P.P.S. Remember what Murfreesboro's own Grantland Rice said (if everyone did, we'd have no scorecard shenanigans):
“For when the One Great Scorer comes
To mark against your name,
He writes - not that you won or lost -
But HOW you played the Game.
At the corner of Spring and College in Murfreesboro
How you play matters most, whether you believe in "the One Great Scorer" or not. Real winners play with integrity, by the rules.
FYI: the failure of a few to play our scorecard game honorably this semester has resulted in significant rules changes that will strengthen the course in the future, as detailed in the revised "Course Requirements" for Fall '19 below. Thanks to all who did play honestly by the old rules. More useful advice: live and learn, and change when appropriate.
Hope to see some of you in Philosophy of Happiness next Fall, and Atheism and Philosophy next Spring. If you know any Masters candidates, please tell them about my summer course Identity and Truth.*
Walk on!
(Don't forget to post those final report drafts ASAP.)
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* Coming Summer '19: MALA 6030, Topics in Culture and Ideas: Identity and Truth.Philosophy's perennial questions surrounding issues of personal and communal identity (Who and what am I, who are we, how do we understand continuous identity through change, does the public interest transcend individual rights, what do we owe one another, to whom and to what should we direct our ultimate allegiance...) are joined in our time by pressing questions about our commitment to truth, facts, and reality as something independent of partisan or "tribal" membership in parties, sects, and states. This course explores such questions, in the context of the thesis that a more cosmopolitan ("citizen of the world") identity is crucial to reclaiming civility and honesty in our public discourse. Texts includeIdentity: A Very Short Introduction (Coulmas); The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity (Appiah); The I in Team: Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity (Tarver); On Bullshit (Frankfurt)...
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* Coming Summer '19: MALA 6030, Topics in Culture and Ideas: Identity and Truth.Philosophy's perennial questions surrounding issues of personal and communal identity (Who and what am I, who are we, how do we understand continuous identity through change, does the public interest transcend individual rights, what do we owe one another, to whom and to what should we direct our ultimate allegiance...) are joined in our time by pressing questions about our commitment to truth, facts, and reality as something independent of partisan or "tribal" membership in parties, sects, and states. This course explores such questions, in the context of the thesis that a more cosmopolitan ("citizen of the world") identity is crucial to reclaiming civility and honesty in our public discourse. Texts includeIdentity: A Very Short Introduction (Coulmas); The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity (Appiah); The I in Team: Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity (Tarver); On Bullshit (Frankfurt)...
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And here's more Chris in the Morning:
ReplyDeleteOn "Brother Nietzsche" - "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!"
And - "Goethe's final words: "More light." Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry: "More light." Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlight. Neon. Incandescent. Lights that banish the darkness from our caves, to illuminate our roads, the insides of our refrigerators. Big floods for the night games at Soldier's field. Little tiny flashlight for those books we read under the covers when we're supposed to be asleep. Light is more than watts and footcandles. Light is metaphor. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home- Lead Thou me on! Arise, shine, for thy light has come. Light is knowledge. Light is life. Light is light."
And - "Be open to your dreams, people. Embrace that distant shore. Because our mortal journey is over all too soon."
And -"Today, a belated apology to the much maligned Chicken Little. It turns out you were right - the sky is falling. The National Space Administration informs us that Uncle Sam's Com-Sat 4 satellite is in a rapidly decaying orbit. That's their way of saying a ton of angry space trash is heading back home at fifteen thousand miles an hour. What does that make me think of? Makes me think of a triceratops, innocently munching a palm frond when out of the sky, whammo, a meteor sucker punches old mother Earth. Next thing you know, that triceratops, along with a hundred and seventy-five million years of dinosaur evolution, is nothing but history. To that unsung triceratops and all its kin, here's a song for you..."
DeleteThanks for a fun semester :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Dr Olive for this fun semester. We really enjoy all together
ReplyDeleteThank YOU... and Moussa, I hope your future is not in any way (in the words of your favorite philosopher Hobbes) "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, OR short"! Good luck, all!
ReplyDelete