Fall 2015 Proseminar Browsing Exercise

Sections 3.1 discussing music and emotions is really interesting. It's a bit long, but explores some interesting questions of why we can experience emotions from music and the theories surrounding this. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/music/#3.1

This shorter article discusses ghosts and while I didn't follow his name-dropping, the basic ideas are simple enough. While I don't believe in ghosts, I think this article was a fun and interesting read. http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2007/11/metaphysics-of-ghosts.html (Austin)

I found this article on Buddhist philosophy particularly interesting, particularly Sarvastividian Realism, and how it relates Anaxagoras'/ the Atomists' ideas of divisibility. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy#Sarvastivadin_realism

Heres an interesting article discussing the possibility of pre-traumatic street, and whether or not mere anticipation of trauma is enough to cause serious damage. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/waiting-for-the-bomb-to-drop/#more-157677

I really enjoyed this article by J.R.R Tolkien explaining his philosophy on stories and mythology. http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004/fairystories-tolkien.pdf

Another good resource on the philosophy of stories is this article giving a broad overview of some of the more influential thought in the area. http://cafephilosophy.co.nz/articles/human-beings-are-inextricably-entangled-in-stories/

Aristotle and John Paul II on the Family and Society: A Reply to John Hittinger - Walter J. Thompson http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9590aa82-e54d-41e3-aff3-18adc7450f37%40sessionmgr4003&vid=35&hid=4209 The Theology of the Body by JP2 is the most wonderful topic in the world (Kyle)

Toward an Aesthetics, Ethics, and Pedagogy of Wonder -Laura-Lee Kearns https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/the_journal_of_aesthetic_education/v049/49.1.kearns.html This topic intrigues me, especially lately as we have brought up the reality of attraction being essential to education in my Ancients class with Socrates teaching method. Wonder and attraction are interchangeable to me. (Kyle)

Recently, I have been interested in the philosophy of Walker Percy as articulated through his novels. I just finished reading his "Love in the Ruins", which highlights the dislocation of man in the modern world and the efforts of the main character to heal the Cartesian split of body and mind (soul). Another theme he often treats is the "malaise" of modern man. This link is to an interested (albeit long) interview conducted with Percy himself via letters. (Michael) http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2643/the-art-of-fiction-no-97-walker-percy

Here's another Percy article, this time on his work "Lost in the Cosmos." Although still fiction, this work contains a series of twenty questions and thought experiments which help the reader explore the concept of selfhood, abstraction, self-knowledge, etc. I would highly recommend the book itself. (Michael) http://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/157305871/an-existential-guide-for-when-youre-really-lost

I also stumbled upon this other topic within Percy's body of work: his integration of the study of semiotics (especially following Charles Peirce) with the other themes in his novels. Especially in "Lost in the Cosmos" (see link above), Percy delves into semiotics in relation to the self's abstraction and search for communion. The section from that book, entitled "A Short Semiotic Primer of the Self" is both fascinating and super confusing. (Michael) https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=24229 http://wwwcriticalvision.blogspot.com/2010/07/walker-percy-on-symbols-and-semiotics.html

A surprise appearance of the Socratic Elenchus reassures us that philosophy is alive and well! http://www.philosophynews.com/post/2012/06/08/The-Supreme-Court-and-Philosophy.aspx The audio is worth a listen as well: http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2011/2011_11_210 (Tof)