Part One Is personal identity a constant or a variable? When I use the word “I,” does it always refer to the selfsame subject? While, as with many complex issues, the answer is both Yes and No, it is more interesting, and more fun, to explore “I” as a variable. And I have it on… Continue reading Seeing Through the I’s of Jesus (1)
Month: May 2023
An Early Cubist Sketch by Pierre Picasseau
Frederick Amrine, a university professor who has published extensively on Goethe’s scientific works, makes what seems at first a startling observation but, once understood, it seems as obvious as a Zen koan: whenever there is progress in science, “It is not the data that change in a ‘Gestalt switch.’ Rather, it is we who change.”1… Continue reading An Early Cubist Sketch by Pierre Picasseau
A.E.I.O.U.
James Joyce was having fun with language in Ulysses when he has the consciousness of Stephen Dedalus stream over the five vowels: A.E.I.O.U.1 “A.E.” refers to George Russell, the Irish poet and essayist, and “I.O.U.” to the rumor that Stephen Dedalus, Joyce’s alter ego in Ulysses, owes him money. Are the five vowels also an… Continue reading A.E.I.O.U.
Charles Hartshorne’s Open Letter to Carl Sagan
In 1991 Charles Hartshorne wrote an “Open Letter” to Carl Sagan that was published in The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. Hartshorne’s letter follows in this Post, followed by Sagan’s Reply and Hartshorne’s Reply to Sagan. This is followed in turn by an “Open Letter” to Hartshorne by Yale University professor John. E. Smith and Hartshorne’s… Continue reading Charles Hartshorne’s Open Letter to Carl Sagan
The Lowdown from Highup: “All Shall Be Well”
“All shall be well.” This is from a famous saying by Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), one of England’s most venerated Christian mystics. Here’s the saying, as she wrote it, in the language of her time: “But alle shalle be wele, and alle shalle be wele, and alle maner of thynge shalle be wele.” I’ve known… Continue reading The Lowdown from Highup: “All Shall Be Well”
Laughing Out Loud with Shakespeare
On March 13, 1601, John Manningham recorded an event in his diary concerning Shakespeare and his friend, the great actor Richard Burbage. Here’s a slightly embellished version that I turned in, as a joke, in a college journalism class I took many years ago. LONDON (UP) — John Manningham, local gossip, reports that when Burbage… Continue reading Laughing Out Loud with Shakespeare
The Subject Is a Verb!
There was a time, not so long ago, when it was almost universally believed that the myriad species of the animal and vegetable kingdoms were created in the beginning and were thereafter permanently fixed once and for all. Today it is commonplace that even the prototypical individuals of the mineral kingdom enjoyed some measure of… Continue reading The Subject Is a Verb!
Laughing Out Loud with James Joyce and Tom Staley
James Joyce’s masterwork Ulysses has been called a book of many happy returns and I’ve been returning to happily savor its pages for more than fifty years. My appreciation of the works of the great Irish writer was enhanced by the good fortune of attending the University of Tulsa, a center for Joyce studies. While… Continue reading Laughing Out Loud with James Joyce and Tom Staley
Laughing Out Loud with Mathematics
Curves of Thought It seems natural, and valid, to assume that there are twice as many whole numbers as even numbers. But, as the following table clearly shows, there is a unique one-to-one correspondence between the two sets of numbers. Ergo . . . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 .… Continue reading Laughing Out Loud with Mathematics
Laughing Out Loud With Hartshorne
Over his long and productive life of 103 years, Charles Hartshorne wrote more than twenty masterful books and . . . published a new book in his hundredth year! How can you possibly top that? One way would be to publish a new book posthumously, and Hartshorne (with a little help) has done just that… Continue reading Laughing Out Loud With Hartshorne