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8/3/09

Give it Your Best Shot

From a review of Charles Siebert's The Wauchula Woods Accord: Toward a New Understanding of Animals in yesterday's NYT book review: "Of course, all this philosophizing isn't for everyone. But give it your best shot." Like, fire off a few rounds of deep contemplation, and then have a laugh and turn on the TV? Sigh.

My latest column in The Philosophers' Magazine is online. As you'll see, I'm a Twitter wannabe and a fan of end-of-the-world fiction.

9 comments:

  1. FaustAugust 3, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    Have you read Blindsight by Peter Watts?

    Also: how about Phillip K Dick? He is a master of the end of the world...through the disaster of simulacra.

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  2. Jean KazezAugust 3, 2009 at 10:09 AM

    I'm planning on reading the Dick book that was the basis for Bladerunner (and see the movie again). Haven't heard of the other...will look it up.

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  3. FaustAugust 3, 2009 at 10:36 AM

    I strongly recommend Blindsight. One of the best science fiction books to come out in the last 10 years. Nominated for the Hugo, but got edged out by Vinge, and not with justification in my opinion.

    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is good. The Mood Organ is one of the great untapped philosophical versions of The Experience Machine out there. I'm continually suprised no one has picked it up and run with it.

    But there is plenty of other good Phillip K Dick. I would pick up a "best of" short story anthology. His early short stories in particular are great. One of the most important and prophetic science fiction writers of the 20th century

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  4. FaustAugust 4, 2009 at 8:15 AM

    Sort of genericly on topic for your interests but I'll stash it in this thread:

    http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt07/haidt07_index.html

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  5. Jean KazezAugust 4, 2009 at 12:27 PM

    Really interesting stuff in there (I find Jonathan Haidt very interesting), especially about atheists and charitable giving...and especially about blood donations.

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  6. FaustAugust 4, 2009 at 10:02 PM

    In case you missed it there are also responses from PZ Myers, Harris and others to the article. Then Haidt responds.

    I do like Haidts general take. Certainly I like his treatment of morality, and his suggested definition.

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  7. Jean KazezAugust 5, 2009 at 7:16 AM

    I didn't see that. Must look...and maybe post something. But not right away. I can only handle the topic of "the new atheists" for so long and then it gives me a headache.

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  8. FaustAugust 5, 2009 at 9:55 AM

    Is it really the topic that gives you the headache?

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  9. Jean KazezAugust 5, 2009 at 10:02 AM

    You may onto something there.

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