Huenemanniac

Just got back from a conference in Big Sky, MT, where we read and then discussed Emerson and Nietzsche. (The view above is from our hotel window.) It was a great conference. Much of the discussion seemed to center around the notion of liberty — how you get it, according to each philosopher. Views differed… Continue reading

Went for a hike yesterday on Powder Mountain, a ski hill, with a group of old and new friends. We came across Hidden Lake, which afforded an opportunity for wading, swimming, and plummeting from a rope swing. The valley seen in the distance is where we live, Cache Valley. Continue reading

Mike raises the following question: From Nz’s perspective, what was the world like before the death of God? The best answer I have at the moment is The Gay Science #84 the last paragraph. Maybe that’s *way* before the death of God though or maybe that’s basically what it is. I don’t have GS handy,… Continue reading

You decide! Continue reading

Genius of the Heart is available in Kindle form now. I have yet to hold/use a Kindle, but I hear they’re pretty great. Also: if you, dear reader of Huenemanniac, have read the silly book, would you consider posting a review? Note that I’m NOT saying “post a review only if you have kind things… Continue reading

… though in a modified fashion. Went a full 100+ miles on Saturday, and about 50 today, so the total is still what I promised. It was an interesting ride. I was by myself, floating in and out of riding conversations, with plenty of solo time to stew over philosophical questions (like, “Are there any… Continue reading

My apologies for the dearth of postings lately. My attention has been scattered by an essay on Spinoza, closely reading Emerson and Nietzsche for an upcoming conference, and a conference paper on Nietzsche, and a book project on Spinoza — and a family vacation to DC, which was a blast. Anyhow, in the meantime, here… Continue reading

So far, not much to report. Continue reading

I have been trying to get a good understanding of Spinoza’s advice for handling the passions. My understanding seems to require stories and analogies, so I ended up with this one: Imagine taking a group of very special kids on a field trip. Each of them is enormously sensitive to different sorts of stimuli, and… Continue reading

This one lives in Paradise. No kidding. Continue reading

The University of Chicago is hosting an interdisciplinary project called Defining Wisdom. The idea is to draw on work across disciplines – philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc. – to try to gain a better picture of the nature and benefits of wisdom. I like the idea, though the project is still in a very early stage,… Continue reading

Because one cannot do otherwise, of course. But more seriously, I have been thinking about this question in the case of Spinoza. It’s clear that he took himself to be a necessitarian — “I have shown clearly enough that from God’s supreme power all things have necessarily flowed by the same necessity and in the… Continue reading

Seen on my bike ride yesterday. Continue reading

See the link on the right. What a handsome cover! Continue reading

I have recently become acquainted with degenerationism, or the view bandied about in the late 19th century that human beings were degenerating. It was clearly a case of psychologists’ enthusiasm getting way beyond their means. A number of thinkers assessed the current state of European culture, found it lacking, and surmised that something must be… Continue reading

There is a path behind our house which runs alongside a canal. I often take the path to campus and it’s always a nice interlude between home and office — trees, birds, animals, water. Each spring the gates to the canal are open and water begins to flow, and I have always wanted to be… Continue reading

The Nietzsche book can now be purchased here. In a few weeks it should be available through Amazon. Continue reading

I am at times sincerely drawn to the attitude Kant takes toward the phenomenal world in his Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics. His view there is that the world is constructed out of an individual’s experience. I have an experience, ordered in space and time. I am able to construct out of that experience what… Continue reading

So sometimes people ask me: what do you do for fun in your little western mountain town? Well, last night was a great example. I met my friends Will (first violin) and Chris (Holst expert) at a local bar to exchange highly-coveted artwork, and then determine if that was where the hookers hung out. (No.… Continue reading

Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos. Continue reading

Here is the link. Enriquez studies the intersections of science, business, society, life sciences, and robotics. He founded Harvard Business School’s Life Sciences Project, and reformed Mexico’s economic system. So, a pretty interesting guy. This lecture is on the current banking crisis, the promises of biological research, and the future of human evolution. Continue reading

It is bracing to reflect from time to time on the utter senselessness of the very real institutions we inhabit. Take the university, for instance. The history of the university, as we now know it, is tangled and complicated (see here for an overview), but one of the central reasons for our universities being structured… Continue reading

It has been a learning semester. First, there was that whole thing about awards (embarrassing). Then there was also being promoted to full professor (liberating, in a way; no further promotions to seek). And each of the two classes I taught were disasters — nothing likely to land me in jail, but enough to throw… Continue reading

You may recall my ambivalence toward getting awards. (If not, see here.) I shamelessly chased after an award this year, and was lucky enough to get it, with the thought that the award would pay $500, and I could have the fun of calculating whether the prize was worth all the time it required. I’ve… Continue reading

The last few lines from Billy Collins, “This Little Piggy Went to Market”: By the way, I am completely down with going “Wee wee wee” all the way home, having done that many times and knowing exactly how it feels. Continue reading