February 26, 2019 at 1:46 pm
As Er watches dead souls choose new lives in Plato’s Myth of Er, he is surprised to see Odysseus chooses a life of a farmer. Instead of another life of greatness and fame, he chooses the middle path of an ordinary man. Many thinkers and characters strive for greatness, and some even manage to achieve […]
February 18, 2017 at 7:15 pm
Steve Bannon (good name) believes in a cyclical theory of history. We do not have the evidence for it, which is just the point, sincethe argument then becomes circular. The nice thing about cycles is that it suggests revolution, something we like here; the bad thingis thatBannon feels perhaps that he is the spearhead of […]
August 5, 2015 at 5:13 pm
“Justice” is something of a buzz word in the Core: what it means, how it should be administered, and what constitutes a crime are just a few of the topics that are addressed by writers like Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, and Dante. For the most part, these great thinkers propose systems wherein criminals are punished retroactively […]
Summer’s in full swing, and we’ve all settled into our lazy summer habits, which include the constant struggle trying to keep warm for those of us staying in Boston. For those of you missing the Core office, don’t worry, we miss all of you too. To keep your spirits up, we found this wonderful comedic […]
March 24, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Are you living an examined life? No, really, are you? In between texting while walking, daydreaming while note-taking, scrolling while sleeping, and sleeping while strolling, are you living an examined life? It’s ok if you are not. Few are. But it’s an important question to ask oneself, and that’s why philosophy matters. Clancy Martin, in […]
October 15, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Related to Prof. Roochnik’s CC101 lecture on Plato and maths, is a post from Gizmodo titled ‘Wait a Minute: Does Math actually exist?’. Here is a sample: PBS Idea Channel tackles the subject of whether math really exists or not. It’s a legitimate question because math, unlike physics or chemistry or biology, can’t be seen or smelled […]
January 17, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Language and Other Abstract Objects was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 1981. It discusses the ideas of Plato studied in CC101. Internalization and externalization also explain why, for Plato, poetry corrupts our psyches. Given our psychology, there are two features of poetry which make it an especially potent drug. First, the music and rhythms […]
By mdimov
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Posted in Academics, Curriculum, Great Ideas, Great Questions
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Also tagged boundary, CC101, expression, form, imagination, imitation, inside, outside, perform, poetry
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November 29, 2012 at 5:10 pm
On November 20th, Professor Greg Fried (Suffolk University, Department of Philosophy), a long-time friend and colleague of the Core, lectured to the students of CC101 about Plato’s Republic. Here we offer an excerpt from his lecture: MORPHEUS: Do you want to know what it is, Neo? The Matrix is everywhere; it’s all around us, even now in […]
By mdimov
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Posted in Academics, Core Lecturers, Curriculum, Great Ideas, Quotes, Uncategorized
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Also tagged Allegory of the Cave, fun, interesting, Matrix, pill, rabbit hole, Republic, Socrates
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