Category: Introduction to Philosophy
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Mountain dog school for living philosophy
The Mountain Dog School for Living Philosophy promotes philosophy as a way of life, inviting individuals from diverse backgrounds to explore existential questions through dialogue and reflection. Its mission emphasizes personal engagement in philosophizing, fostering authenticity, self-actualization, and meaningful relationships in a complex world.
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Haibun 06Jul25: Reading, Authority, and Reason
When I was young, I thought books were keys to the vault of answers. If I read enough, deeply enough, I’d know what to think. I mistook tradition for commandment. Decades later, I sit among these same volumes—dog-eared, underlined, marked with my old urgency—and realize they never wanted to be…
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Caring about the immunocompromised
Good article for thinkering about an ethics of care for those who are most vulnerable during this pandemic… Close to 3 percent of U.S. adults take immunosuppressive drugs, either to treat cancers or autoimmune disorders or to stop their body from rejecting transplanted organs or stem cells. That makes at least 7…
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2020 — SPRING TCCD-NE Course
My current course in Introduction to Philosophy: Reading schedule, readings, and assignments. If you are not one of my students, you are still welcome to read along with us.
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New Patreon Podcast
I finally created my Patreon page, Call Me Maggie, and I look forward to working with whomever decides to join up.
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Unchained Mind-walking
My visit to Abilene this last week has been quiet and refreshing after teaching two courses during the second part of Summer school. Humble thanks to my colleagues Doug and Loni who co-taught one course with me at UNT. First online course to prepare me to teach online in the…
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On Bullshit Jobs – RSA
According to a 2015 YouGov poll, 37% of the UK population believe their job makes no meaningful contribution to the world. And despite the time-saving advances promised by technology, we’re now working longer hours than ever. How has this situation come to pass, and what is the future of work…
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My teaching philosophy
This is really the first assignment I give for reading in all of my courses. It is to let students know why I believe they should make a place for philosophizing throughout their life. I have taken to sending this along when colleges ask to see my teaching philosophy. READ:…
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2019 — Summer Course
Here you will find the readings for my 2019 Summer II course. Check back frequently for updates. Back to Call Me Maggie homepage Have the assigned readings completed by the time you get to class. The first part of class each day will talk about the reading and Maggie will…
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Greek Natural Philosophy
The first edition of the text on Presocratic philosophy which I co-authored with J. Baird Callicott and John van Buren is now available for adoption from Cognella. Greek Natural Philosophy presents the primary sources on the Presocratics in a straightforward way in order to tell a coherent story about the…
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INTRO TO PHIL, fall 2017
I will be saving my white boards here for my students. From time to time, I will record by lectures. But I won’t be doing this everyday like I did in my summer Existentialism course. Questions raised in morning class Questions raised in afternoon class Monday, 28 August 2017–Happy St.…
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The idea of God
Intro to Philosophy on MWF @ 1:00pm. I asked the youth to read chapter 4 of Way to Wisdom–“The Idea of God.” Mostly I spent time laying the groundwork for a better understanding of what Jaspers means by “faith.”
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Hesiod’s Chaos and Laozi’s Way
PHIL 1060, Monday nights, 19 Sep 2016 Grounding ourselves in how the ancient Greeks and Chinese thought about the order of things. First, we discussed the basics of Hesiod’s mythopoeic worldview as a procreative cosmogony. Then, we moved over to talk about the insights of Laozi’s poetry concerning the Dào.…
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Encountering the Encompassing
PHIL 1050, MWF @ 1:00pm, Monday 19 Sep 2016 My young friends were asked to read Jaspers chapter on das Umgreifende, the Encompassing or as Ralph Mannheim translates the term in Way to Wisdom, the Comprehensive. Not an easy thing to talk about or think about. My hope was that our…
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The nameless backgrounds the nameable
MWF PHIL 1050.006, 1:00pm, Friday 16 Sep 2016 We took a close look at poem 1 about the Dao (Way), spending time on the (ironic) difference between the Nameless and the nameable. Basically, it is difficult to name the Ultimate Source of Reality and any attempt to name the Source must fail. Laozi does not…
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Mythopoesis
Intro to Philosophy (MWF @ 1pm)–12 Sep 2016 We went through the beginning of Greek philosophy in Hesiod/Homer in their attempt to express a just world order through making-narratives (mythopoesis) of gods and the birth of the cosmos. This led to disclosing the purpose of the course: to examine the attempts…
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