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Category: Philosophy and poetry

Not So Single-Pointed Philosophical Activity

Not So Single-Pointed Philosophical Activity

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Meditation, particularly in the tradition of Dōgen, is the paradigm for single-pointed activity. Whether you follow your breath or “just sit,” openly aware of the present moment in its entirety, Dōgen makes clear that you are not to judge whatever arises as good or bad. And when thoughts, images, desires, etc., arise, you let them go and return to the “object” of meditation. In so doing you are contributing to the re-habituation of your mind, getting “better” at letting go…

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Conversing with the Universe

Conversing with the Universe

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In the classroom I’m explicit with the disclaimer that since we’re doing philosophy, nothing is off the table for questioning, including religious beliefs. It is this “nothing’s off the table for question” attitude that is so particular to philosophy, particularly as it is constantly calling itself into question. And it is this attitude that has implications for the roles we play, the masks we wear. We all play various roles, whether student, professor, parent, brother, close friend, etc. The question…

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Something about the self

Something about the self

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With some questions we just can’t help our- selves. Buddhists answer one way. Hindus answer another. Both say we’ve got the wrong idea of what the self is or isn’t. I’m not sure what to think…except… that they, that we, are likely all a bit off in our estimation. Is it a bit like when in the Boy Scouts, on a camping trip, the older scouts would make the younger scouts excited about snipe hunting? And so off we’d go…

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The Limits of Science, Philosophy, and Poetry: Opening Moves

The Limits of Science, Philosophy, and Poetry: Opening Moves

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A view of knowledge that acknowledges that the sphere of knowledge is wider than the sphere of ‘science’ seems to me to be a cultural necessity if we are to arrive at a sane and human view of ourselves or of science. (Hilary Putnam, Meaning and the Moral Sciences, 5) There are, of course, a great many things that humans do quite naturally, e.g., acquire a mother tongue and fall in love. Just as naturally as those, there is the…

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The Great Clod: Earth, Identity, and Death

The Great Clod: Earth, Identity, and Death

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Taoism strikes me as similar to quantum mechanics in at least one respect: if you claim to grasp it, then you don’t. Nevertheless, that doesn’t preclude approaching an understanding of either. In his What is Taoism? H.G. Creel has an excellent chapter entitled, “The Great Clod”—a chapter that is quite helpful in regard to one aspect of Taoism. In explaining the meaning and role of “the Great Clod” in Taoism, Creel quotes, in order to set up a contrast, a…

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When Death Comes

When Death Comes

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The first poem I ever learned by heart was Mary Oliver’s “When Death Comes.” When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me, and snaps his purse shut; when death comes like the measle-pox; when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of…

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Philosophy, Poetry, and Truth

Philosophy, Poetry, and Truth

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My friend Jennie and I used to argue often about the different ways that poetry and philosophy go about examining the world and attempting to speak truly about it.  She always claimed that there were certain truths, usually of a spiritual nature, or if not spiritual, then about particular deep aspects of life and nature, that poetry was better at investigating and expressing than philosophy.  I’m not in a position to give her reasons for these claims.  And I don’t…

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