Why I Walk (a lot)
Versão portuguesa Being peripatetic (or philosophically ambulatory) is, for my money, a conditio sine qua non for courting wisdom. Moving your body properly is both cause and effect of moving
Christian Debris
Since I was hired over two decades ago to teach Medieval Philosophy at a secular, Brazilian university, I have had time and resources to plunge deeply into the medieval world.
Four Contemporary Confusions
Life is confusing enough, but for the past century or so, four gratuitous confusions have been inoculated into our everyday consciousness, and I take great joy in calling their bluff.
Stupiditas invicta – why we should treasure ignorance and loathe stupidity
Einstein is reported to have said that only two infinities exist: the universe and human stupidity; he then expressed his doubts about the former. As a teacher I’m a great
Artists Formerly Known as Saints
As the death of ‘Prince’ was emblazoned on the front pages of the Western world’s newspapers, I had to wonder – once again – why we treat musicians, actors and
The Balboa Moment
In the autumn of 2013, I spent a night in Panama City on my way from Brazil to Massachusetts. Such pauses turn an otherwise burdensome 12 hour ordeal into two
Something’s Missing
In any area of research, and particularly one which already boasts centuries of advances and impressive claims of conquest, new discoveries and even significant paradigm shifts (to use the catchphrase)
What other philosophers say…
Here are about 20 minutes of a variety of English-speaking philosophers answering (or dodging) the question: “What is philosophy?” (courtesy of the website philosophybites.com). Most are surprised by the question,
Why I like Tom
One of my students asked me once what it was I most admired in St. Thomas Aquinas (whom I tend to quote a lot). I’d never been asked that before,
Pointing and Seeing Together
All babies point without training. No mother need instruct her infant to extend its tiny index finger and direct it at an object. They do it on their own, and
Naked Facts
Modesty, as I understand it, is a form of respect we show to other people, acting and dressing in ways that address their higher faculties and do not arouse their
Losing the Evidence
The “obvious” is that which goes without saying. Indeed, it only really goes when it isn’t said. When we say it anyway, it sounds tautological and intrusive. “The world is