tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303799862024-03-13T16:12:14.882+00:00kenodoxiaJames Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.comBlogger746125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-3532408635877404202016-09-09T14:11:00.000+01:002016-09-09T14:11:09.137+01:00Jóhann Jóhannsson, 'Orphée'I love this man's music.
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The last track is called 'Orphic hymn': it's a setting of part of Ovid's <i>Metamorphoses</i>
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-40154271707802758782015-05-01T09:46:00.000+01:002015-05-01T09:46:02.831+01:00Electioneering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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People are probably sick of the upcoming UK election and, in particular, sick of people blogging, tweeting, and writing about it. In particular, I'm sick of the increasingly meta-commentary (to which, yes I know, I am now contributing) of the kind that tweets about how awful it is that some person tweeted in support of something some candidate said given that said tweeter is clearly working for the party of said candidate, as evidence by this earlier tweet from the candidate that links to a photo that the tweeter is in....<br />
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It's not surprise, of course, that these parties engage in an organised attempt to provide positive commentary to their views. I've no idea whether this helps at all or whether it just provides distraction for those of us who can't help reading all this stuff. But it is, in the end, not particularly persuasive. If the last 1000 Owen Jones retweets haven't made you think that David Cameron is out to destroy all that is good, then I doubt the 1001st will either. The overall effect is not that different from what happens when supporters of football teams head to twitter or phone in to 6-0-6 with Robbie Savage. Your midfielder's embarrassing slip that cost a goal is worth all sorts of songs, videos, parodies, comment. Our midfielder's brave last-ditch effort that unfortunately didn't quite come off is praiseworthy and noble. We have an organised defence; you park the bus.<br />
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Here is how one of these political irregular verbs goes:<br />
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I make a cast-iron promise.<br />
You deceive the electorate with false promises.<br />
He is Nick Clegg.<br />
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We have a proven track-record of delivering clear progress.<br />
You cocked everything up last time you had a go.<br />
They won't do anything much.<br />
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I'm bored by the whole lot and I shouldn't be. The leaflets and the debates have just become noise. I think what is most disappointing is that I am now finding it hard to distinguish between election leaflets and those flyers and bits of junkmail you get trying to persuade you to change broadband provider or mobile phone contract. We are being sold something, not presented with a positive idea of something we can all do better. (Even when the leaflets say that this is a positive idea of something we can do better, in fact they are trying to sell us something, like those companies that pretend you can save the planet by drinking a certain kind of smoothie.) So, the parties all promise that we can get things that are better, quicker, faster but we don't need to pay more. Brilliant! And they will super-promise all that with a five-year price deal for new voters. (One of my local candidates has a leaflet that contains a list of five promises. The fifth promise is a promise to keep all his promises.) I don't believe all this guff any more than I believe that Sky broadband is eminently superior to Virgin broadband. In any case, choosing who should represent my constituency in Parliament is not equivalent to choosing a home insurance provider.<br />
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And if that doesn't get to you, the moral overtones will. This is perhaps what annoys me the most about the party system. This choice between different package deals comes wrapped in the pretence of an ethical standard. The red team says that if you vote blue then you are a heartless bastard who wants to see children starve and disabled people flogged because they can't work. The blue team says that if you vote for the red team then you're a naive idiot who thinks that money can be conjured from thin air and that someone else should pay for you to do less. You're either heartless or stupid. The yellow team says that the other two teams are liars and that they will do a bit of one and a bit of the other: more heart and more brain. The other teams say that the yellow team is both heartless and naive. The green team says that everyone who doesn't like their team hates all other people and wants the planet to burn up. The purple team says all the other teams just want to carry on playing a game of pass the parcel and that <i>real </i>people are fed up with it and that they want a turn at passing the parcel too.<br />
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In both ways we are treated like idiots. The audience on BBC's <i>Question Time </i>last night was prepared to demand that the politicians on parade answered questions we want answered. They didn't get much joy, but it was great to see that they weren't impressed by the evasion. <br />
<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-25499330648474059872015-03-22T12:17:00.000+00:002015-03-22T12:17:05.219+00:00O tempora! O montem!Harry Mount is depressed about the way Classics is going in British schools and, it seems, also about standards in Classics departments in universities. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/11482881/The-Greek-Tragedy-in-our-classrooms.html" target="_blank">Here is his piece setting out where, how, and why things are going wrong.</a><br />
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There are lots of ways you might respond to it. <a href="http://edithorial.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/challenging-classical-conservatives.html" target="_blank">Edith Hall has already had a go</a>. And there are lots of other ways you might reply to Mount's rhetoric. E.g., he writes that Latin GCSE is depressingly easy:<br />
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As a part-time Latin tutor, I’m staggered by the low standards. One of
my pupils – a bright boy, certainly, but with only two years’ Latin
under his belt – got 97 per cent in his GCSE. Even Virgil would have
struggled to get 97 per cent in the old O-Levels. </blockquote>
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You can infer from this two things. First, Mount is an excellent Latin tutor. Second, that if indeed Virgil himself would have struggled in the Latin O-level then it is hard to imagine just what that O-level was supposed to evaluate. Not a competence (brilliance even) in Latin, apparently. <br />
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But here is another claim that I think I am able to speak to. Mount writes:<br />
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Because the subject is now only properly taught in independent and
grammar schools, high entrance standards would eliminate practically all
comprehensively-educated applicants. And so they have to dumb down even
further in order to admit those pupils. </blockquote>
I really don't know what to do with that. It will hardly help for me and various other people who are involved in university admissions simply to deny that it is true. We would deny it, wouldn't we? It will hardly help for me to point to various excellently-taught comprehensive school pupils and also point to the fact that there is a lot of fine teaching of Classics (and, yes, Classical Civilisation) in comprehensive schools that leaves students who do not go on to study the subject at university with an enthusiasm and interest for history, philosophy, languages, literature and the like. <br />
The shame is that deep down there is not really, I think, any serious disagreement about what we all want, those of us in the business. We want there to be people who can go on to continue further detailed study and research into the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. And yes, that means there must be people who know Latin and Greek really well. And we want people who can do more than spot a deponent verb because we need people who can ask interesting questions of the Latin and Greek that they read. And people who can read Plato and think about political philosophy or modern metaphysics. And people who can read Lucan and think about Shakespeare. And people who excavate Roman sites. And so on. What's more, we want there to be as many people as possible who have been exposed to these fascinating texts, times, places, and objects who don't make a career of it but who nevertheless carry that exposure with them in whatever else they do. <br />
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So it isn't true that people either learn Latin and Greek 'properly' in Mount's terms or they do Classical Civilisation. One will tend to lead to the other, <i>in both directions. </i>What is the point of learning the verb tables if not to read the works and <i>think about them</i>? Won't any enthusiasm for the classical world lead to a degree of interest in those ancient languages? <br />
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Casting the debate as Mount does won't ensure the healthy future of the Classics he and I love.<br />
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<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-56273993709974250692015-03-08T09:07:00.000+00:002015-03-08T09:07:07.546+00:00Admission. And Finland for Eurosong 2015!This term I have mostly been getting to grips with a new admin job looking after graduate 'affairs' (as the job title unfortunately has it) in the Faculty. And I've learned lots of things many of which are beginning to make me depressed about the chances of good students, particularly from the UK, being funded to do Master's and then PhD degrees. I wonder if in twenty years time we'll be looking round wondering where this generation of UK academics in the humanities has gone. But I'll keep my peace on that for now, at least until I've seen enough of it to think I have something more to say than a general list of complaints.<br />
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I also get to spend much more of my time in meetings than I am used to. Meetings are only sometimes useful, of course, and often the principal use of the meeting is to demonstrate that more than one person is responsible for a certain decision. I would much rather, of course, be talking to a student about some ancient philosophy or thinking myself about some ancient philosophy but so be it. We all have to do our turn.<br />
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But term will end soon! Hooray!<br />
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Things to look forward to then include a Philosophy 'Masterclass' (Open Day) thing at my college and the chance to think a bit more carefully about a chunk of Plato's <i>Philebus </i>I need to get to grips with before September.<br />
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And my mood hasn't really been spoiled by yesterday's news that the BBC has opted for this pile of poo as the UK's Eurosong entry. Now, we all know that there is no point entering a song that's any good and that no one who actually fancies a career in music would go anywhere near this toxic competition, but come on, really? I read somewhere that it was written by the same musical genius that gave us the theme tunes to Jim'll Fix It (you don't hear that very often anymore) and Challenge Anneka. Finger on the pulse...<br />
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(If you stick with it up to 1m 53s it gets particularly bad.)<br />
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Anyhow, all is not lost because we need to get behind Finland's entry: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertti_Kurikan_Nimip%C3%A4iv%C3%A4t" target="_blank">Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät</a>.<br />
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Here is their song:<br />
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And here is a part of a documentary about them in which they get sweary about pedicures:<br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-53817624315376830752015-01-28T20:39:00.002+00:002015-01-28T20:39:39.939+00:00Some of what the ancient philosophy yoot are up to...Peter Adamson pointed me <a href="http://www.icls.sas.ac.uk/students/uk-doctoral-theses-search?keys=philosophy" target="_blank">to this interesting page</a>, collecting titles of some current and recent doctoral research projects in ancient philosophy in the UK. The first thing to note is, I suppose, the number: more than 50 projects begun since around 2010. I don't think that's too shabby, to be honest, and it suggests that the discipline in general is in a relatively good state. <br />
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One point to bear in mind is that this is the list taken from the Institute of Classical Studies so it gives those projects that are in the main being done in Classics Faculties and Departments rather than in Philosophy. So the total number in progress will certainly be higher. And it also might account, I guess, for the fact that if you look down this list you'd be forgiven for thinking that Plato and Aristotle are not all that popular these days. That can't be true, can it? Would the picture be more familiar if we add in those projects being done also, say, in the Oxford Philosophy Faculty or in UCL and KCL Philosophy?<br />
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<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-17741351526201130892015-01-20T11:47:00.002+00:002015-01-20T11:47:35.920+00:00Studies in Ancient Moral and Political PhilosophyWe take great pleasure in announcing the creation of a new series: <i>Studies in Ancient Moral and Political Philosophy</i>, to be published by Academia Verlag.<br />
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Besides the three co-editors, the advisory board includes: Gábor Betegh (Budapest, Cambridge), Marguerite Deslauriers (McGill, Montréal), Panos Dimas (Oslo), Susan Sauvé Meyer (U. of Pennsylvania), Pierre-Marie Morel (Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne), Jörn Müller (Würzburg), Ricardo Salles (UNAM, Mexico), Emidio Spinelli (La Sapienza, Roma), Teun Tieleman (Utrecht), Katja Vogt (Columbia, New York), James Warren (Cambridge).<br />
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The first volume - <a href="http://www.academia-verlag.de/titel/69634.htm"><i>What is Up To Us. Studies on Agency and Responsibility in Ancient Philosophy</i></a> (edited by P. Destrée, R. Salles and M. Zingano)- offers 22 chapters on the notion “<i>to eph’ hêmin</i>” from Democritus to Proclus, with a posthumous paper by Michael Frede.<br />
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<a href="http://www.academia-verlag.de/titel/pdf/69634inh.pdf" target="_blank">Table of Contents (pdf)</a><br />
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We hope to be able to publish one or two volumes a year. We are glad to receive any proposals for a monograph or collective volume; they may be sent to either editor of the series.
Pierre Destrée (Louvain), Christoph Horn (Bonn) & Marco Zingano (São Paulo)
James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-63674590980047707682015-01-18T18:57:00.001+00:002015-01-18T18:57:49.323+00:00And by March...... the college gardens should be looking even better. But if you can't wait for then, you can look at some photographs by Dave Barton, the Head Gardener posted on <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/121955985@N06/sets/">his Flickr page.</a><br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-5973030728809824542015-01-18T18:50:00.001+00:002015-01-18T18:50:20.699+00:00Corpus Christi College Taster Days...... or 'Masterclasses' as they are now branded. Through February and March the college is organising a series of days for Year 12 students to come and see what it is like to study various subjects here in Cambridge, meet some of the teaching staff and students and find out more about how to apply. The full list of subjects, with dates and details of how to apply, is <a href="http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/masterclasses-2015/">here</a>.<br />
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I will be doing some sessions on the Philosophy day on 20 March.James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-85262873528541311092015-01-08T09:59:00.000+00:002015-01-08T09:59:08.889+00:00Impact (literally)I wonder if anyone else spotted that the bedtime reading of one of the character's in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04xws0x/silent-witness-snipers-nest-part-2">last night's episode</a> of <i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007y6k8">Silent Witness</a> </i>on BBC1 was <a href="http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/paul-cartledge">Paul Cartledge</a>'s book <i>Thermopylae </i>(in Dr Alexander's left hand, in picture below)<i>. </i>Now, without spoiling too much, it probably wasn't a great advert for the kind of effect that reading PAC's work might have on a young boy's psychology but nevertheless it's yet another sign of the excellent impact being made by the work of members of my Faculty. <a href="http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/news/REF2014">Hooray for us</a>.<br />
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<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-73444467035084380782014-12-19T09:34:00.004+00:002014-12-19T09:34:44.462+00:00Pleasures onlineWell, I'm sure that are all sorts of interesting things you can find online. But I've just spotted that the full text of my new book is available online if you or your institution has a subscription to the CUP 'Cambridge Books Online' site. <a href="http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139178976">The direct link is here</a>. Of course, you should certainly buy a copy but this will no doubt be useful as a back-up...<br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-55888717521976763312014-12-16T09:34:00.000+00:002014-12-16T09:34:11.758+00:00Funded doctoral research positions in Munich<br />
The Munich School of Ancient Philosophy (MUSAΦ) invites applications for
funded doctoral positions. Dissertation proposals are welcome in all
areas of ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, the medieval reception in
Arabic and Latin, and textual criticism. See the flyer, available here: <a href="http://www.musaph.uni-muenchen.de/download/flyermusaph2015.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.musaph.uni-muenchen.de/download/flyermusaph2015.pdf</a><br />
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MUSAΦ is a joint program of the Classics and Philosophy Departments at
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU). It is directed by Professors Peter
Adamson, Oliver Primavesi and Christof Rapp. In addition, it boasts a
substantial number of junior faculty and postdocs. Graduate students and
visiting fellows round out the exceptionally large and lively ancient
philosophy community, which provides an ideal environment for graduate
study.<br />
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Doctoral fellowships cover three years, the period of dissertation
research and writing. Complementing their dissertation research,
doctoral students in MUSAΦ participate in a wide array of advanced
seminars, reading groups and workshops. Doctoral students may also avail
themselves of the opportunity to teach if desired. Since the number of
fellowships is limited, we encourage applicants to seek out external
funding as well.<br />
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Although based in Germany, most of the advanced instruction takes place
in English and there is no formal language requirement. Dissertations
may be written in German or in English.We welcome applicants with a
sufficient working knowledge of one of these languages and a willingness
to attain basic skills in the other.<br />
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We strongly encourage interested students to apply by February 15th,
2015 for full consideration. We hope to make initial offers immediately
afterwards. Applications will continue to be considered on a rolling
basis as long as places remain.<br />
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Please visit our website (<a href="http://www.musaph.uni-muenchen.de/" target="_blank">www.musaph.uni-muenchen.de</a>) for more information about the program and about how to apply. Inquiries about the program may be directed to: <a href="mailto:musaph@lmu.de" target="_blank">musaph@lmu.de</a>.
Students who are not yet prepared to begin dissertation research might
be interested in the Masters Program in Ancient Philosophy at LMU.<br />
James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-40552754045306551682014-12-08T09:15:00.000+00:002014-12-08T09:15:00.380+00:00CFP: War and strife in ancient philosophyOur excellent graduates are organising another of their successful annual graduate conferences. This year the theme is 'War and Strife in Ancient Philosophy', to be held in Cambridge on 27-28 March 2015 and you can find the website with details of how to submit abstracts, accommodation etc. <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/waraphil2015/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPO2rMDnig9XV9EQdZ56ucn-aGS8KGzU8qnSaFOu2KufrQaf0MtQ_fCIs9Vio1VxXL5QA9kR6uTqYaEsPJuYYhKZFhZEqQl37gGslMyTfARZRn_NDZqCHj_NAkgZ8hMpOW0TeLg/s1600/War+and+Strife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/waraphil2015/" target="_blank"><img a="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPO2rMDnig9XV9EQdZ56ucn-aGS8KGzU8qnSaFOu2KufrQaf0MtQ_fCIs9Vio1VxXL5QA9kR6uTqYaEsPJuYYhKZFhZEqQl37gGslMyTfARZRn_NDZqCHj_NAkgZ8hMpOW0TeLg/s1600/War+and+Strife.jpg" height="392" href="https://sites.google.com/site/waraphil2015/" target="_blank" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This is the fifth in a series of annual conferences, all completely organised by our graduate students. They are always fun and intellectually stimulating occasions. James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-76075819351003565192014-12-01T11:37:00.001+00:002014-12-01T11:37:15.429+00:00Misc.1. <a href="http://www.moderntoss.com/advent-calendar" target="_blank">This is the best online advent calendar</a>.<br />
<br />
2. There are lots of sentimental songs about being a parent. I'm not sure this is very sentimental but I think it's lovely.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GPlUH_G7bC4?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
3.If you are looking for Xmas presents for the scientist/philosopher/academic in your life, you can do worse than browse <a href="http://www.presentindicative.com/" target="_blank">what's available here</a>. The goodies include, for instance, a set of Rorschasch ink-blot test coasters.<br />
<br />
4. Winter's evenings are good for ghost stories. The BBC's <i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tcbyb" target="_blank">Remember Me</a> </i>is unsettling but I'm not sure why. It's got Robert Baratheon out of off of <i>GoT</i>/Hercules out of off of <i>Atlantis </i>in it as a slightly rubbish police detective.James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-8625308252361862752014-11-26T20:35:00.000+00:002014-11-26T20:50:57.360+00:00PGR rankings for Ancient Philosophy<a href="http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2014/11/more-pgr-results-top-10-in-ancient-philosophy.html" target="_blank">As detailed here.</a> Any thoughts?<br />
<br />
The schools are ranked in peer groups by their rounded mean score
to .5 intervals; after a school's name appears the median and mode
scores. Where the median and mode scores are higher than the rounded
mean that usually indicates that a minority of evaluators scored the
program a bit more lowly than others.<br />
<br />
<b>Group 1 (1-2) (rounded mean of 4.5)</b><br />
Oxford University (5, 5)<br />
Princeton University (4.5, 4.5)<br />
<b>Group 2 (3-6) (rounded mean of 4.0)</b><br />
Cambridge University (4, 3)<br />
Stanford University (4, 4 & 4.5)<br />
University of Toronto (4, 4)<br />
Yale University (4, 4)<br />
<b>Group 3 (7-10) (rounded mean of 3.5)</b><br />
Cornell University (4, 4)<br />
University of Arizona (3.5, 4)<br />
University of Chicago (3.5, 2.5)<br />
University of Texas, Austin (3.5, 2.5 & 4)<br />
<br />
<b>Evaluators:</b> Rachel Barney, Jessica Berry, Tad
Brennan, Christopher Bobonich, Victor Caston, Dan Devereux, David Ebrey,
Gail Fine, Brad Inwood, Terence Irwin, Thomas Johansen, Mohan Matthen,
David Sedley, Christopher Shields, Allan Silverman, Nicholas Smith,
Katja Vogt, Jiyuan Yu.James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-53992706617274878362014-11-17T11:01:00.002+00:002014-11-17T11:01:31.576+00:00Keeling Scholarships in Ancient Philosophy (graduate) at UCL UCL Philosophy is pleased to announce two Keeling scholarships for research in ancient philosophy for either the MPhil. Stud. or PhD, beginning in 2015. The Scholarships will fund tuition fees (UK/EU) and full AHRC-equivalent London maintenance for two years ( MPhil. Stud.), or for up to three years ( PhD).<br />
<br />
MPhil Stud students awarded a Keeling Scholarship are required to specialise to some extent in ancient philosophy over the two year programme, by completing at least two half year modules in the area of ancient philosophy, and by writing their research thesis (30,000 words) on a topic in ancient philosophy. PhD students awarded a Keeling Scholarship will be pursuing a doctorate on a topic in ancient philosophy.<br />
<br />
Those able to supervise graduate research in ancient philosophy at UCL include Fiona Leigh (Philosophy), M.M. McCabe (Philosophy), Mark Kalderon (Philosophy), Simona Aimar (Philosophy, from 2017), and, by arrangement, Jenny Bryan (Greek and Latin).<br />
<br />
Details about our research programmes can be found here:
<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/prospective-students/mphil-stud-phd/philosophy-mphil-stud" target="_blank">http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/prospective-students/mphil-stud-phd/philosophy-mphil-stud</a><br />
<br />
London is a thriving centre for ancient philosophy. The Keeling Lecture and associated Graduate Masterclass is held annually at UCL, as is the biennial Keeling Colloquium. KCL and UCL co-convene a weekly ancient Greek reading group, and the Institute of Classical Studies hosts a fortnightly series of papers on a different theme each year, organised by academics from London working in ancient philosophy (UCL, KCL, Royal Holloway, Birkbeck, University of London).<br />
<br />
Further information can be found here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/keeling">http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/keeling</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.icls.sas.ac.uk/events/diary-events/seminar-lecture-series">http://www.icls.sas.ac.uk/events/diary-events/seminar-lecture-series</a><br />
<br />
Only applicants to UCL Philosophy research programmes can be considered for a Keeling Scholarship. Applicants should indicate on their application form that they wish to be considered for the Keeling Scholarship by writing 'Keeling Scholarship' in section §29 'Funding'. The deadline for applications to these programmes is 5 January 2015.<br />
<br />
Guidance on the UCL application process is here:<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply/research/" target="_blank">http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply/research/</a><br />
<br />
Enquiries in the first instance should be directed to Dr. Fiona Leigh: <a href="mailto:fiona.leigh@ucl.ac.uk">fiona.leigh@ucl.ac.uk</a><mailto:fiona .leigh="" ucl.ac.uk="">.
</mailto:fiona>James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-73909672845638689762014-11-11T12:07:00.001+00:002014-11-11T12:07:49.536+00:00Just an inklingI'm looking at <i>Republic </i>VII and trying to think through that argument about fingers and 'summoners of thought'. I've got as far as this passage:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων, ἔφην, ἀναλογίζου. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἱκανῶς αὐτὸ καθ' αὑτὸ ὁρᾶται ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ αἰσθήσει λαμβάνεται τὸ ἕν, οὐκ ἂν ὁλκὸν εἴη ἐπὶ τὴν οὐσίαν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ δακτύλου ἐλέγομεν· εἰ δ' ἀεί τι αὐτῷ ἅμα ὁρᾶται ἐναντίωμα, ὥστε μηδὲν μᾶλλον ἓν ἢ καὶ τοὐναντίον φαίνεσθαι, τοῦ ἐπικρινοῦντος δὴ δέοι ἂν ἤδη καὶ ἀναγκάζοιτ' ἂν ἐν αὐτῷ ψυχὴ ἀπορεῖν καὶ ζητεῖν, κινοῦσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἔννοιαν, καὶ ἀνερωτᾶν τί ποτέ ἐστιν αὐτὸ τὸ ἕν, καὶ οὕτω τῶν ἀγωγῶν ἂν εἴη καὶ μεταστρεπτικῶν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ὄντος θέαν ἡ περὶ τὸ ἓν μάθησις.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
524d8–525a2 </div>
</blockquote>
Here is the Grube translation: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Reason it out from what was said before. If the one is adequately seen itself by itself or is so perceived by any of the other senses, then, as we were saying in the case of fingers, it wouldn’t draw the soul towards being. But if something opposite to it is always seen at the same time, so that nothing is apparently any more one that the opposite of one, then something would be needed to judge the matter. The soul would then be puzzled, would look for an answer, would stir up its understanding (<i>ennoia</i>), and would ask what the one itself is. And so this would be among the subjects that led the soul and turn it around towards the study of that which is.
</blockquote>
I'm puzzled about the phrase: κινοῦσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἔννοιαν at 524e5 (Slings).<br />
<br />
As far as I can tell, it's the only use of the noun ἔννοια in the dialogue. (The verb is quite common. See e.g. 525c8.) My first question is: is ἔννοια here a cognitive faculty or capacity? Or is it some kind of cognitive <i>content</i> held in the soul? If the former, then it is perhaps like the references to how various things summon <i>dianoia </i>or call upon and awaken <i>noēsis </i>(e.g. 523d8-9). (This is how Griffith translates κινοῦσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἔννοιαν: 'It would arouse the capacity for reflection in itself...') In effect, the point would be that the soul stirring up the <i>ennoia </i>in it just is the soul calling upon its intellectual abilities to puzzle over the question of what the one is. If the latter, then perhaps the soul asking what the one is involves the soul stirring up from within itself its <i>ennoia </i>of just that; it involves the stirring up of some cognitive content that answers or will help to answer the question of what the one is. Here the <i>ennoia </i>is the content of some kind of understanding and not the faculty by which we might hope to come to understand something. Any help out there with this one? I agree that the latter option would perhaps by the more surprising. It might even be a hint of the idea of some kind of innate understanding in every human soul: not a particularly unPlatonic idea, of course, but not something much emphasised in the <i>Republic. </i>And for that reason the former option is probably right. But it remains a little peculiar for Socrates to drop a new term in here when he has in the immediate context happily been using <i>noēsis </i>and sometimes <i>logismos </i>to do the same job. James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-36888993949288875172014-10-29T09:59:00.005+00:002014-10-29T09:59:57.474+00:00The memories of EumaeusHere is a podcast of the lecture I gave last week at the Festival of Ideas. I can't vouch for the sound quality (nor for the quality of the ideas) but it might be interesting to a few people.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173301770&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
And here is the accompanying Powerpoint with the slides so the presentation will make a little more sense. You'll have to guess when it's time to move on to the next slide... What fun!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/40860044" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="425"> </iframe> <br />
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<b> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/jiw1001/memories-of-eumaeus" target="_blank" title="Memories of eumaeus">Memories of eumaeus</a> </b> from <b><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/jiw1001" target="_blank">James Warren</a></b> </div>
</div>
James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-19755914388519545842014-10-18T17:28:00.000+01:002014-10-18T17:28:25.530+01:00A big weekLots to do next week. I have the usual lecturing and supervising (including one of the pair I am doing this year for the Classics Prelims people) but on Tuesday I'm also giving a talk for the university's <a href="http://www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/events/memories-eumaeus-talk-james-warren" target="_blank">Festival of Ideas</a> before zooming over the Corn Exchange to see Johnny Marr (thanks, Sis, for the birthday present of the tickets). Then I'm braving the bus to Oxford to <a href="http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/lectures/workshop_in_ancient_philosophy" target="_blank">give a paper</a> and will be hoping to be back in time for the usual round of teaching on Friday afternoon. Best part of the week will, of course, be the concert on Tuesday. Here's Johnny:<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eKzoLHBVomQ" width="640"></iframe>James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-59010051391594008892014-10-09T16:17:00.002+01:002014-10-09T16:17:50.625+01:00ShelfieLook, term has just begun and I have no idea which way is up, let alone any interesting ideas about some bit of ancient philosophy. Once the rush of meetings, arrangements, rearrangements of things that I thought had been arranged, last-minute changes of teaching or whatever, is over then we can get down to the proper business of teaching and thinking. (And there's a lot of <a href="http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/research/seminars/b" target="_blank">good stuff happening here in Cambridge this term</a>. I'm looking forward to working through <i>PA </i>1 in the Thursday seminar, even though I have started to regret volunteering to introduce <i>PA </i>1.3. If I ever work out who the 'dichotomisers' are I'm pretty sure I'll want to dichotomise <i>them</i>.) In the meantime, here's a shelfie:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6wkwLkvq61hzXaoXjNM8qs0o7toLkAnVO402S8fIL-sv-BfVfS3TcIgZbr2_GQqWTZF1b3H1D-S9TSS8kDBEhKPH3QDn7hePw6ysd_7CPHatAY2lHrhvLunAdM-eAZ14TXpU-w/s1600/2014-10-09+16.10.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6wkwLkvq61hzXaoXjNM8qs0o7toLkAnVO402S8fIL-sv-BfVfS3TcIgZbr2_GQqWTZF1b3H1D-S9TSS8kDBEhKPH3QDn7hePw6ysd_7CPHatAY2lHrhvLunAdM-eAZ14TXpU-w/s1600/2014-10-09+16.10.13.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-84931368589457186022014-09-29T12:05:00.001+01:002014-09-29T14:03:09.353+01:00Aristotle, civility, franknessThere has been some interesting and some helpful discussion recently about questions of civility and its proper place in academic life generally, and philosophy in particular. <a href="http://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/is-civility-a-professional-error/" target="_blank">Here MM McCabe rightly</a>, it seems to me, objects to the thought that civility is somehow to be opposed to freedom of speech or perhaps frank speech generally. (This goes both ways: an appeal to civility cannot by itself trump the free expression of someone's position and the fact that you are expressing your own position--in an academic matter or otherwise--does not all by itself excuse incivility.) Anyway, reading MM reminded me of some Aristotle and, in particular, in his account of what are sometimes referred to as 'social virtues'. Here he is (in <i>Nicomachean Ethics </i>4.6) discussing how people should deal with one another both in what they say and what they do. (This is<a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.4.iv.html" target="_blank"> Ross' translation</a>.)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
In gatherings of men, in social life and the interchange of
words <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="520"></a>and deeds, some men are thought to be obsequious, viz.
those who to give <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="521"></a>pleasure praise everything and never oppose,
but think it their duty 'to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="522"></a>give no pain to the people they
meet'; while those who, on the contrary, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="523"></a>oppose everything and
care not a whit about giving pain are called churlish <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="524"></a>and
contentious. That the states we have named are culpable is plain enough, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="525"></a>and that the middle state is laudable- that in virtue of which a
man will <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="526"></a>put up with, and will resent, the right things and in
the right way; but <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="527"></a>no name has been assigned to it, though it
most resembles friendship. For <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="528"></a>the man who corresponds to this
middle state is very much what, with affection <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="529"></a>added, we call a
good friend. But the state in question differs from friendship <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="530"></a>in
that it implies no passion or affection for one's associates; since <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="531"></a>it is not by reason of loving or hating that such a man takes
everything <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="532"></a>in the right way, but by being a man of a certain
kind. For he will behave <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="533"></a>so alike towards those he knows and
those he does not know, towards intimates <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="534"></a>and those who are not
so, except that in each of these cases he will behave <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="535"></a>as is
befitting; for it is not proper to have the same care for intimates <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="536"></a>and for strangers, nor again is it the same conditions that make
it right <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="537"></a>to give pain to them.</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now we have said generally that
he will associate <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="538"></a>with people in the right way; but it is by
reference to what is honourable <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="539"></a>and expedient that he will aim
at not giving pain or at contributing pleasure. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="540"></a>For he seems to
be concerned with the pleasures and pains of social life; <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="541"></a>and
wherever it is not honourable, or is harmful, for him to contribute <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="542"></a>pleasure, he will refuse, and will choose rather to give pain;
also if <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="543"></a>his acquiescence in another's action would bring
disgrace, and that in <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="544"></a>a high degree, or injury, on that other,
while his opposition brings a <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="545"></a>little pain, he will not
acquiesce but will decline. He will associate <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="546"></a>differently with
people in high station and with ordinary people, with <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="547"></a>closer
and more distant acquaintances, and so too with regard to all other <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="548"></a>differences, rendering to each class what is befitting, and while
for its <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="549"></a>own sake he chooses to contribute pleasure, and avoids
the giving of pain, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="550"></a>he will be guided by the consequences, if
these are greater, i.e. honour <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="551"></a>and expediency. For the sake of
a great future pleasure, too, he will inflict <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="552"></a>small pains. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="553"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The man who attains the mean, then, is such as we have described, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="554"></a>but
has not received a name; of those who contribute pleasure, the man <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="555"></a>who
aims at being pleasant with no ulterior object is obsequious, but the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="556"></a>man who does so in order that he may get some advantage in the
direction <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="557"></a>of money or the things that money buys is a
flatterer; while the man who <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="558"></a>quarrels with everything is, as
has been said, churlish and contentious. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="559"></a>And the extremes seem
to be contradictory to each other because the mean <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="560"></a>is without a
name.</div>
</blockquote>
While in <i>NE </i>4.6 (and 2.7) this particular virtue isn't given a name there are various categorisations in <i>EE </i>2.3 and 3.7 that are clearly related. The different texts divide things up in different ways. Also, <i>Magna Moralia </i>1.27-32 has a tidy (perhaps too tidy) set of related social virtues, including being correctly indignant (<i>nemesis</i>) and being appropriately witty (<i>eutrapelia</i>). The most likely candidate for the name of what he is discussing in 4.6 is something like '<i>semnotēs</i>'.<br />
<br />
In any case, the surrounding discussion makes clear that in these social dealings
Aristotle thinks that there are two important factors: one is a question
of truthfulness and sincerity in what we say and do and another is the
question of causing pleasure or pain to the recipient or recipients of the words or actions. That seems right. <br />
<br />
I think this contains some important and suggestive points. It's important that what is being discussed here is not confused with being 'friendly' or 'polite'; what matters is not the form of words that is used but the intention and purpose of the agent who is using them in a given social setting with a particular interlocutor. There are no set 'rules' that govern the way that a view can or should be expressed; what matters is why you are saying what you are saying, when, and to whom. The virtue being discussed here concerns dealings with people who are not friends (or, we might add, dealing with people who are friends but not <i>qua </i>friends, and so also colleagues, fellow academics etc.) Sometimes the right way to talk is to be critical and to cause offence but giving offence <i>per se </i>is not something worth aiming for.<br />
<br />
<br />
Also important is something Aristotle mentions explicitly a little later in 4.8: that it is important not only to speak in the right way but also to <i>listen </i>in the right way too (1127b33-1128a2).<br />
<br />
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<br />James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-10767298627227199462014-09-22T14:11:00.000+01:002014-09-22T14:11:05.029+01:00Symposia<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you missed the Symposia and Inaugural address from the 88th Joint Session (or if you'd like to revisit them) then you can <a href="http://sms.csx.cam.ac.uk/collection/1780470" target="_blank">catch up here</a>. They include the one I chaired:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" scrolling="no" src="//sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1780554/embed" width="352"></iframe>
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Amber Carpenter (York):
Ethics of Substance<br />
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Aristotle bequeathed to us a powerful metaphysical picture, of substances in which properties inhere. The picture has turned out to be highly problematic in many ways; but it is nevertheless a picture not easy to dislodge. Less obvious are the normative tones implicit in the picture and the way these permeate our system of values, especially when thinking of ourselves and our ambitions, hopes and fears. These have proved, if anything, even harder to dislodge than the metaphysical picture which supports them. This paper first draws out the ethics suggested by a conception of being as individual substances, and finds both inner tensions among these values – expressed in divergent characteristics in the history of philosophy – and a neglect of a significant set of values. Substance metaphysics prefers freedom, independence and autonomy over relational and reciprocal values, which can even be regarded as existentially threatening. A prominent attempt to accommodate both sorts of values without eschewing substantialist metaphysics is briefly considered, before turning to examine an alternative metaphysics and the values it implies. A metaphysics which takes being as becoming, it is argued, supports an ethics centred on relational values, and their associated virtues of care.<br />
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Stephen Makin (Sheffield):
Ethics, Fixity and Flux<br />
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This paper engages with the idea at the core of my co-symposiast’s paper ‘Ethics of Substance’: that the Aristotelian concept of substantial being has ethical implications, and an alternative understanding of existence in terms of affecting and being-affected will help us more easily to accommodate relational values, which are thought to sit uneasily within the Aristotelian framework. I focus on two questions. First, is there really is a tension between an Aristotelian metaphysics of substance and concern-for-others? The answer depends on how we understand the relation between my valuing something indeterminate but determinable (e.g. my having a child, or my living a life) and my valuing the particular way in which that determinable is contingently determined (e.g. my having a daughter or my living this life). I agree that Carpenter is correct in identifying the tension she does.
Second, does the alternative Buddhist-influenced view of what it is to exist shift our attention from ethical values such as independence and autonomy onto interpersonal and relational values? I consider an example which reflects another aspect of Aristotle’s outlook: his account of the ontological status of the simple material elements. I suggest that once we abandon the idea that such elements exist in virtue of specific intrinsic structures, then questions about the their persistence through the changes by reference to which they are identified at the very least paper.James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-24799939747370301832014-09-22T11:04:00.004+01:002014-09-22T11:04:43.854+01:00Career changeI just received this tweet. They must know me really well.<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/JIWarren">@JIWarren</a> We're looking for fit/hot guys to work 4 us. Earn £25ph Tell all friends& PT's! <a href="http://t.co/WOW82Da4iE">http://t.co/WOW82Da4iE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bestjobintheworld?src=hash">#bestjobintheworld</a><br />
— Butlers in the Buff (@ButlersintheBuf) <a href="https://twitter.com/ButlersintheBuf/status/513970805462421504">September 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-69265421832090668542014-09-11T07:59:00.001+01:002014-09-11T08:46:54.510+01:00The Bone Clocks and early 90s Cambridge<div dir="ltr">
I'm enjoying David Mitchell's <i>The</i><i> </i><i>Bone</i><i> </i><i>Clocks</i><i> </i>but I've just got to the bit where the narrative switches to Cambridge in the early 90s and every so often something jars with me. ('You dont know, man. You weren't there!' Sort of thing. I was. Proof: <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/22yd1kpwpsne9bc/Specimen%201.jpg" target="_blank">here</a> and (from mid-90s, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ll3kloi982ofm6/Specimen%202.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>).) Simple things that might have been checked quite easily. </div>
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So far:</div>
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A band does a gig at the 'Cornmarket'. Wouldn't the Corn Exchange allow its name to be used?</div>
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A student says he is studying 'Economics and politics'. I don't think anyone would say that. It would have been Economics or SPS.</div>
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A student refers to a college's site as a 'campus'. Would anyone have done that? Do they even now?</div>
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Of course, I could have mistaken these and they are in fact a carefully planted set of indications of an unreliable narrator/author or something. And, sure, they don't stop me enjoying the book, but they did bother me.<br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-66890465183631306222014-09-10T15:45:00.000+01:002014-09-10T15:45:04.727+01:00Phlosophy<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm reading Donald Davidson's <i>Plato's Philebus</i>, his Harvard PhD dissertation from 1949. The Routledge reprint just presents the type-written original, complete with hand-written bits of Greek. So it's all there, warts and all. Some of those warts are rather nice. On pp. 18-19, for example, D. twice writes 'Protagoras' when he means 'Protarchus'. I noticed because I've just spotted the same slip in something I wrote so it's good to be in good company, at least. Damn those 'Prot-something' Greeks; nearly as bad as all those 'Anaxa/i-something' Presocratics...</div>
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And then there is this in the one-page preface to the 1990 edition: <br />
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It doesn't mangle the sense, of course, and I quite like the word 'phlosophy' (something dentists might advise?) but I it did make me wince (not for the first time) at the price tag. (And yes, I do realise that I've had a hand in various publications that are far from cheap and yes, they do have typos in them too...) <br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30379986.post-48740311234388252092014-09-05T15:34:00.001+01:002014-09-05T15:34:56.746+01:00Growing apartWriting lectures for a new course on Aristotle’s ethical and political thought had me this morning reading again through <i>NE </i>8 and 9. There are all sorts of interesting little observations and musings in there, a lot of them pretty sensible. Here’s Aristotle’s variant of the ‘It’s not you; it’s me’ line. <br />
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εἰ δ' ὃ μὲν διαμένοι ὃ δ' ἐπιεικέστερος γίνοιτο καὶ πολὺ διαλλάττοι τῇ ἀρετῇ, ἆρα χρηστέον φίλῳ; ἢ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται; ἐν μεγάλῃ δὲ διαστάσει μάλιστα δῆλον γίνεται, οἷον ἐν ταῖς παιδικαῖς φιλίαις· εἰ γὰρ ὃ μὲν διαμένοι τὴν διάνοιαν παῖς ὃ δ' ἀνὴρ εἴη οἷος κράτιστος, πῶς ἂν εἶεν φίλοι μήτ' ἀρεσκόμενοι τοῖς αὐτοῖς μήτε χαίροντες καὶ λυπούμενοι; οὐδὲ γὰρ περὶ ἀλλήλους ταῦθ' ὑπάρξει αὐτοῖς, ἄνευ δὲ τούτων οὐκ ἦν φίλους εἶναι· συμβιοῦν γὰρ οὐχ οἷόν τε. εἴρηται δὲ περὶ τούτων.
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But if one friend remained the same while the other became better and far outstripped him in virtue, should the latter treat the former as a friend? Surely he cannot. When the interval is great this becomes most plain, e.g. in the case of childish friendships; if one friend remained a child in intellect while the other became a fully developed man, how could they be friends when they neither approved of the same things nor delighted in and were pained by the same things? For not even with regard to each other will their tastes agree, and without this (as we saw) they cannot be friends; for they cannot live together. But we have discussed these matters. (Trans. W. D. Ross)
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<i>NE </i>9.3 1165b23–31</blockquote>
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He has a point. People do, after all, grow apart, although not often we might now think because one ends up outstripping the other in virtue.
He does, however, include a conciliatory note: if you’ve left a former friend or lover behind, as it were, then it’s still appropriate to have some kind of remembrance of the former closeness (μνεία τῆς γενομένης συνηθείας), even though it's not very clear just what that amounts to. <br />
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Anyway, it reminded me of this: Julie Walters being brilliant in a brilliant film. Because moving apart can be painful on both sides. Both people lose something, whatever else one of them may have gained.<br />
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James Warrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02262258553733864003noreply@blogger.com0