Sunday, December 12, 2010

Call me Dr X?

http://crookedtimber.org/2010/12/12/how-should-students-to-address-professors/comment-page-1/#comment-341754 - an interesting dicussion: should students call me Dr X (esp odd, my surname not being 'X') and I call them by their surname: 'Oi Smith, what is meant by synthetic a priori? eh?'


Or maybe not.


I am kind of used to 'You' and 'Dave' - but the comments via the link really vary: let me quote a couple:


Maybe I’m just cripplingly old-fashioned, but I cringe when I see some of my colleagues insist on having their undergraduate students call them by their first names.


and


I find anything other than first-name address really awkward, but I think British students tend to gravitate to this as the norm anyway. American visitors on JYA programs tend to be more formal, and even sometimes address me as “sir”, which feels very weird indeed


(our visiting American [BCA] students sometimes do this - I rather like the implication of respect - but they soon learn....]


and


I’m struck by the number saying they use last name only (if I read it right). In direct address, I find that exceptionally rude, unless the person using it is so close to me that I can take it as jocular. The only situation where I regard it as normal is among school-age boys.


Not sure it ever really feels awkward these days? If I refer to a colleague in a class - I am sure I use their first name. As in: don't ask me, but am sure Roy will know.....

Need a break?

Need a break when reading/studying? Only if you think you do...


Philosophy News reports that: Stanford researchers find that the “need” for study breaks has less to do with our biology and more to do with our beliefs. "If you think of willpower as something that's biologically limited, you're more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task," said Veronika Job, the paper's lead author. "But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily depleted, you can go on and on." Of course if the mind just is the brain, then the distinction between biologically needing a break and believing that you need one becomes a false distinction. Isn't it?


Full story at http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/october/willpower-resource-study-101410.html 

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Facebook

http://bit.ly/rpeglos is the address for a new Religion, Philosophy and Ethics at Gloucestershire facebook group - all are welcome to join...


d.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Coffins in Ghana

Last year in RPE301 (as we will in January) we looked at 'death cultures' including coffins in Ghana.

As http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11879532 reports - a new exhibition of these has just opened in London at the Jack Bell gallery...

Thought this might interest some RPE students / blog readers!

d.

Friday, December 03, 2010

FCH Film Society


A new film society for FCH has been launched showing films related to a monthly theme every Monday evening. The theme for December is Conscience and the first screening, the Hitchcock film Rope, will be shown Monday 6th December at 8pm in FCTC001.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Lolcat Bible Translation Project

There are many novelty Bible translation projects - the Geordie Bible - the Cockney Bible, the Brick Testament (Lego based) - but a new one on me was the Lolcat Bible...

The peculiar text-msg influenced speech, and an emergent set of stock phrases (based on specific well-known lolcat images from http://icanhascheezburger.com/ - the main lolcat site), make lolcats seem rather intriguing anyway - but how to do the Bible? First have a Theistic notion (Ceiling Cat) - and go for it:


Boreded Ceiling Cat makinkgz Urf n stuffs
1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.
2 Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz.
3 At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stuffs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz kittehs can see in teh dark An not tripz over nethin.5 An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. It were FURST!!!1


See the whole project at:
http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page


http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=1_Corinthians_1 - they have done loads of work on this...

Esp like: http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Ecclesiastes 

But: do the novelty translations reveal new meanings? Anything beyond the fun here?

Kant Attack Ad..



Thought this might entertain some...

d.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Philosophy at Play

Readers of the RPE blog may be interested in a new blog I am helping organise at http://philosophyatplay.blogspot.com/  - this is still in development - but is getting there!

One of the key aims is to promote an event on the philosphical aspects of play - details of that are at :
http://philosophyatplay.blogspot.com/p/philosophy-at-play-conference-details.html

Cheers,
Dave

Monday, November 15, 2010

Gloucestershire Philosophical Society Talk: Heidegger


Dr. Will Large, University of Gloucestershire:
'Heidegger and the meaning of History'.

Wed. Nov. 17th. 7.30.p.m. FCH Room HC203

The talk will focus on Heidegger's "Being and Time", and will consider the significance of experience and the pertinence of the history of science in understanding this seminal work.

All Welcome. £2 for Concessions, £3 for others...

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Christmas/Religion (not actually) banned from Stamps...


You can tell Christmas is coming - as I have seem my first 'Christmas banned by political correctness' story: even if it turns out to be wholly false...


Links to past examples of claims about the banning of religion at Christmas can be seen here:
and at:

ho ho ho...
d.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Death of the Emperor

There has been a lot of news coverage over the shooting of the red deer stag known as the Emperor of Exmoor. I have been to Exmoor many times and have seen the hunters out with their guns and, I admit, they represent one aspect of humanity that I am none too impressed with (aside from anything else, they just look ridiculous). But I am curious over the outrage at this shooting which, incidentally, is perfectly legal. The anger is a moral one, and so I am wondering what the moral arguments are here. One newspaper argued that it is wrong because the Emperor is 'wild and beautiful', but is this a good reason to not shoot it? Lots of things are 'wild', and should we really base our preferences on whether we find something beautiful or not? There is certainly no shortage of red deer roaming around Exmoor. Perhaps the standard utilitarian response works here: the pleasure of seeing this animal roaming around alive (not to mention the pleasure of the Emperor itself?) is much greater than that priovided by its antlers danging from the wall of someone's stately home?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

New for Christmas: Religion?


This picture was in the Boots Christmas Catalogue.. Ignoring the annoying 'trend expert' nonsense, and not even daring think what the hell 'rockstar edge' means: I was struck by the brand-name - 'Religion'...

What is the thinking behind the use of this word here? I feel vaguely mystified...

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Athlete in a Future of Sport and Technology


Gloucestershire Philosophical Society

Wednesday, 27th. October, 2010, 7.30.p
.m.


FCH Room HC203.

Dr. Emily Ryall, of University of Gloucestershire, will give a talk on:

"Beyond Human: Conceptualising the Athlete in a Future of Sport and Technology".


All welcome.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

RPE208 Day-Trip to Oxford


For students on the Indian Religions module:

The plan...

We go to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford ( http://www.ashmolean.org/ ) on Friday November 5th.

We will meet on the museum steps, at 12:45.

You can get the bus from Cheltenham – the Swanbrook 853 Service leaves at 11am from Chelt (Royal Wells Bus Station) and gets in around 12.30.

It leaves Oxford to return at 6pm (the Museum shuts at 6 anyway) - from St Giles (Taylorian Institute) - where it drops off on the way in.... (near Ashmolean) Back to Chelt 7:35pm.

details: http://www.swanbrook.co.uk/busServicesOxford

A day return costs £10. The museum is free.

A couple of hours in the museum should leave you with time to explore Oxford / shop / eat...


You can of course drive – but I would advise using the park and ride – as Oxford seems to have no public parking left...

Students not on this module can come, but need to let me know..

Cheers,
Dave

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Problem of Evil DVD for schools

Hi.

Just a quick post to note that our popular DVD aimed at schools (particularly those doing GCSE or A Level Religious Studies / Philosophy & Ethics) about the Problem of Evil is now back on sale, at a reduced price - see http://store.glos.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&catid=48&modid=1&prodid=355&deptid=6 for details..

Cheers,
Dave