Ethics in Sport?

Following previous discussions on the blog about the nature of sport, I came across a past episode of Philosophy Talk. You can listen to this online at http://www.philosophytalk.org/pastShows/EthicsinSport.htm and the same page has a range of links useful to those interested in ethical issues related to sport.

Cheers, Dave

Dead Philosophers and Public Philosophers

The Radio 4 programme Start the Week had a philosophical representaiton in its 9th June edition with Simon Critchely talking about his new book which is a catalogue of the weird and wonderful ends that philosophers have met over the last three thousand years. Also Kate Soper discusses the role of the philosopher and philosophy in public life both in the UK and on the continent. Worth a listen!

Vicar of Baghdad visits Stroud

Canon Andrew White, Vicar of Baghdad, will be coming to Stroud on July 13th.

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/12-15pm-Vicar-Baghdad-visit-county/article-191109-detail/article.html

While conflict in the Middle East has a religious undercurrent, Andrew White, uses religion for diplomacy and aid, as a link not a division.

http://www.frrme.org/

Here is an opportunity to not only hear a crusading humanitarian but also come to sunny Stroud and it's free (with a gift basket).

Shelley

Peter Singer on Comedy Show?

Is this the only place philosophers can get airtime in the USA? Peter Singer talks about animals, food and the usual - but on the Comedy Central show 'The Colbert Report':

A Dancing God?

Over at the blog of our friends at the Florida Student Philosophy Blog, someone raised an interesting point on the interpretation of a line in Nietzsche's Thus spoke Zarathustra: I reproduce the post below - feel free to follow up and comment:

I was reading Thus spoke Zarathustra, and I am trying to understand what
Nietzsche is trying to say in the entry called, On Reading and Writing, where
Zarathustra says, “I would believe only in a god who could dance.”
Anybody have any thoughts

The comments so far are at: http://unfspb.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/problem-with-zarathustra/

Dalai Lama Visit Report

Recently Jeannie Caton, one of our 2nd years (about to enter the third year) went to see the Dalai Lama speak, here in the UK. Very kindly, she has written a short report which I here pass on..

Cheers,

Dave:

The Dalai Lama Experience

The Dalai Lama visited Nottingham at the end of May and I went along with my 13yr old son to hear his talks on ‘Bringing Meaning to Our Lives’. It was pretty overwhelming to see this man, the alleged incarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, a broken nation. Personally I was struck by his ease, his intelligence, and his sense of humour with the most contagious laugh.

After listening to 6 hours of this monk talking, it is difficult to pick out which part to write about. Politically, He is the leader of Tibet, a nation that has placed itself back in the world’s spotlight with the troubles since 10th march this year, and whilst this wasn’t what He was here for, it was obvious that people wanted to hear His views on the situation. It was really interesting to hear that He felt that the fight to ‘Free Tibet’ was irrelevant at the moment, that what was really important was that Tibetans were allowed to live as an autonomous people, with their own culture and language being encouraged to be kept alive, and that it was this that He hoped for when engaging in dialogue with Beijing. He also hoped that young Tibetans and Chinese would begin to merge, learn each others cultures and become friends: it all seems so idyllic, I hope His dream can become reality.

In the six hours of talks that I listened to, the main theme that I took away was His Holiness’ notion of anger, fear and suspicion: negativity. In His opinion we need to learn how to deal with negative emotions in order to make the world a better place and thus bring meaning to our lives. He stressed the importance of remembering that these negative emotions are energies, and not to grasp hold of them: that when someone is angry, hateful, to remember that it is the energy that is the enemy and not the person. In His view, negative emotions are connected to physical ills, so what is really important in our lives is happiness, for ourselves and for others. Being the Bodhisattva of Compassion He stressed the necessity of having compassion for all other beings, of remembering our interconnectedness, and that helping others is the best way that we can make the world a better place.

As a meditation, He suggested tuning your mind and body into remembering the feeling of being held by your mother as an infant; when nothing can harm you; when all is safe and well with the world. He suggested that this is the mind state that was preferable to be in, in order to live more positively, and that fear, suspicion and other overwhelming negative emotions are really pointless. This is something I feel is really important for people to try and remember, difficult as it is, for the future is nothing to fear; the future has not happened yet, there is no need to be overwhelmed by negativity when basing yourself in the present, in a safe state of mind. It made me think that hateful, angry people maybe need to be helped to feel safe, that personal insecurity has a lot to answer for.

Negative emotions are those which disturb our inner peace; fear, hatred, suspicion all destroy our inner peace and it is important to remember that they are energies which when confronted for what they are, become weak. The energy is the harmful aspect and not people, so it is possible to love your enemy, develop compassion for your enemy, for it is not them who threatens you, but the energy; actions are harmful, not people. These are wise words that could benefit the world, but difficult to remember in heated situations; on leaving the arena I came face to face with a crowd of angry Chinese demonstrators and I instantly felt the anger rise within me and succumbed to a heated discussion (to put it mildly!) with some Chinese students on the issue of Tibet. Afterwards I realised that I had fallen foul of negative energies, been overwhelmed by anger and had lost any ability to feel compassion for fellow beings: I have a lot to learn!!

Peace of mind is not something that can be bought with money. Peace of mind comes from physical and mental happiness. Peace of mind comes from release from negative energies. Peace of mind is our biological and spiritual right and is there for us to achieve by means of compassion; compassion for all sentient beings with whom we share this planet, with whom we are all interconnected and we would do well to remember this. The way to bring meaning to our lives is to encourage positive emotions of love and compassion, to help others and to show kindness in the face of cruelty. We are all human beings, no different from each other; whether Buddhists or Christians, believers or non-believers, we are all the same on a basic level and need to remember this. It would seem we could all learn from this wise and humble man who I was honoured to have the opportunity to listen to.

Fantastic Philosophy Resources at MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made huge amounts of their 'courseware' available, free, online. This includes a lot of philosophy materials. For example, see HERE for lectures notes on a range of topics including the Problem of Evil, the Ontological argument, and a range of ethical topics.


There are also video lectures on 'The Philosophy of Love in the Western World' - HERE - which will be of interest to students taking the RPE301, Love Sex and Death course.

Cheers,
Dave

PhD Opportunity Available

The faculty of Sport, Exercise and Social Care are advertising a three year fully funded PhD (£12,000 plus fees) in the Philosophy of Sport and Technology. The studentship is available to research the following questions:

• To what extent can a meaningful distinction be made between the ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ athlete?
• Does the claim that we have entered a post-human age have any validity and if so, what are the repercussions for elite sport?
• What are the implications for sport (for instance, the conception of (dis)ability sport) with the development of technology that obscures the line between the organic and inorganic?
  

It is a fantastic opportunity to secure a funded PhD in Philosophy (which are pretty hard to come by) and I encourage anyone with an interest and experience in Philosophy to apply. The closing date for applications is Friday 23rd May, with interviews taking place on Wednesday 4th June.

For more information please contact me and I would be happy to discuss it further.

Emily Ryall
Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care
University of Gloucestershire

Philosophy & Ethics Reading Group

Just a reminder that our next (and last) meeting for this year is Tuesday 6th May at 6pm in Bar Ha! Ha!, Montpelier.

We will be discussing Anna Karenina but please still come even if you haven't managed to read it yet as we will be discussing the programme for next year.

I look forward to seeing you all.

Islam and the Veil conference

See http://www.glos.ac.uk/news/islamandtheveil.cfm for details of this week's event at the University.
Details:

Islam and the Veil

14th April 2008: Tiered Lecture Theatre, Francis Close Hall. Tuesday April 29, 10.30am.

Tackling the issue of Islam and the Veil, the annual conference on Islam returns to the University of Gloucestershire on Tuesday April 29.

Organised by the Department of Humanities, based at Francis Close Hall in Cheltenham, the event has been running for more than 10 years and usually focuses on themes which are of contemporary significance. Guests will be welcomed by Dr Keith Sharp, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Sciences and the conference opens with Reverend Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President of the World Congress of Faiths.

Associate Senior Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow Dr Theodore Gabriel said: “The issue of veiling has been intensely debated in British society and has implications for religious liberty, inter-communal relationships and cultural interaction.
“This conference hopes to generate open and objective discussion of this highly important, though controversial subject led by knowledgeable scholars including female practitioners of Islam. Provoked by the then Home Secretary Jack Straw this subject has inflamed passions and generated heated debate in the media. This conference aims to look at the historical background, and theological and social factors underlying the veiling of women in Islam.”

Speakers also include Dr Simonette Calderini, Senior Lecturer in Islam at Roehampton University and Mrs Rabiha Hannan, who is vice chair of Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) in Leicester, and a member of the team which led to the foundation of the National Christian-Muslim Forum.

Doctoral student Myles O’Byrne, from the University of Warwick, will be speaking on The Veil in France’s Public Sphere: Conformity in Mind and Body, while Mrs Sariya Contractor, doctoral candidate at the University of Gloucestershire, will be discussing The Hijab, a Symbol of Muslim Women’s Identity. “It is hoped that such discussion will enable the participants to arrive at a well-informed consensus on the subject, or at the least hear well-balanced, unbiassed analyses of this important aspect of Islamic practice,” Dr Gabriel explained.
“Veiling is an important issue in the study of Islam and contributes to a deeper understanding of the faith. This is a subject that comes up often in different contexts where Muslim citizens of this country are involved in, such as education and other public scenarios. Therefore this conference is timely, relevant and though sensitive and even emotive, can play a hugely vital part in inter—communal relations and social debate in this country.”

This event is open to the public. Admission is £16, or and £8 with concessions (students and unwaged).
An application form is normally required, but those who would like to attend can either telephone 01242 714570 or email pdownes@glos.ac.uk with their address and a form will be sent - or just ring for more details.
Coffee in the morning and tea in the evening are supplied free. A sandwich lunch will cost an extra £5.

MA: The Child: Literature, Language and History

Hi.
As one academic year begins to move towards its conclusion, many of you may be considering future study...

In addition to the research options we offer (from Masters to Doctorate), and the many of our current Final Year students who are off to do a PGCE, we also have an MA programme entitled The Child: Literature, Language and History - the course description reads:

This multi-disciplinary course begins by exploring the idea of ‘the child’ and changing constructions of childhood. Both literatures for children, from picture books to young adult fiction (the child as reader), and literary representations of children (the child as subject), will be considered from a variety of perspectives. Children’s acquisition and use of language, from both linguistic and psychoanalytic viewpoints, the history and theory of childhood, and literary theory will inform analysis of works ranging from fantastic fiction by George MacDonald and Philip Pullman, to fictional engagements with childhood, from Dickens to McEwan, to children’s fiction by predominantly adult writers, such as Salman Rushdie and Jeanette Winterson.

The core modules will be combined with occasional intensive Saturday workshops, when there will opportunities to work with visiting scholars. It will be possible to take an option module in the MA in Creative & Critical Writing, and would be ideal for those with an Education or Humanities background or those interested in writing for or about children.

If you want more details, contact me, or Debby Thacker - the Course Leader.

Cheers,

Dave.

Prince Henry's High School - Evesham - Death and beyond...

Yesterday saw another school visit, to talk to the A Level students in Evesham at Prince Henry's High School -
Where the friendly, cofffee-providing staff helped us through a 2 hour session - on life-after-death (though we decided this was a problematic phrase) and religious language.

I was subjected to a range of rather difficult, but insightful, questions: and really enjoyed my visit. I hope to be back before too long.

For something on the philosophy of mind - how it relates to the notion of 'surviving death' see http://r-p-e.blogspot.com/2008/02/brimsham-green-school-yate-visit.html or HERE - or the very clear account HERE...

Cheers, Dave

Money really cannot buy you happiness....

According to the Office for National statistics and their annual review, Money really cannot buy happiness.

Among its comprehensive reports on anything from what we Brits eat,buy and enjoy to how many sexual partners we have had, it suggests that despite the average Briton's salary doubling in the last 30 years, we are no 'Happier' - citing only 86 percent of us claiming to be either satisified or very satisified with our lives - the same figure as 30 years ago.

Perhaps most worrying, the survey posits that "only half of 16-21 year olds feel happy with their prospects for the future"

The first thing I found myself asking was what exactly constituted happiness; in this survey it seems to be overall contentment. Is happiness not something more? something harder to quantify?

Source: The Independent, Wednesday 9th April 2008, pg.12

Rushcliffe School Visit

Phew - this has been a manic set of school visits - but it is proving very exciting - giving a taste of University-style sessions -and getting to talk to a wide range of teachers and students: I am certainly learning a lot!

Today I did a long round-trip up to Nottingham - to Rushcliffe school - to talk mainly about Buddhism. The subject index I mentioned for Pali texts - very useful - is at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-subject.html. Pupils may also find my Four Noble Truths podcast (and accompanying text) useful - access it via http://r-p-e.blogspot.com/2007/02/buddhism-podcast-2-four-noble-truths.html. For a podcast on Not-Self (from Milinda's Questions) see http://r-p-e.blogspot.com/2007/02/buddhism-podcast-3.html

Hope these help - and hope to visit again at some stage - Dave

Somervale - Midsomer Norton

This Monday, I headed south to Somervale school, in scenic Midsomer Norton. I talked (a lot!) about Religious Experience, Life after Death and a little about Design and Evil. The groups had, overall, lots to say - and asked some great questions. This set of school visits has been a privilege for me: I have had so many questions put to me that I have not thought of myself - or that have made me think in different ways about topics.



There is a set of links for Religious Experience at: http://post16.reonline.org.uk/tt_alinks.php?123 that may be of interest. Check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/986177.stm on Near Death Experiences - and for Evil - well see the links at this post: http://r-p-e.blogspot.com/2008/03/evil-stalks-west-midlands-cadbury.html

Hope to see you all again at some point!
Dave