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Cordoba March 2011 Field Trip Report…

If it’s March – it must be the Spain trip…

[ more pics at  http://on.fb.me/cordoba_glos  ]

12^th March – 2.30 am – some very sleepy students and staff  meet at the FCH campus refectory – for a 3am coach to Bristol Airport…  Oddly – everyone is on time, and has their passport…

The Avant train waits to take us to Cordoba

We get to Bristol, and take off at 6.30am – and then once we are in Malaga, we get the local train to the main Malaga station: 

We lurk here till our 14:30 train sweeps us north, then a short (!) walk takes us to Los Patios – our home from home for the week.

People are a little weary, so a short orientation tour, via Plaza de Corredera, is enough for most – followed by an early night…

Sunday 13th March

Long day starts with short walk to Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos .

Then, we head to the Torre de la Calahorra museum - where we get a rather rosy view of the history in the 'Golden Age' of Al-Andalus... Here is the annual picture on the roof terrace:

Followed by a wander to the newly refurbished Archaeological Museum - which has a new underground section on the Roman theatre, and some much more sophisticated accounts of the region's history. 

Monday 14th

RAIN. plus everything was closed. More rain. Card games. More rain.

Tuesday 15th

Early train to Seville...

Our usual Seville meeting point...

We walked to the historic centre (without getting lost) – and began with the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla  - which has interesting internal buildings – and stunning gardens: an amazing place.

It takes most of a morning to explore the Seville Alcazar – then lunch

Seville Cathedral is huge! It has treasure rooms, and a lot to see – also – test your cardiovascular endurance – and walk to the top of the tower – the views are worth it.  

Seville Cathedral 

Wednesday 16th

Medina Azahara - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medina_Azahara is 8 miles west of Cordoba.

Students at Medina Azahara

A short walk to a daily tourist bus - and off we went... Once there – there is a great museum – brand new, and interactive – with lots of resources: and the ruined city itself.

 And back on the bus...

We then went to the Museum of Jewish life  Casa de Seferad - to explore the Jewish heritage of the city – in the heart of the Jewish quarter. We had a short talk here, and saw some new exhibits on how Jews fared during the Spanish Inquisition (which we didn't expect) 

At 2pm We met Imma – our expert tour guide – for the tour of the Mezquita / Cathedral – which is a highlight of the trip for many.

Thursday 17th...

5am - meet in reception of Hotel - for 5.30am coach to airport - then home at FCH by 3pm...

Looking back at the Mezquita as we leave for the coach..

Off to Cordoba...

As part of RPE136 module, we are off to Cordoba, Spain for the field trip.... (leaving in 4 hours from now...)  Follow us via http://on.fb.me/cordoba_glos 


Cheers,


Dave

Bodhisattva Superstar...

Interesting?

Heidegger and Evolution

Hello everybody,

In an attempt to stop bothering my supervisors (i'm not in care) and instead bother other people i would be interested in people's comments on essay ideas i have. I tried to be as original as possible which maybe a weakness, but anyhow, in the spirit of learning i'm putting my ideas 'out there' to be criticised. Let me know what you think or possible areas for development.

Here's an extract from an essay/idea i'm considering (apologies for the length)

I would like to argue that Heidegger’s philosophy of ‘Being and Time’ presents an intuitive framework for understanding ‘evolution’. Not just biological evolution but evolution as a process, a state of becoming. In the same way that simple single cell organisms become complex multi-cellular life, or that elementary particles become heavy metals, or that spinning hot balls of gases become clusters of galaxies, each has the potential for the other. I do not want to infer any teleology in this framework, i.e. that human intelligence was a necessary step or that some design is required. More in the Heideggarian sense that all things carry their evolutionary past with them to be projected into a potential future, that evolution is Being and being, in that objects that exist are a part of evolution and evolution as a system allows those things to exist or go extinct placing them in the background of nothingness. Heidegger’s ‘Dasein’, ‘being there’ and ‘being with’ applies to all things, he intended it only to refer to humans but I think it can be applied to all objects that are subject to evolution, that are in the world and by definition of evolution interact with their world. As a result of evolution objects carry with them the history of their ancestors and so are always ‘being with’ as well as ‘being there’. ‘Throwness’ is essentially an evolutionary idea, in that all things do not choose the fundamental aspects of their being, where and how they were created, what past they are created into, we do not control what events we run into or what events will shape us. In the same way that every human is thrown into a biography not of their choosing be it their country of origin, ethnicity, host language or sexual orientation so to generations of organisms are thrown into a process that chooses them but they did not choose.

This is just a first mashing of ideas so don't get hung up on the grammar.

Death - Symbolism in Holbein's Ambassadors

For those on the RPE301 Love, Sex and Death module - we were talking about this in class, on Tuesday...

Death and the Greeks

For those doing RPE209 and RPE301, but really for anyone interested, a discussion point has been raised by Jeremy Stangroom on the Talking Philosophy website. Jeremy asks the following:

In the Phaedo, Cebes suggests to Socrates that a common fear amongst people is that the soul will be extinguished upon death.
Was that a common fear at the time? (The stuff I’ve been reading has sort of suggested that what people were really afraid of was that bad things might happen to their souls after death. But it’s possible I’ve been reading the wrong stuff.)
Is there a standard text dealing with attitudes towards death in Ancient Greece?

The Philosopher's Stone

A new philosophy e-journal, The Philosopher's Stone, has been launched. It is early days yet as it is currently looking for contributions for the first issue. It states the following:

'The Philosopher’s Stone is an online journal of philosophy founded on the conviction that the job of philosophers is to serve humanity by transforming the lead of confusion and uncertainty into the gold of clarity, understanding and upright living. What else could be the product of genuine and good philosophy – which is, after all, the love of wisdom? The purpose of this journal is therefore to publish articles that not only promote only academic discussion of philosophical issues, but which do so in a distinctive format, promoting the public understanding of those issues and of philosophy in general in a good humoured, engaging and enjoyable way.
The target audience of TPS is very wide: Philosophy students who want good resources to get a handle on their subject matter, professors who want a good source of material to draw on and recommend – and to read for their own enjoyment and edification, and members of the public with an interest in philosophy. The journal covers fresh expositions of thorny philosophical issues, good natured interaction between scholars at opposite ends of disagreements, exciting tales of recent developments in philosophy and more'

Keep an eye out for it!

Gloucestershire Philosophical Society - next talk

Prof Mike McNamee (Swansea University) - 

The Idea of Ethical Expertise

Time	16 February · 19:30 - 21:30
Location	Rm HC203, FCH, Uni of Gloucestershire Swindon Rd Cheltenham, United Kingdom
More info	The Idea of Ethical Expertise. In recent years, there has been considerable discussion of the nature and purpose of ethicists, e.g. medical, in the public domain. But is their work susceptible of expertise? Prof. McNamee argues against the ideal, and argues for the ancient Greek concepts of techne (craft knowledge) and phronesis (practical wisdom).

Students (and the public) are welcome to attend this event..

Thai Buddhist Sect - photo essay

Many thanks to my good friend Dr Paul Fuller, for pointing me in the direction of THIS article at Foreign Policy Magazine.

It is about the Dhammakaya movement (this is the link to their official website - some interesting pics HERE too),and the piece uses the word 'cult' rather easily. The movement (read a little HERE about it) has had controversy in the past, but remains hugely popular in Thailand and beyond. What is more striking about the Foreign Policy article is the truly amazing photos: they are copyrighted - so I won't re-post - but well worth it...


You can see a Dhammakaya Promotional Video below if you're interested.... (a clearly an 'insider' perspective from the organisation -  with some cheesy music - but interesting)


Cheers,
Dave

Film Society

Here is the flyer for the films for February. They are all shown in the lecture theatre (TC001) at FCH on Mondays at 8pm. Do please support this by attending!

Play

http://philosophyatplay.blogspot.com/ - note new posts...
d.

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 

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.