Monthly Archives: January 2008

An Introduction to the Politics of Philosophy, Part 2: Plato’s Crito, 44c – 45b

See Part 1 for a brief introduction to this guide, and a link to the original text. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 6. 44c: Crito implores Socrates to escape and not accept death. Socrates’ death would mean Crito loses a friend, but also …

January 8, 2008 – 8:46 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, plato | Tagged | Comments (0)

An Introduction To The Politics of Philosophy: On Plato’s Crito, 43a-44b

I am not using the Greek, nor am I looking at Plato’s Euthydemus, where Crito is a major figure. The purpose of this series of entries is to make good on obligations, and provide a brief sketch from which the thoughtful reader can explore more on his own. If you want to follow along, the …

January 8, 2008 – 1:01 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, plato | Tagged | Comments (1)

Still Sick

Coughing a lot, but emotionally I feel pumped. I’m not able to concentrate on my books – that’s just text-overload – but I can read a poem. I whisper a few words to myself at a time, musing on them, and moving on slowly through it.Today’s halfway done, and I definitely need more rest, but …

January 6, 2008 – 5:27 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal | Comments (4)

Open Thread: Will the Next President Be Abused as Much as Bush Has Been?

Josh has stated that since the next President can’t be Bush, then whoever it is will be treated better.My own position is that if we’re politically serious, then we need to prepare and prevent the abuse of whomever may be President. If Hillary becomes President, I may disagree with her, but I will not be …

January 4, 2008 – 6:56 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged | Comments (6)

Links, 1/04/08

Josh has a nice explanation of and link to a petition for getting on baseball’s case regarding steroid abuse. MLB has nearly destroyed the game and needs to be kept in check. This is long, like most of my recent writings, but probably a really important post of mine – it is an evaluation of …

January 4, 2008 – 2:52 pm | By ashok | Posted in links, personal | Comments (3)

On Grad School, Collegium Cantorum, and Costa Rica

This is what I’ve been up to from the 20th up till now. Enjoy. 1. Some of you have been asking about grad school, and my participation in choir (Collegium Cantorum) has been a large part of my time there.My graduate school, which I’m very proud of, is the University of Dallas. Most of the …

January 3, 2008 – 12:06 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged | Comments (3)

Do Wisdom and Virtue Depend On Mortality?

Leon Kass’ fine essay “L’Chaim and Its Limits” is something I genuinely enjoy reading over and over. But I think it is problematic, as is transhumanism, inasmuch as it obsesses over death. To wit: I wish to make the case for the virtues of mortality…. I do hope I can convince readers of the gravity …

January 2, 2008 – 3:26 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics | Comments (7)

News and Notes, 1/2/2008

First of all, a huge thank you to Bill Farris and Christine Seitz of the Collegium Cantorum of the University of Dallas who made the trip to Costa Rica one of the best ones I’ve ever had. For Christine: here’s the link to the Bill Waterson article where he describes what makes political cartooning work/not …

January 1, 2008 – 11:45 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal | Comments (3)