Thursday, February 6

Tag: philosophy

When Philosophers Become Therapists | The New Yorker
24Dec By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

When Philosophers Become Therapists | The New Yorker

Amir is one of a small but growing number of philosophers who provide some form of individual counselling. In the United States, two professional associations for philosophical counsellors, the National Philosophical Counseling Association (N.P.C.A.) and the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (A.P.P.A.), list dozens of philosophers who can help you with your problems. Italy has multiple professional organizations for different forms of philosophical counselling, and similar organizations exist in Germany, India, Spain, Norway, and several other countries. In Austria, Italy, and Romania, universities offer master’s degrees in the field. Everyone should study philosophy, Amir told me; since few people do, she argues that philosophical counselling fills an important need. “If h...
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Jon Fosse, the Nobel Prize, and the Art of What Can’t Be Named
6Oct By adminNo Comments
Entertainment

Jon Fosse, the Nobel Prize, and the Art of What Can’t Be Named

In Oslo, in September, I attended the preview of Jon Fosse’s play, “I Svarte Skogen Inne” (“Inside the Black Forest”). The theatre was small and dark, without a stage, and the scenery was minimal: a large illuminated rock in the middle, some scattered trees, and the audience members, many of whom were seated in folding chairs ringed around the rock. A trumpeter entered first, blowing long, melancholy notes, followed by a young man. The man explained that he had gone for a drive and, when his car had stalled, he had wandered into the woods. It grew darker and colder, and the audience heard the voices of an older man and an older woman speak about the young man, expressing their distress at the direction his life had taken. Then, without warning, a young woman appeared.She was called a youn...
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The Hypocrisy of Judging Those Who Become More Beautiful
25Sep By adminNo Comments
Technology

The Hypocrisy of Judging Those Who Become More Beautiful

While recently reading about leg-lengthening surgery, I couldn’t help but sense a touch of absurdity in the whole enterprise. Although I’m no taller than average—I’m 5'9", thank you very much—dispensing sincere sympathy for the men featured in the article didn’t come naturally. Even when it did, my sympathy was mixed with an element of comedic pathos, like for someone who just got a kick to the groin.Since then, however, I've been harboring a suspicion that my gut reaction to leg-lengthening surgery, or any surgery aimed at enhancing physical attractiveness, might be at odds with egalitarian ideals. Physical beauty is utterly contingent and you have no more control over your hotness than the zip code of your birth. Not being a “10,” so to speak, is no more reason to feel shame, or pride, ...
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