[In July 2015 I gave a talk at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on “The Next Revolution in Art.” The text of my talk follows.] Why art matters to us Art is a perennial human desire. We need and hunger for stories, images, and sounds that are unique, beautiful, self-affirming, and/or profound. We love to […]
The Next Revolution in Art — my lecture in Hong Kong Read More »
[At the beginning of the new academic year, a re-visiting of the beginnings of modern philosophy.] I vote for Francis Bacon. . . The standard answer gives the honor to René Descartes. Descartes’s claim to the title is based primarily on his epistemology — specifically his method of doubt. The method of doubt is both
The real father of modern philosophy — Bacon versus Descartes Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “One century ago, Adolf Hitler was fighting in the Great War. He was a good soldier — he would be promoted to the rank of corporal, be wounded two times, and be awarded six medals. And with him during the war he had the writings of philosopher Arthur
How Smart and Well-Read was Adolf Hitler? [new The Good Life column] Read More »
Michael Pearce is the author of the recent Art in the Age of Emergence, for which I wrote this blurb: “Michael Pearce is that rare phenomenon — a practicing artist who knows art from the inside and an intellectual versed in what the cognitive sciences teach us about why we make art. This book —
Michael Pearce on the re-emergence of representational art Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “Microaggression theory could be seen as a sign of progress. The luxury of obsessing over tiny hints of racism or sexism implies that the problem of macroaggressions has been solved. “If your environment — to draw a parallel — is dirty and unhealthy, then you focus on
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “In your lifetime, how many times can you remember when everyone agreed about the significance of a major cultural phenomenon? “It is happening now, as libertarians, conservatives, left-liberals and far-leftists all agree that a deep rot has set into Political Correctness. Hell is freezing over and pigs
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “I ran out of money in my final semester of graduate school. My first teaching job awaited me in the fall semester, but I had no income for the three summer months before then. “So I gave up my apartment and moved into a shared house with
Blamestorming and Environmental Problems (Part II) [new The Good Life column] Read More »
I’m quoted in this WSJ article by Charlie Wells on entrepreneurial satisfaction. The context is the difference between entrepreneurs of opportunity and entrepreneurs of necessity. Here’s a link to the online version. The article also ran in the US print edition. Source: Charlie Wells, “Why Some Entrepreneurs Feel Fulfilled — but Others Don’t. Money is
Quoted in Wall Street Journal article on entrepreneurial satisfaction Read More »
The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe: “Some parts of the world really are environmental Hells. They are dirty and depleted, making them unhealthy and economically unsustainable. We can argue about the severity of various places’ problems, but I want to focus on another aspect of the debate: determining accurately the causes of the degradation so we can
Blamestorming and Environmental Problems (Part I) [new The Good Life column] Read More »
O tema de uma pesquisa recente entre principais artistas e críticos de arte de nossa geração tratou de quem foi o artista mais influente do século XX. Quem venceu? Se você chutou Pablo Picasso — boa tentativa, mas ele ficou em segundo. Antes de identificarmos o vencedor, vamos refletir sobre a importância do 1º lugar
O artista mais importante do nosso século Read More »