Latest Posts
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Still Here
Sorry for the relative blog silence of late. Between grading (which I am still finishing), preparing for a summer program that I am directing, and doing some family stuff for the Memorial Day weekend (traveled to Staten Island, NY… Continue reading
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The Needham Question…..and the Chuang Tzu Answer
Jonathan over at Frog in a Well has a post about the the "Needham Question," named for the great historian of Chinese science, Joseph Needham: Why didn't China develop theoretical science in the manner of early modern Europe? … Continue reading
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Angry Black Mencius
A controversy of sorts has emerged over the planned Washington DC statue of Martin Luther King. Apparently, some organization called the US Commission on Fine Arts, which has a role in the proceedings, feels that the model of… Continue reading
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Taoists in Texas Moving to Vermont
A story in today’s NYT reports on a family in Texas that has embraced the "voluntary simplicity" movement: the are giving away most of their possessions, to free themselves from the burdens of material things, and moving to… Continue reading
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Confucian Civil Unions, Perhaps?
I’ve been thinking more about the California gay marriage decision and Confucianism. Thanks to the comments from my last, brief post, I have a new idea: a modern Confucian would be more likely to accept civil unions for gay… Continue reading
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California Gay Marriage: Confucius Agrees
The news today, somewhat unsurprisingly, is that the California Supreme Court has overturned a state ban on gay marriage. What would Confucius say? I wrote about gay marriage and Confucianism once before, and I think the… Continue reading
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Sadness
I have seen some deeply saddening pictures of the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Roland has reproduced one especially heart-rending scene; I will not print it here. So much death, so suddenly and unexpectedly. The mind… Continue reading
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The Tao of Neuroscience
I’m not a big fan of David Brooks, but a friend brought today’s column, "Neural Buddhists," to my attention, and it seems right for a post here. Brooks is thinking about the intersection of recent popular… Continue reading
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In Sympathy for the people of Sichuan
It is difficult to respond to a terrible tragedy on the scale of what is unfolding in Sichuan. Unlike Burma, there is no hard political edge here, just awful human suffering. So, I turn to Tu Fu (Du… Continue reading
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The Tao of “The Tempest”
We went to see a performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest last night, put on by the students here at Williams. It was a fine performance. Prospero was aloof and callous, Caliban was Gollum-like in his torment, and Ariel… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 