The merging of these two fields of study is not as far off as you think. Many of the fathers of philosophy were scientists in their own rights. These ancient people formed the basis for both philosophy and the sciences. Thales, who is considered to be the father of philosophy wondered about the universe from his time and the significance of man in that universe. He was said to have employed a form of research that can be en-likened to a scientific inquiry or study. The next ancient philosopher, Anaximander, focused more on the nature of the universe as a whole. He is credited to have made the first accurate sundial marking accurately the hours of the day on a sundial. He made elementary maps in his quest to find the relationships of the places he knew and their significance to his existence. One of the most famous philosophers was Pythagoras who was a philosopher and mathematician where he formulated some of the most elementary basis of mathematics and their relationships with the universe.
Many more ancient philosophers and scientists shared the same passion for a better understanding of the universe and the way we influence it or are a part of it. True to this, we can say that it may be theoretically possible to meld the two areas of science and philosophy into a new area of study where we seek answers and hopefully better questions to answers to them.

Robert Thurman, a leading author in Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy, delves deeper into the issue of anger approaching it using ancient Buddhism wisdom. The book “Anger” explains how anger, if guided by wisdom, can actually not just be tempered but actually wielded to bring positive results such as the easing of human suffering. This is actually something that the great Aristotle will agree with, after all he believes that anger is not necessarily evil but actually necessary for fighting evil. In fact Aristotle teaches that anger can be a virtue if one is angered by those that are wicked and so strive to not become like the wicked and even fight their evil deeds.

In every day life though what I believe we should start learning is simply letting go of toxic anger so as to be able to leave in peace. As Buddha and Marcus Aurelius teaches us, holding on to anger can hurt us more than its cause can.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. ~ Buddha

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Despite the resistance of many philosophers to experimental philosophy this emerging field in philosophy is also being welcomed quite warmly, not only among seasoned philosophers but among people from other field of studies. The reason for this is that due to the nature or experimental philosophy (data collection) those from related fields of study can contribute much. As the mission statement of the Experimental Philosophy Society states, “it is expected that the membership of the society will include faculty, students, and interested amateurs not only in philosophy but also in psychology, anthropology, sociology, law, and other related fields.”

Right now areas of research in experimental philosophy include consciousness, cultural diversity, determinism and moral responsibility, and intentional action. For an updated list of research using experimental philosophy visit the X-Phi wiki. You can even add your paper, as long as it uses experimental philosophy of course.

Calvin is best known for the theological system that was named after him – Calvinism. Note that while Clavinist churches are still in existence today not all the churches adhere to all the classical features of Calvinism. As a theology what makes classical Calvinism distinctive is that it teaches the sovereignty of God in salvation and in life. The five points of Calvinism include:

The doctrine of total depravity – The inability of man to follow God and save himself due to inherent sin.
The doctrine of unconditional election – States that God’s choice in who is to be with him is based on his mercy alone and not on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith of the chosen people.
The doctrine of limited atonement – Says that atonement is only for those chosen by God even though he has the power to save everyone he has chosen not too do so.
The doctrine of irresistible grace – Says that those that God has chosen will be brought to faith in time and that these people would not be able to resist the call of the Gospel.
The Perseverance of the saints – Asserts that those that God has chosen has “eternal security” and that those that fall away from the faith are apparently not among the chosen.

As mentioned earlier, there are lots of variations of Calvinism today with modern variations being embraced more and more in North America. With his birthday coming up this would be good news to Calvin were he alive.

According to Wikipedia, “Agora is an upcoming 2009 historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar, written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil, and starring Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella. It was screened Out of Competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It will then get a general release on December 18, 2009.”

The movie is about the love story of astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (Rachel Weisz) and her slave Davus (Max Minghella). It is more than a love story though because it also shows what went on during Hypatia’s time in the 4th century when religious persecution was rampant among Christians and Jews. Racehl Weisz says empathically of the story, “It’s the true story of a fourth-century woman and, in some ways, nothing much has changed. We’ve evolved in so many ways, and in others we haven’t evolved at all. We can go into outer space and travel to the moon; we can cure certain diseases; but we still kill each other in the name of religion. It seems so primitive to still be doing that.” How true.

The real Hypatia was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt. Aside from being a philosopher and astronomer she was also the first notable woman in mathematics. Hypatia died in the hands of a Coptic Christian mob who blamed her for religious turmoil.

A friendly reminder: If you don’t win the argument you’ll need to drink the hemlock but if you win Socrates will drink it for you. Of course it is really difficult to win against Socrates but there are some who have won.

If you wish to take more than the free argument clinic though you’ll be disappointed since the link to the InterQuest homepage no longer works.

Have a good time arguing with Socrates!

Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Examined Life is a film showing eight renowned philosophers in turn walking and sharing their thoughts with writer and director Astra Taylor. Featured philosophers in Examined Life include Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Hardt, Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor.

The film was done with the premise that “philosophers have long done their best thinking when directly engaging with the outside world, not in isolation from it,” and since walking means going out and Neitzsche once claimed that “only ideas conceived while walking have any value” then it’s easy to see why Taylor chose to give us a peek into the philosophers thoughts while they were literally out on the streets.

The film has been receiving praise for bring philosophy to the figurative (aside from the literal) streets, making it actually understandable and even interesting for regular people. Ok so interesting might be too strong for some people but at the least she got the philosophers to open up in a manner that steers clear of too much big terms. In the end, interested or bored, reviewers agree that the discussions with each philosopher will leave you thinking a bit deeper about different things in life. So if your brain needs a little jump-start or you want to indulge in a variety of philosophy lessons without having to pore through lots of books my advice would be to watch Examined Life.

Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), University of Melbourne. He is best known for his book Animal Liberation, which is credited by some for the formation of the animal rights movement as we now know. With a utilitarian approach to ethics he asserted the principle of minimizing suffering in his book and argued that animals have rights and these rights should be based on their ability to feel pain. Singer’s latest book, The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty, is fresh out of printing. Though I haven’t got hold of a copy yet but it promises to be a riveting read based not only on the topic itself and Singer’s reputation but from the first few paragraphs shown in the book’s website.

With such a distinguished guest it is no wonder Prof. Andrew Bailey of Guelph’s Philosophy Department feels that they are indeed fortunate.

At first glance, it may not sound like an exciting read but hey, look at that title again and you will certainly feel something like a thrill. The Book of Dead Philosophers. How much more interesting can that be?

I have not had the chance to get my hands on this book but trust me, Amazon is my next stop after this post. After reading Laura Miller’s take on the book there is no other option. She shares some of the ideas to be found in the book:

According to Critchley, only the right kind of philosophy can teach “a readiness for death without which any conception of contentment, let alone happiness, is illusory.”

The universal truth of that assertion strikes me as debatable, as does much else in “The Book of Dead Philosophers,” but the link between philosophy and mortality is by necessity an intimate one. In philosophy, the human mind studies itself, and the same faculty that makes this study possible — our self-consciousness — also makes us aware of the inevitability of our own deaths in a way no other living creatures are. Philosophers, therefore, ought to be experts on the problem of how to die well. Since dying only happens once, and (if we’re lucky) it doesn’t take long, acquiring the skill of dying well might seem like a low priority…

While some people might fear death, we just might find something that will help overcome this fear in the book. Interesting reading, to say the least.

This goes beyond business. It can cater to law, medicine or even environmental concerns. The main source of all knowledge are the books that we see, most of which we don’t read from cover to cover. Not all people are made to read books and in these cases, it seems that the need for a mediator in the form of teachers or resource speakers enlighten the subject matter a whole lot more.

Many say that expediting such terminologies is a talent. But if you look at it, it just needs practice and a lot of self-confidence. An audience can fare well and understand topics of various areas if they see that the one preaching it knows it to the letter. Further, enhancing discussions to make it interesting in their eyes is another, a strategy that can perhaps teach many that expanding a certain subject matter can be done by first ensuring that your audience is indeed listening.