Earlier this term I wrote a list of ten topics that I need to write on. These are not topics on which I have complete expertise, but they are issues on which I have opinions which ought be communicated. I thought I could write on one a day, or one every few days, and that [...]
Archive for the ‘Pragmatics’ Category
On Topics for Writing: “Hot Cognition” and Play
Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics, beginning, writing on November 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Carbon Ethics and Future Worlds
Posted in Cross Canada Trip, Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics, Technology, global warming on November 20, 2009 | 3 Comments »
The Walt Disney company calls some of its imagineers “futureologists”, specifically if they work on Tommorowland or on the Future Worlds Pavilion at Epcot Centre. They are charged with visioning and representing futures. Futures are aspects of the present that project forward in time rather than space, so that we can anticipate what is to-come. [...]
“Chic-ness” and Cheapness – the materiality of the modern aesthetic
Posted in Body Phenomenology, Capitalism, Ethics, Food, Pragmatics, Pubs, Technology, Things, coffee, writing on November 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We find today everywhere examples of mass produced luxury. Sitting in a coffee house atop dark wood chairs, next to a floor to ceiling fireplace adorned with an exotic artwork, I am both everywhere and nowhere. Starbucks, or Second-Cup, even the new-look Macdonalds embrace an architecture of bare wood, rock and leather wingback chairs alongside [...]
On Time and Engagement in the Present
Posted in Capitalism, Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics on October 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Today, two events occurred that together brought me to a clarifying thought about the ways we are in-time today. The first was a conversation with a retired professor, and the second was an entry on Milan’s excellent blog.
John was making the not too controversial point that the institution of texting, tweeting, being on the computer [...]
The arrival of the future. Part 3 of 3: BMW’s GINA project
Posted in Art, Capitalism, Pragmatics, Things, beginning on September 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »
You might be wondering how a concept car could signal that the future has already arrived. Concept vehicles, we normally think, project futures that may or may not arrive. For instance, the minivan was first shown by Lancia in 1978 – but it didn’t “arrive” until Chrysler’s great success in the 1980s.
However, what we can [...]
The arrival of the future. Part 1 of 3: The iphone
Posted in Capitalism, Pragmatics, beginning on September 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
As modern technological individuals, we’ve been trained to expect the arrival of the future. “The future” is characterized by the automation of simple human tasks (skip to 1:40), the automation of war (in the sense of the machines become automatons), and the becoming increasingly emotional and physical of human-computer interfaces. Humans can remarkably bad at [...]
Social Beliefs and Personal Values
Posted in Capitalism, Ethics, Pragmatics on September 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I often make the case that torture in the middle ages was a moral act. Given what people believed about the afterlife, torture wasn’t just morally neccesary or acceptable, in certain situations it was downright deserving of approbation:
“The penal law sought to save [the accused's] soul. For this reason, a convictd person who confessed could [...]
First week back, and a new blog
Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Pragmatics, beginning on September 13, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It’s Sunday – meaning I’ve been back in Toronto for an entire week. I’ve been to many parties, seen many familiar faces. I have one class, two jobs, other papers to write – it will be a busy term. But, there will still be time for reflection.
It’s hard to know what to write when I’m [...]
Travel Update: Day 1, Morning
Posted in Cross Canada Trip, Pragmatics, Technology, Trains on September 3, 2009 | 2 Comments »
As I write this we are just pulling out of Bellingham station. I opted for business class tickets in the short legs on either end of my trip, since the extra cost was negligible (from Bellingham to Seattle it was 5$ extra, and from Buffalo to Toronto only 4$). My feelings about this choice are [...]
Construction and Value
Posted in Capitalism, Pragmatics, Technology on September 2, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Construction is an interesting aspect of social reality – it reflects (or merely “is”) the values of our time. The values of 1945 are very clearly “in” this Kettle Valley Railroad trestle – it was built both quickly and to last, without expense spared. Its importance likely concerned the strength of redundancy in Canadian rail [...]
