Book Recommendation: The Overstory by Richard Powers

book recommendations

So I heard about this novel that was about …  trees. I had no idea what a novel about trees would be like. But I like trees (that may be an understatement), so I got my hands on a copy. I started reading it, and sure, trees appeared in the initial parts. But I didn’t immediately see where things were going, or why the reviews I read had framed this as a novel about trees. That said, at some point, I’m not sure when, I really got into it.

What a world that Powers creates! His rich descriptions of all aspects of the varied trees that the cast of characters encounter and engage with took me back to childhood nature walks where I was encouraged to notice and revel in the minutiae of a natural world all around us that is all too easy to take for granted. What I’m saying is: stick with it, even if this book doesn’t immediately grab you.

In fact, if you need a break from a cubicle or other dreary workspace, or if inhospitable weather is getting you down, that might be a particularly good time to get this book, and immerse yourself in a story of twisting and turnings, both in the roots below us, the branches above us, and the lives of the people around us.

Book Recommendation: Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

book recommendations, justice

Looking for a fast, fun read that gets your brain juices flowing about how to make a flourishing community? Well, look no further than Eric Klinenberg’s Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. 

That full title is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll give my own gloss: in that book, Klinenberg introduces the idea of social infrastructure – all the places and stuff and systems that can help us develop and thrive as social beings (or get in the way of social flourishing). With chapters about libraries, residential neighborhoods, schools, green spaces, and more, this book really gets you thinking about how those things (or lack thereof) impact quality of life for everyone in a community, whether they realize it or not.

I have very fond memories of my family walking to the local Carnegie library on Friday nights with an old, half-broken picnic basket to fill with kids books. I remember the “ka-thunk” sound of the librarian putting cards into the slot on the top of a machine that would stamp on the due date and then tucking them into the special envelopes at the back of the books. I remember the majestic-seeming stuffed bison head that hung at the top of the stairway, and the smooth glide of the drawers in the adults’ rooms card catalog. Everything about the public library was, to me, a source of wonder and delight – may we all, together, take the necessary steps to ensure that our public libraries, parks, and other elements of our social infrastructure do as much to support the flourishing of the new generation as they did for me when I was young.

Pacific APA in Vancouver BC

philosophy, travel

Kudos to the organizers of this year’s Pacific APA for providing me (and many other attendees) with a great experience in Vancouver. 

I went to a number of stand out sessions, and I especially appreciated the panel about publishing and the author meets (all-star) critics session on Victoria McGeer’s work. Thanks also to Katherine Cheng, whose paper on transformative decisions I had the pleasure of providing commentary on. And gratitude to the city of Vancouver for a beautiful setting along the water, among the grey-blue sky and the grey-green glass towers, and the embarrassment of riches in terms of delicious vegan food.

(That said, here’s hoping that I manage to avoid the foolishness of leaving town for work twice in the final month of classes for the rest of my career – jet lag and a full inbox upon return make the end of the semester that much more challenging!)

Workshop on Moral Responsibility & Blame at Wayne State University

art, philosophy

Last week, Dr. Jada Twedt Strabbing organized a fabulous workshop on moral responsibility and blame. Her hard work really paid off, and set a great example for her graduate students of what a productive, collegial, and fun professional gathering can look like. I was so pleased to be included in the event, and I learned scads from my fellow presenters: Justin Capes, Randy Clarke, Michael McKenna, and Angie Smith (in addition to Jada herself). Thank you all – not least for lighting a fire under me to turn my work in progress into something resembling a complete version for public consumption!

It was also lovely to meet some of Jada’s colleagues and graduate students from the Wayne State Philosophy Department, and especially to have a chance to catch up with my old friends/colleagues Katherine Kim & Angie Smith. You couldn’t ask for better people to have in your intellectual community.

PS: Hooray for the Detroit Institute of Art – their amazing frescoes by Diego Rivera are a must-see! It was my first trip to Detroit, and I didn’t have time to do much besides the conference, but I’m so glad I was able to spend some time with those extra-special murals. Does anyone know what pigments Rivera used to get the amazing turquoise color at the center top panels on the long sides of the courtyard? It is enough to make the swimming pools at any luxury resort look positively mundane in comparison.

Book Recommendation: My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

book recommendations

Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir, which is about about her childhood, education, and early career up through her first appointment as a judge, is a book that I’ve had on my list for a while, and now that I’ve finished it, I’m really glad I made time for it. Her writing style drew me in right from the first few pages, and her story shed light on places, times, and cultural practices that I didn’t know all that much about. When you add to that Sotomayor’s finely tuned skills in self-reflection, by the end, the book left me feeling like she and I could be old friends.

Sotomayor’s life has been different from mine in many, many ways, but I found a lot of what she had to say about growing up resonating with me. (What she had to say about integrating logic and emotions was particularly welcome to me.) And, since part of her stated purpose for writing it was to be of use or reassurance to others whose ambitions somehow outstrip the circumstances of their upbringing, I can safely say that the book served that purpose for me.

Gender & Sexualities Working Group Research Colloquium

justice, philosophy

Please join Ball State’s Gender and Sexualities Working Group for our first research colloquium of the year.

Thursday, October 4, 2018
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bracken Library 2014

Dr. Rachel Fredericks, an Assistant Professor in Philosophy, will present her paper “(How) Should We Use the Concept of a Daughter?”

About half the people in the world are described as daughters immediately after birth, if not before, and being classified as a daughter has a huge impact on the material conditions of one’s life, one’s social position, and one’s self-identity. During this talk, we’ll think critically about the concept of a daughter and whether we have moral reasons to stop using it or to use it differently than we tend to do now. The work under consideration is part of a larger project that explores why we should see ourselves as morally responsible for the concepts (that is, the basic mental representations) that we use to think about the world that we inhabit.

We hope you can join us.

“Moral Responsibility for Concepts”

philosophy

Some papers are just more fun or challenging to write than others, and some papers are both of those things. My latest publication, “Moral Responsibility for Concepts,” is both. And it is now available from the European Journal of Philosophy via Early View at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680378/0/0 

In that paper, I argue that sometimes we can be morally responsible for the concepts that we possess and use (or do not use) for the same reasons that Angela Smith says that we can be morally responsible for our attitudes even when we do not have full or direct voluntary control over them. If I’m right, that argument gives us a reason to reconsider a lot of common views and practices!

Book recommendation: The Mechanical by Ian Tregilis

book recommendations, justice, philosophy
Let the summer reading commence!

The Mechanical, by Ian Tregilis, is an adventure story set within an alternate history in which Christiaan Huygens used alchemy to create and enslave thousands of mechanical people, which allowed the Dutch to maintain a worldwide empire for over 250 years. The story puts you inside the perspective of a range of characters, including a mechanical named Jax, a noblewoman at the head of a French spy network, a Dutch pastor, and many more. It is a fun read that can be taken at a galloping pace, but if you slow to a walk, there is a lot to think about regarding free will, sectarian religious disagreements, colonialism and slavery, human reliance on technology, and other substantial philosophical issues.

You can read a sample at https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-mechanical/ and the good news is that once you get sucked in (like I did) there are two more books in the series: The Rising and The Liberation.

Book recommendation: Teeth by Mary Otto

book recommendations, justice

Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America is a great book, one that I strongly recommend.

Whether you are interested in health care justice; the history of dental practices, education, and policy in America; ways to use public and private resources more efficiently; the biology of the human mouth; or ways to alleviate the significant suffering of your neighbors, this book by Mary Otto has something for you.

Painful toothache, oral disease, and tooth loss are chronic, widespread, devastating problems in our society. Huge numbers of our fellow citizens have no access to dental services, whether because of lack of money to pay for insurance or dental services on the private market, shortages of dental providers in many geographical areas, or a number of other reasons. These dental problems often make it difficult or impossible to get or keep various types of jobs. These problems are easy to ignore IF you are a relatively well-off person with access to dental care on the private market. Such people often blame dental problems on the individual choices of those who suffer them, without a full understanding of the facts about access to dental care in the US. Otto’s book shines a brilliant light on that bigger picture.

The good news is that these dental problems are largely preventable. All we need is the will to devote some of our existing resources to the solutions that have already met with significant success in places where people have fought hard to implement them.

“When Wanting the Best Is Bad”

philosophy

My most recent publication “When Wanting the Best is Bad” is now available on the website for Social Theory and Practice. In that paper, I identify a particular set of desires, which I call exclusionary desires (very, very roughly: a specific subset/type of competitive desires), and give multiple arguments for why we should generally try to avoid having such desires.

This paper has a special place in my heart, because the view defended therein colors my thinking about a lot of different social phenomena. In fact, it would be fair to say that in writing this paper, I uncovered a core commitment that was lurking the background while I was writing my dissertation on jealousy.