philosophy

If a course syllabus is a menu for a classroom experience, then here is my summary of the House of Wits Course 2010.  Each dish is a culinary representation of the James family member it is matched with opposite.  Anyone with allergies to pragmatism or relativism should avoid the preparations of William James.  They will result in a strong reaction.  They are arranged in reverse chronological order as the course primarily was.  Note how all the dishes work together... do they form a coherent meal?  Are their clashes in flavor?  Repetition?  All this is designed to bring out the family dynamics of the James.  Enjoy the meal!!!  And feel free to comment on your favorite dishes and personalities. 

Vigil

The Death (or Life) of Alice James

By Arielle Seidman

April 29, 2010

House of Wits

Cast of Characters

ALICE – A dying diarist, who has spent most of her life in bed.

HENRY – Her brother, an unmarried novelist.

WILLIAM – Their brother, a conflicted philosopher, and teacher.

AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER

It’s another depressing piece. I apologize. Next time, I’ll give you an example of my comedic writing. That stuff is much better.

Script Piece for House of Wits Performance

By Arielle Seidman

The following is a scene in which Alice James discusses her brother, William. This is a piece of fiction, based on the opinions, theories, and personalities of these two, and what I have learned about them in this class.

WARNING: This is depressing! (You probably expected that…Alice and William weren’t exactly comedic types.)

The other two pieces used in this presentation are not featured here. They were written and performed in class by Marina Morrison, and Alex Marrerro.

Believe You Me

By Arielle Seidman

Discussion Paper – Imaging and Consciousness

            Pick up a newspaper, and you will discover an amazing thing: we are living in the future. The for-real future of jet-packs, ray-guns, and mind reading. Our revolutionary imaging technology can determine what memories you are accessing, what shapes you are seeing, the degree to which a decade of happy hour has smoothed your prefrontal cortex, and whether or not you associate the face of John Edwards with a particularly debauched collection of short stories. So it would seem, anyway.

What to do with William James?  His writings on psychology formed the primary textbook for that discipline.  The school of philosophy he developed, pragmatism appeals to philosophers and scientists alike.  Jacques Barzun identifies him as an American hero.  So it would seem that the works of William James have been assimilated into American culture and intellectual life.  If this is true, then what is the point of reading his original writings?  Or why should one use “The Writings of William James: A Comprehensive

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

Mary Oliver

“From the very start, the brain’s capacity for making new connections shows itself… as regions originally designed for other functions – particularly vision, motor, and multiple aspects of language – learn to interact with increasing speed. By the time a child is seven or eight, the beginning decoding brain illustrates both how much the young brain accomplishes and how far we have evolved… These three major distribution regions will be the foundation across all phases of reading for basic decoding, even though an increasing fluency… adds an interesting caveat to the unfolding portrait of the reading brain.” (1)

-Maryanne Wolf