Category Archives: Philosophy

Making an ass out of you and me

Posted on 17th October 2015 by NomadWarMachine

In his History of Animals, Aristotle asserts that: Males have more teeth than females in the case of men, sheep, goats, and swine. History of Animals 2, 3 One wonders why he did not conduct an empirical study before making this … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Philosophy, Teaching, Twisted Pair, University | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Wittgenstein and games

Posted on 12th July 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I haven’t even been lurking in #clmooc this week – I’ve been away on a cruise to the Faroes and some Scottish Islands on a ship called the Marco Polo (I understand there was some game called Marco Polo played … Continue reading →

Posted in #CLMOOC, Philosophy, Wittgenstein | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Pay it Forward

Posted on 12th June 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I’m in a lucky place. I’ve ended up with a relatively well paid job and a husband who earns more than me. We’re not rich, but we can buy what we want on our weekly supermarket shop and still have … Continue reading →

Posted in Love, Philosophy, Rhizomes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Heterogeneous rhizomes

Posted on 1st June 2015 by NomadWarMachine

When folk hear about the concept of a rhizome in D&G they often assume, not unreasonably, that the analogy being made is to the botanical concept of ginger, or potatoes, or Japanese Knotweed. Well, sometimes it is, and it can be … Continue reading →

Posted in #rhizo15, D&G, Philosophy, Rhizomes | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Steal and Remix

Posted on 17th April 2015 by NomadWarMachine

So I know Alan objects to us using “stealing” to mean “remixing with the author’s permission”, but it’s something I say quite often, along with things like “can I nick a chip?”, although bizarrely I get mildly irritated when folk … Continue reading →

Posted in #rhizo14, #rhizo15, D&G, MOOC, Philosophy, Rhizomes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My perspective on #rhizo15

Posted on 16th April 2015 by NomadWarMachine

There’s been lots of talk about objectives and subjectives in #rhizo15 since Dave set this week’s topic. I played around with words such as subjecting ourselves as subjects and objecting to being treated like objects, but then I gave up … Continue reading →

Posted in #Fedwiki, #rhizo14, #rhizo15, D&G, Learning, MOOC, Philosophy, Rhizomes | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Wittgenstein PI

Posted on 1st March 2015 by NomadWarMachine

I’m so used to abbreviating Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations  to “PI” now that I’d forgotten how funny it used to seem.  Here’s a cartoon that a friend drew for me when we were undergrads together (she gave me permission to publish it … Continue reading →

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Anarchy

Posted on 8th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

As my old supervisor, Dudley Knowles, used to say, the anarchist is not typically found skulking outside the Houses of Parliament with a bomb beneath her long, black coat – the philosophical anarchist is a gentle soul with a belief … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Sapere Aude

Posted on 7th February 2015 by NomadWarMachine

In 1784 Kant asked a question: What is Enlightenment? His answer was that it was having the courage to use one’s own reason: Sapere Aude –  dare to be wise. In order for this to happen, he said, we must be free … Continue reading →

Posted in #MoocMooc, Critical pedagogy, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Uncomfortable thoughts

Posted on 30th January 2015 by NomadWarMachine

A philosophical problem has the form: “I don’t know my way about”.  Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, § 123 Philosophy makes my head hurt. It’s hard, and it makes me think, and it challenges me to justify my inchoate beliefs when I just … Continue reading →

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