Philosophy
A Conversation with Cornel West
Cornel R. West ‘74 spoke with Danielle S. Allen, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, as a part of the center’s Diversity, Justice, and Democracy lecture series on Wednesday.
Marketing the Humanities
A number of events over Advising Fortnight fit into the larger trend of job-oriented marketing within the Arts and Humanities as many concentrations seek to attract more students and address their career concerns through an increase in job-focused advising events, alumni interactions, and published materials.
Being Alone
Last summer, I spent a month traveling alone, and two catastrophic events took place. In Belgrade I ran out of books—except for Martin Heidegger’s easy-breezy beach-read “Being and Time”—and in Sarajevo I got food poisoning. This meant that I spent my last 72 hours in the Balkans alone in my room, vomiting garlic-soaked lamb’s head, with nothing to do but read Heidegger. This was a terrible experience. But in the weird interplay between being alone and “Being and Time,” I came to understand why it was terrible—and that it might be for a good reason.
Two Harvard Seniors Selected for Marshall Scholarship
Bianca Mulaney ’16 and Rebecca M. Panovka ’16, friends and fellow Quincy House residents, have been named Harvard’s two newest Marshall scholars to their shared surprise and disbelief.
The Humanities at Work
The universe of higher education often bemoans a "crisis" in the humanities, with supposedly dwindling numbers and few job prospects. At Harvard, humanities concentrators face a crisis of choice, attempting to balance their passions with factors like stability and employment. For Harvard graduates, the question is not so much whether you’ll get a job with a humanities degree—it’s where.
Alison Simmons Introduces Humanities 10a
Philosophy professor Alison Simmons introduces students to Humanities 10a. The two-semester course serves as an introduction to the study of the humanities and can now fulfill the College’s expository writing requirement.
Philosopher Peter Singer Discusses Effective Altruism
Philosopher Peter A. D. Singer spoke about the philosophy behind effective altruism to a packed auditorium at the Science Center on Sunday.
Snow Days by Concentration
Now that everyone has frolicked sufficiently, snow days have become a time for learned contemplation. FM considers how students of various concentrations can best use their time off.
PLUR As Told By Heidegger
Chances are if you’re reading The Harvard Crimson, you’ve never heard of Peace Love Unity Respect. The acronym is a silly combination of sounds—a feline’s pleasure with an extra letter snuck in—and the cliché it stands for wouldn't last a minute in college classrooms. But since the ’90s, PLUR’s been a credo and a life philosophy for rave subculture. This summer it became my personal mantra. This fall I’ve decided it was Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger’s as well.
Humanities and Sciences
Harvard College Prof. Steven A. Pinker engaged in a conversation about the transcendence of the humanities and sciences with Edgar Pierce Prof. Susanna C. Siegel in light of the recent discussions about the importance of the humanities compared to the sciences.
Profs Argue for Integration of Sciences, Humanities
Psychology professor Steven A. Pinker and Philosophy professor Susanna Siegel talked about integrating the sciences and humanities.
Cornel West on Virtue
Cornel R. West ’73, right, spoke in Emerson Hall on Thursday, April 10 as part of a discussion held by the Black Men’s Forum. West spoke to the importance of cultivating virtue and compassion in the United States.
In Search of the Mask
For the past few years, professor Sean D. Kelly, chair of Harvard’s Philosophy Department, has been searching for a copy of Blaise Pascal’s death mask that just might be lost in Harvard’s collection. After little success, he recently offered an automatic A to any student in his “Existentialism in Literature and Film” class who can find the mask.
