Back to School

Well, my classes start on October 1st and I am excited to say the least. I went to a philosophy post-grad party yesterday (I doubt many people can fully appreciate the fun to be had at such an event), and I was able to meet many of my professors and fellow cohorts. At one point the head of the department stood up and addressed my class, essentially giving us his warmest greeting and welcoming us to “hell.” I gather that the first semester of my course of study is quite intense.

The courses I will be taking are: 1) Research Methods; 2) Current Issues in Philosophy: Philosophy of Language and Epistemology; and 3) Philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment. So, if people are planning to visit when I am not on break, and they want to actually talk to me, then they should plan on discussing one of the above topics.

As Corrie mentioned in the last post, I have been trying to get ahead on my coursework before classes start. For my Research Methods module I have to write an outline of a question I want to research/address and then research/address it in 4,000 words or less. For those of you who might be interested, what I am hoping to use as my question is:

In Virtues of the Mind, Linda Zagzebski points out the lack of ethical considerations in Alvin Plantinga’s warrant trilogy (Warrant: the Current Debate; Warrant and Proper Function; and Warranted Christian Belief). Is the virtue epistemology Zagzebski proposes compatible with the theological/ethical framework Plantinga claims to adhere to, i.e. Reformed Theology?

I am not sure if it will fly; I’m concerned that it might be too theological, given common (but often arbitrary) divisions between the disciplines philosophy and theology. We’ll see.

Here are some other fun facts that I don’t feel that I want to devote a paragraph to:
• Proverbially speaking, I bought my weight in David Hume books for my Philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment class…that crazy guy.
• I am delighted to say that I should be having coffee with one of my philosophical heroes in the next couple weeks; I get giddy thinking about it.
• It looks like I will be able to be involved with the Arche Research Centre, more than I originally anticipated.

And finally and on an entirely different note, let me go ahead and debrief everyone on my haggis experience. While it was cooking, I thought it smelled like an old leather boot stuffed with the grossest most aged cheese you can fathom; however, Brannan and I were resolved to try it. Below are some of the pictures from our experience. The first couple bites were not too bad, really. It tasted a lot like how you might imagine a meatloaf pâté, but unfortunately, certain not so pleasant hints of flavor quickly grew in strength; abruptly ending my experience with the dish. (sidenote from Corrie: I tried to warn them…)





And here are some other pictures of our life and times from the past few weeks