Monthly Archives: February 2015

Perceived objectivity

You’ve probably seen pictures of that dress – is it black and blue, or gold and white, and what does this say about our perceptual experiences?  But enough about that. There’s another discussion I’ve been having with friends recently, about … Continue reading

Posted in #rhizo14, Rhizomes, Wittgenstein | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Words can hurt

There’s an old playground saying that we used to bandy around a lot as children: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never harm me. I said it a lot to all the bullies who laughed at me for … Continue reading

Posted in #MoocMooc, Poetry | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What’s the point of ethics?

It’s a frequent misconception that the Hippocratic Oath contains the phrase “do no harm”, and that means that doctors can’t do anything that might hurt their patients. But it doesn’t,  and sometimes they have to.  Primarily the thrust of the … Continue reading

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

A herd of freely associating, autonomous cats.

At the moment some of us are attempting to finish an article about the collaborative autoethnography we’ve been working on since the second week of #rhizo14 (the first rMOOC?). One thing we’re attempting to characterise is the way that we zigzagged between … Continue reading

Posted in #rhizo14, D&G, MOOC, Rhizomes, Writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Scribbling all over the place.

I’ve never been one to toe the line: my automatic reaction to being told I must do something is to say no, and I spend way longer looking for ways to thwart bureaucracy than obeying its diktats.  And I loathe … Continue reading

Posted in #MoocMooc, Learning | 1 Comment

Institutionalisation of values

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.  Rousseau, Social Contract, Book 1 I’m teaching my first years Rousseau and I’m (meant to be) reading Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society – everywhere I look there are critiques of the state … Continue reading

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Anarchy

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

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

Being a good libertarian

There are a few passages is Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed where he talks about (or is translated as talking about) libertarian education.  For example: The raison d’etre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education … Continue reading

Posted in #MoocMooc, Freire | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Political compass

A lot of us talk about people being left wing or right wing, but actually there is also another axis on which to measure: authoritarian/libertarian.  There is a political compass that you can use to check out where you lie … Continue reading

Posted in #MoocMooc | Tagged , | 6 Comments