Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
That’s a surprisingly hard question to answer. Here’s one modern philosophical take: bit.ly/bc-what-is-art. More simply, the Oxford Dictionary of English says it is an “expression or application of human creative skill and imagination”, which covers a whole lot of ground. bit.ly/bc-art.
I’m so glad you enjoy my responses! In the many years since the library opened, I have enjoyed watching students, staff, and faculty come and go, but I wished that I could find a way to become a part of the community and interact with all of my visitors. After lots of thought, I decided that I could serve as a resource to answer all those questions that people have but don’t know who to ask about. It gives me a chance to learn more about the BC community and a chance to give back. I hope you’ve found my answers fun and useful!
Hm… it certainly stands to reason that it would be difficult to be a good Catholic per se, as you’d have to opt out of reciting the Nicene Creed. Catholicism certainly has no problem with being a good *person* and not believing in God, and faith and doubt are certainly not strangers (See Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, O’Neill Library BT771 .T54). For issues of faith and doctrine, your best bet is to talk to someone at Campus Ministries: bit.ly/BC-ministry.
Mangia!
Rather than looking for “a point” to life, I think it is better to acknowledge that you are here regardless of reason, and then strive to make the world a better place. If you do this, you will create your own reason for being here. And making the world better doesn’t have to be daunting- even simple actions can help.
Though we may frequently think of outdoor fountains when we hear the word “fountain,” the word is actually developed from the Latin word “fons” which means spring or source of water. Thus, the term “fountain pen” developed because they include reservoirs or containers of ink unlike early pens that were dipped in an external source of ink before writing with them and did not feature an internal source of ink. It is hard to say when they were first developed. The first may have been as early as the 10th century when there is some evidence that a fountain-style pen was created at the request of Al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah. There is also evidence that Leonardo da Vinci may have created and used a prototype of one. We do know that they were in use in Europe and referred to as “fountain pens” by the 17th century. Want to know more? Check out The Missing Ink: The Lost Art of Handwriting by Philip Hensher (Z40 .H46 2012).
You always know you’ve got a good question when you ask one philosophers have been debating for a few thousand years. This is one of those questions. For a really great summary of approaches to answering it, you can’t beat this entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: bit.ly/SEP-free-will
Love is more a feeling than a look. I would say that love differs from attraction because it creates a deep concern for the other person’s happiness over any concern for your own happiness. Attraction can be sudden, but love usually takes time to grow. As to what love looks like, it could be sad when the other is hurting, pride when the other succeeds, and joy when the other cares the same way about you.
Believe it or not, you’re not the first to ask this question. In September last year, I answered it thus: “The best analysis of this question the Wall is aware of is here: bit.ly/bc-airspeed,” and I continue to stand by that answer.
I don’t know about you, but I am neither infinitely wide nor infinitely tall. Nor will I live forever. Speed limits keep auto fatalities under control, and few humans have ever bested the 4-minute mile. There are many, many limits. Even my capability of answering is limited to a few post-its. But I think I understand you: there are already many limits in life; don’t add to them with unnecessary ones. For instance, I have neither hands nor voice, but I do have friends who can help me express myself.
Here’s what I said in answer to this in November: “Let’s just get one thing out of the way: It absolutely does NOT mean never having to say you’re sorry, Erich Segal’s Love Story notwithstanding. (For more on the profound interaction we call apology, read Aaron Lazare’s On Apology: BF575 .A75 L39 2004.) There are at least as many dimensions to love as there are words for it in all the world’s languages. In an answer last spring, I pointed out that the ancient Greek word “agape” means love that expects nothing in return: bit.ly/AW-agape. I’ve also pointed out that it’s helpful to recall that love is a verb, and calls you to do things for people: bit.ly/AW-love-feeling.”
Short answer: no. Taxes are how societies arrange to pay for the things that are necessary but don’t make sense to do privately, like interstates and armies and post offices. Almost all human societies have had them in some form, and complaints about them are as old as recorded history. bit.ly/bc-taxes. What, how, and how much to tax, however, are really interesting ethical questions to explore. You might try a few of these sources: bit.ly/bc-tax-justice
Ahhh. Fake smiles, white lies, and contextual personae. These social falsehoods may seem bad but in fact help keep social situations and relationships strong. Unlike “big lies”, these “little lies” in effect say that our relationship is more important than anything else. Also, people can be hesitant to bring up the “real,” because it risks causing someone–maybe even the speaker–to lose face.
Whatever you envision as a better world, make at least part your career and what you do outside of work hours part of it. And bring your children along so they can see how it’s done. And talk about it with them. Children are wise and curious, and will soon grow up to become people asking (we hope) this same question.
There’s no getting around it, people have done mean things and said judgmental things. A good many others have done heroic things and said things that were honest, thoughtful, and/or caring. I recommend seeking out more of the latter, and attempting to avoid the former as much as you can. If you can’t avoid it, perhaps you can meet it with equanimity & silence, kind of like a wall. Meanness expects (and thrives on) mean responses. Starved of reaction, it often recedes.
Heart *and* brain. The current consensus in neurology is that the brain is as much a feeling organism as a thinking one, and that cognition itself is inextricably linked to emotion. I recommend Antonio Damasio’s book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (O’Neill Library QP401 .D2 1994) as an early & influential title. There’s also been a lot of research into the effects of gut microbiota on mood, depression, and anxiety (bit.ly/gut-mood). Gut feeling? It’s truer than we knew, and bacteria may even play a part. Heart, brain, gut… all of it and more: neurons extend throughout your entire body, sort of like all the network cables in a Wall.
As with most myths it is difficult to know exactly where and when this saying emerged, but most experts agree that it is based on the natural grace of cats and their natural reflex to turn and land on their feet when falling. Both of these meant that cats could survive accidents and escape from danger. However, it is important to note that cats can, of course, be injured and don’t actually have 9 lives. Interestingly enough, the exact number of lives in this myth varies by region with some Spanish-speaking areas of the world as well as Italy, Greece, and Brazil instead saying that cats have 7 lives and many Arabic-speaking parts of the world saying that they have only 6.
It’s not unusual that the idea of death should cross our minds on occasion. There is much to alarm us in the news (deaths from flu; school shootings, etc.) Or perhaps someone we love or know is ill or has recently passed. Or perhaps we’re just in an existential frame of mind. The Libraries has a range of material that might be useful in grappling with this issue, including “Nothing to be frightened of,” a memoir by Julian Barnes (O’Neill PR6052 A6657 Z46 2008); or perhaps “Treating health anxiety and fear of death: A practitioner’s guide,” which is more of a toolset for clinicians and counselors (Social Work Library RC531 F87 2007); or “Be Not Afraid: Overcoming the Fear of Death (Theology & Ministry Library BT825 A69 2002), a compilation of stories of people who did just that. If you find that your fear is persistent and/or interfering with your daily life, please contact Counseling Services at bit.ly/BC-counseling for help.
A veces, ya tiene que decidir.
