“Major philosophy prize named for Pitt professor Rescher (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)” plus 2 more |
- Major philosophy prize named for Pitt professor Rescher (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
- Everything's ducky at Palatine apartments (Chicago Sun-Times)
- Notion of 'group think' questioned (EurekAlert!)
| Major philosophy prize named for Pitt professor Rescher (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Posted: 24 Mar 2010 08:16 PM PDT The name Rescher could carry the same weight someday as Nobel and Pulitzer, said James V. Maher, University of Pittsburgh provost and senior vice chancellor. Pitt officials have created the $25,000 Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy, named for the professor who has taught philosophy for 60 years, nearly 50 of them at Pitt. The award will be given every two years beginning this fall to an individual who has made substantial contributions to philosophy. "The field needs a prize that can capture the public's imagination, and bring attention to excellent philosophy that's been done in a lifetime," Maher said. "We want this prize to make philosophy a vital and modern enterprise." Rescher, 81, of Regent Square, said the recognition "feels great." "To have this kind of recognition is a wonderful thing," said Rescher, who earned a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University at 22. Though he's not retiring, Rescher is donating his collection of philosophical materials to Pitt's Hillman Library. What makes the collection special, Rescher said, is that it contains papers, letters and manuscripts of many philosophers who emigrated from Europe during the mid-20th century and shifted the orientation of American philosophy to include more input from the sciences. Rescher's collection also includes materials from G.W. Leibniz, an inventor of and contributor to calculus. "We're thrilled to have Professor Rescher's collection in our library," said Rush Miller, director of Pitt's library system. "We are one of the world centers of collecting the papers of major philosophers. Rescher fits in that line of scholars." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Everything's ducky at Palatine apartments (Chicago Sun-Times) Posted: 25 Mar 2010 02:18 AM PDT
APARTMENT WATCH | Residents enjoy calming views of birds on pond at bucolic setting
When it comes to renting an apartment, Shauntell Harris employs a philosophy she calls "the three Ps." "My apartment has to have the perfect location: be very peaceful, nice parking and be pet-friendly," she said. That's exactly what Harris found at Williams Reserve Apartments in northwest suburban Palatine. The 320-unit rental development has 30 buildings on 30 acres of lush landscaping that includes a bucolic 3-acre on-site lake. The rental complex also has a cache of luxury amenities included in the rent: outdoor heated pool with sundeck and gas grills, and a business center with computer, printer, fax machine and photocopier. There also is a clubhouse for residents with a 24-hour fitness center and a Cyber Cafe featuring two additional computers overlooking the pool and a complimentary coffee bar. Harris moved from an apartment in the city to Williams Reserve Apartments in December, 2004. Harris is the company manager of computer programs for a telephone company, which moved its offices to Hoffman Estates six years ago. Harris followed suit and moved to nearby Palatine. She found the rental development after visiting a co-worker's apartment at Williams Reserve. "It felt like a real home, so I decided to rent here as well," said Harris, 40, who has a one-bedroom apartment that features a two-story loft and exposed brick in the living room. "It has the perfect location. I'm only a 20-minute ride to work and there are plenty of mini-malls close by," said Harris, noting that Williams Reserve Apartments has a 20,000-square-foot on-site shopping center. "Plus, Woodfield Mall is less than 15 minutes away." As far as being peaceful, Harris says her favorite thing about her residence is that her living room window overlooks a pond. She watches the ducks swim and enjoys the beautiful view, which she finds calm and peaceful. When Harris originally moved to the development she had a cat, so being pet-friendly was important, too, although her cat died last year. Harris says she also likes the clubhouse with the fitness facility and Cyber Cafe, which is a great place to meet with friends, get coffee, and use the WI-Fi computers. Harris also pointed out that the walking trail and pool are especially great in the summer. Apartments at Williams Reserve come with many standard amenities such as: patio or balcony; individual heating and air-conditioning systems; kitchen appliances (refrigerator, electric range, dishwasher); cable-ready master TV antenna outlets; pre-wired telephone outlets, and wall-to-wall carpeting. Rents range from $795 to $950 for studios, $895 to $1,050 for lofts, and $1,050 to $1,545 for 1- to 3-bedroom apartments. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Notion of 'group think' questioned (EurekAlert!) Posted: 24 Mar 2010 09:25 PM PDT ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small} Public release date: 25-Mar-2010[ | E-mail |  Share ] Contact: Michael Davies-Venn A common psychological phenomenonA University of Alberta researcher is questioning the notion of "group think" a common psychological phenomenonthat has been used to explain some of the extreme things people do once they are within the confines of a group. Rob Wilson, a professor in the Department of Philosophy, rejects the popular idea that groups tend to have a mind of their own and says the notion of a collective mind is problematic. "Groups are not thinking entities and do not share a collective consciousness," Wilson said. "The mind does not begin or end in the skull, but it's still the mind of the individual. It is individual minds, not group minds, that exists. The idea of group minds [is] either an ontological extravagance or an outright mystery." In addition to arguing that groups don't have minds, Wilson says also in a recently published book, Boundaries of the Mind, that groups can have positive effects on people by helping them overcome challenges in their lives. He says groups (and by his definition "group" can mean two people) can play a key role in augmenting the cognitive abilities of individuals suffering from certain diseases, and could help those trying to lose weight. "If someone is suffering from a degenerative disease and they're with a lifelong partner, they can remember things they couldn't otherwise recall, partly because they need their partner's support to compensate for their deficits, for example," Wilson said. "Likewise, someone in a dieting class would be able to regiment themselves and stick to a plan that's more demanding, more readily if they're in a group that's doing the same thing. They get reinforcement from their group." And Wilson says that in each instance, it is the individual doing the thinking and that the group acts as an extended cognitive systeman extension of the mindthat enhances the cognitive abilities of the individual members in a group. For more information, please contact: Rob Wilson, philosophy professor
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Yahoo! News Search Results for Philosophy To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment