Meditations

It’s mid-afternoon on one of those palpably gray and dreary days in the middle of winter. The hoot of an owl reverberates from beyond a trio of small redwoods on…

I rode the bike out in the last light to see what remained of the sunset over the Coastal Range. As I made the loop back to the house, on…

Shortly after sunset in the narrow strip of land along the stream that runs through town, I could hear them calling to each other. I walked toward their hooting, with…

In America at least, we are still in the ‘new toy’ phase of high technology. Every gadget and ‘breakthrough’ receives oohs and aahs in the media, with the subtext, ‘‘Aren’t…

A ferocious rain fell here in northern California yesterday, with high winds that pelted the house with water almost horizontally. It was over in 20 minutes however. Sitting on the…

As most adults know, Christmas is a fabricated celebration of the birth of Jesus, made up long ago to coincide with ancient festivals held on the winter solstice. Jesus, scholars…

Philosophers cannot operate in the same mode of fragmentation (that is, specialization) that has made man such a menace on the earth and expect to offer any insight, much less…

Once again the New York Times has outdone itself in philosophical foolishness with its weekly op-ed, “The [Philosopher’s] Stone.” Op-eds are often narrow and shallow, but this piece, “Would Human…