The Philosophical Optimist

              Rational thought, it has been said, is an acquired taste.   And where, one might ask, is one to go to acquire such a taste?   Well, the logical answer to that question is: one goes to the logical to acquire logic—and who is more logical than Mr. Spock himself?   But how does one learn from a fictional character?   Again, the answer is simple: listen to what he says.             But before we go to our teacher to learn how to be logical, we should ask, what is logic?   Well, logical or rational thinking is simply thinking clearly.   Speaking the truth, said Aristotle, means saying of what is, that it is, and of what is not, that it is not [1] —matching our words to reality.   Logical thought—which also benefitted a great deal from Aristotle—is simply thought which seeks to find “what is” and match our thoughts and our words ...

Another Example Essay for my students, composed, as the date would suggest, several years ago.  The basic principle of connection, however, is still valid.  Let this substitute for the essay I never published in January.  I did not publish this then, only because I thought I had posted it already. Brent Oliver Dr. Guilds Film Studies 4 February2011 Of ‘Bots and Bowmen Here is a short note to remind us to keep looking for the patterns, because, it's all connected. I was recently watching my favorite science fiction television series, Dollhouse (the imminent demise of which merely illustrates the principle that by the logic of television and its need to appeal to the masses, bad writing tends to drive out the good), where a character noted that "Rossum," the name of the corporation that runs the Dollhouses, comes from "an old play."  Of course! I said, only then remembering R.U.R.: Rossum's Universal Robots , the play (published 1920, performed 19...

"There are other forms of intelligence on Earth [than ‘people’], Doctor.” —Spock, Star Trek IV I have always been a cognitive pluralist—by prejudice, if not by conviction.   I never saw any reason to insist that mankind alone should possess consciousness to any significant degree.   Part of it has to be due to growing up in a church that, on account of its great respect for the scriptures, always acknowledged the existence of an unseen world of angels and demons, even if our general fear of all things Catholic led us to declare that the age of miracles—including angelic visions and demonic influences and exorcisms—was over.    I have since gotten over that fear, and no doubt one small reason for this was the second contributing factor to my cognitive pluralism: my second home in the world of pure imagination.   From Eternia to Tatooine, from Cybertron to Vulcan, from Asgard to Lothlorien—and yes, even the digital world of Automan —I spent so much time in worlds...

To the Good People of Star Trek:             First of all, let me just say: thank you; thank you for bringing Star Trek back to television, and for making in Discovery two of the best seasons of television ever.   I am sure I am but one of many people who have written to congratulate you on your excellent work, but I do hope one more letter of praise will not be too much.   I have quite enjoyed watching you work with the material you have inherited; you have been faithful to what has come before without letting it limit your creativity.   Kudos on creating great new characters like Saru and Stamets (my two favorites), and on brilliantly fleshing out old characters like Christopher Pike, Harry Mudd, and the family Sarek (but where does Sybok fit in to this story, I wonder?).   And as for Captain Gabriel Lorca, even though he did turn out to be a murderous Terran, he is still my third favorite Starfleet c...

            The wonderful thing about a literary education is that, assuming it is done right (an outcome that is far from certain), it improves one's ability to read any text, written or otherwise.  Read with a discerning literary eye, any text of any real value reveals meaningful symmetries, the discovery of  which greatly enhances the reader's—or viewer's—enjoyment of the text.             This epiphany occurred to me once as I was watching an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise called "Breaking the Ice."  I had been teaching my students about the concept of theme, and how it is often reflected in the title of a story; so I decided to apply this principle to the episode I was watching and ask, "How, in this episode, is ice being broken?"  I was not disappointed with the results.            ...