King's Philosophy Wine and Cheese Speech

Written and delivered Wed. March 26, 2008
At King's University College at the University of Western Ontario

I've been here for five years, believe it or not.
Occasionally I ask what I can do with the understanding that I've developed in this place. Understanding, I say, since it would be misleading to say knowledge or to say wisdom.
Here's why I think so. To me, knowledge is a matter of becoming familiar with certain concepts and ideas through an examination of the world around us. Wisdom, on the other hand, is not a matter of examination, not a matter of observation, but a matter of action.
Wisdom is not gained through reading books.
This is probably one of the most important things I have learned here—and it took five years and a lot of reading to figure it out.
I say understanding because I see Kings' Gift to us as a combination of knowledge and wisdom, a matter of observation and action.
I say understanding because King's has shaped the ground on which we now stand—upon which we will forge our paths in life.
I say understanding because I finally—after all this time— feel like I finally understand a little bit of what it means to struggle—and to finally succeed.
At whatever point you are at on your path, I pray that these brief words will help you find some answers to just what you can do with the things you have learned in this place. I pray that King's will continue to have an impact on the way you live your life.
Finally, and this doesn't seem like too much to ask, I pray simply that our paths cross and we meet again to enjoy drinks and words...

TO KING'S, TO THE LOVE OF WISDOM, AND TO US...
CHEERS!!!

JB

Welcome to Sophistical Subterfuges.

Being as I am sick at home, bored, and unable to leave my room, I have decided to take my mind away from the flu by getting started on my blog. I should take this first opportunity to introduce some of my plans for the blog, and, of course, explain a little about the name.

Without further ado, I shall explain just exactly what the heck I mean by "sophistical subterfuges", as I can imagine it will draw a few blanks. Well, first off, let me say that "drawing a blank" is pretty much the idea behind these words. They are taken from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. For those of you who have studied Kant's critiques, you will know that usually reading Kant is a bit like listening to the drone of a robot. It is often difficult to see any human behind his words. This particular passage, however, has always struck me as a flash of passion shining through:

"In the writings of modern philosophers I find the expression mundus sensibilis and intelligibis used with a meaning altogether different from that of the ancients--a meaning which is easily understood, but which results merely in an empty play upon words. [...] Such a twisting of words is a merely sophistical subterfuge; it seeks to avoid a troublesome question by changing its meaning to suit our own convenience." (CPR A257/B313).

For now I won't discuss Kant's topic of discussion, namely the distinction between the sensible world and the intelligible world, but by the end of this first post it should become clear that this distinction is essential to my plans for this blog. No, for now I will only discuss the name. For those of you who haven't read Kant, and, for that matter, haven't read so much philosophy in general, let me explain the phrase "sophistical subterfuge" as I understand it.

"Sophistical" has a number of senses, all of which are relevant. It can be loosely meant to refer to something "philosophical", coming from the Greek "sophos", meaning wisdom. A more precise sense takes into account an alternate translation of sophos: meaning clever... which more accurately describes what Kant, as well as I, have in mind here. Clever as a fox, as the expression goes, tricky.... deceptive... in other words, not to be taken at face value.

Every moment that I engage in philosophical discourse, this sense of sophos quietly resides in the back of my mind. What am I, what are we, doing when we ask questions that cannot be appeased by any answer? Or to ask the most philosophical question, why? Why do we ask unanswerable questions? There has been a great deal of books published addressing these questions, and so I won't waste our time addressing them. All I have to say is that the impossibility of appeasing these questions does not, at least for myself, give sufficient reason to stop asking them. As someone once told me, "Keep asking questions".

Simple enough.

Oh, that reminds me, I should explain the word "subterfuge" as well, before you decide to stop reading and start living (if you haven't already made this choice). The best way to explain this word is to point out its etymological relation to the modern day word "fugitive"... "subter-" comes from the Latin meaning secret, and also underneath. "Fuge" comes from the Latin "fugere", meaning to flee. Together, this word has the sense of making use of strategies and disguises in order to evade, conceal, or escape.

Enough with the name. It is simply a mask, a sophistical subterfuge, designed to conceal something else that lays beneath the name. Before I finish this lengthy introduction, let me return to that distinction between the sensible world and the intelligible world in order to share with you my plans for this blog. This space in which I write will be a place where I can share my experiences of both of these worlds. I will use it to share and develop my thoughts and unanswerable questions (after all, what is philosophy but a continual improvement of how one asks questions?), and I will also use it to share my experiences of the world out there, both at home and abroad. So if you are willing, please join me every now and then in what can be called none other than the Sophistical Subterfuges of a Small Town Boy.