Happy February! This week, I did more reading than writing.
Just finished “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.”
I chose to read this because living with kids & pets in a small space is DRIVING ME CRAZY and my first impulse for dealing with things is to read about them. More soon on this.
Second, I'm halfway through “Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving”
Technical terms aside, it’s essentially a book about the harms of early relational trauma (i.e. how mediocre-to-bad parents tend to affect their kids).
This is very difficult territory in part because it’s painful to realize that your parents screwed you up. Worse, you’re likely still suffering in some way on account of that even as an adult. Plus, when children have been emotionally (rather than physically) maltreated, they may grow up to wonder whether it was real or bad enough to count.
I will write about it when I’m done, but for now check out “Trauma for Skeptics” ICYMI.
Not Boring Club (NYC)
This week, I also attended debate for the 3rd time, it was awesome. Pics here!
Packy McCormick (debate organizer) is actually launching a whole organization committed to fostering nerdy social life here in NYC.
You can learn more about Not Boring Club & apply here.
“Neither person nor cadaver” :
The body is warm, but the brain has gone dark: why the notion of brain death provokes the thorniest of medical dilemmas
This thoughtful piece provides an overview of how an ethical issue can unfold socioculturally and historically out in the world, not from merely within the confines of an armchair.
What does it really mean to be dead? And why does it matter? (At Aeon)
P.S. One email coaching spot available
I launched philosophical coaching & conversation a.k.a. “Interlocutor as a Service” a few weeks ago and it immediately sold out.
As the month turns over, I’m pleased to open one spot for a new client by email.
Are you an intellectual type who loves reflective writing and who could use a sparring partner? Go here for info & signup.
Ciao,
Pamela
2020 Issue 6 of 52