by Dr. Norris Frederick In the video clip [1], George Carlin asks with his inimitable humor, “That’s the whole meaning of life, isn’t it: trying to find a place to put your stuff?” In questioning…
by Dr. Norris Frederick Marie Kondo is quite the thing these days. Her New York Times #1 best seller book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and her…
by Dr. Norris Frederick My family preferred to deal with challenges and craziness with humor, thus the plaque my sister Virginia gave to me on a recent birthday, “Just remember: as far as everyone…
David McKnight at the Durham Farmer’s Market, Sept. 2014. Photo by Bill Pope. By Dr. Norris Frederick Third and Final Part (part one is here and part two here) “In poverty, too, as in all…
By Dr. Norris Frederick Part Two In Part One (which you can read here), I wrote about my friendship with David McKnight, beginning in the mid-60’s with high school, where he was voted “Most Likely…
by Dr. Norris Frederick “No one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all the other good things.” – Aristotle[1] David McKnight 1966 high school yearbook Aristotle is right: who would want…
By Dr. Norris Frederick Second in a series After 28 years of attending and watching commencement exercises at Queens University of Charlotte, I’ve come to expect a certain routine of music, speeches, and the awarding…
By Dr. Norris Frederick First in a series Thanks to those of you who responded to my most recent post about an assignment from my “Philosophy for Life” course, based on Nozick’s thought-experiment, “The Experience…
By Dr. Norris Frederick This semester I’m teaching my course “Philosophy for Life: What do Great Philosophers and Current Science Have to Say about True Happiness and a Good Life?” [i] The course raises and…
By Dr. Norris Frederick I’ve been traveling down interstates 77 and 81 for about 3 hours, and the roar of trucks going 75 mph is getting to me. I’m on the way to the Virginia…