Bits and Pieces.

Philosophy has been a bit thin on this blog lately. . . I realize this. But now that the uni holidays are over  I should be back to talking about philosophy again soon enough. (To be specific I'm studying Advanced Topics in Metaphysics in the next semester so my blogs will probably be related to that). For the meantime there is this post: a sort of personal summary of what I've been up to lately. I'm not sure whether anyone is actually interested in this sort of thing, and it's mighty arrogant to pretend that people will be interested at all, but I guess the beauty of having a blog is the egotistical buzz of broadcasting meaningless shit into cyberspace and pretending that people care. Anyways, here is what I've been up to lately:

I've got a new job! This means that I've stopped working in the soul-crushing profession that is 'market research'. Market Research is one of those jobs that is worth having on a resume for the simple fact that is sounds much better than it is. It sounds like an 'adult job' if you know what I mean. When I used to tell people that I worked in Market Research they would raise their eyebrows and say things like "Oh, interesting". I would chuckle inside. Little did they know that I was the person on the phone trying to get them to do political surveys. BUT that is all behind me now because I've moved on to bigger and better things. I'm now a sort of motivational speaker/tutor hybrid that presents seminars on studying to high school students. I realize that this isn't everybody's 'dream job' but those who know me will know how perfectly this type of thing fits my personality. Not only do I get to demand people's attention for an hour at a time but I am also encouraged to make lots of lame jokes. Brilliant!

So far I've only just begun and have only come as far as my first training, but even this has been a tough process. For my training I had to learn two 1hr scrips off by heart and it was very difficult. Nevertheless I'm pleased to be working in a field that is close to what I would like to pursue for a career (philosophy teaching).

I've also joined an 'Ultimate Disc' team recently. Ultimate Disc is what you get when you combine casual frisbee throwing with AFL and Netball. The result is a fast paced sport with an entire sub-culture following it. It is not as nearly as silly as it sounds and there is a huge amount of strategy and skill involved to play the game well. I'm just learning at the moment but it has been great fun! In fact, it's probably the most enjoyable sport I've ever played.

The last thing that I've been up to is working on establishing a website called "Anything But Goon". Those of you who know me are probably sick of hearing about it so I won't go into a huge amount of detail about it. Basically "Anything But Goon" aims to move new drinkers (18-24yr olds) away from the highly alcoholic (and highly vomit-worthy) drinks like Goon to tastier, but still affordable, alternatives. We do this by writing up as many alcohol reviews as possible about 'bang-for-your-buck' beers, wines, ciders, and spirits. Ultimately it's been a great experience - I've been drinking a larger quantity and variety of booze and I've been motivated towards inspiring other people to broaden their drinking horizons. I can remember the first time I had a truly great beer after only experiencing the over advertised, under flavored, commercialized grain-water that large companies ambitiously label 'beer' (i.e. Tooheys, VB, etc) and  I am inspired to cause this revelation that 'there is better beer out there' to domino it's way through society. If I'm going to be grandiose about it I might say that I'm hoping for a 'craft beer revolution' but really I'd be satisfied with helping a few people try some new things. Anyways for those interested here as some links to the facebook site, the main Anything But Goon page, and a review for a beer that I got particularly passionate about.

https://www.facebook.com/AnythingButGoon

http://www.anythingbutgoon.com/

http://www.anythingbutgoon.com/index.php/featured-beer/64-bali-hai

#6 Amartya Sen. Beer. Brownies.

My Sunday night has comprised of reading Amartya Sen's book 'The Idea of Justice', drinking a superb beer called 'Aphrodisiaque', and eating chocolate brownies. It could be the incredible potency of the beer (it packs a considerable 6.5% ABV) but I'm feeling pretty good about life in general at the moment. I got a call earlier this week to inform me that I'd got the job at QPAC, tomorrow night we're hosting a party, and swotvac has just begun. Anyways, I'll tell you a little about 'The Idea of Justice' based on what I've read so far (I'll be sure to write a better review when I've finished reading it).

I hadn't read much of Amartya Sen before I bought 'The Idea of Justice' so I had no idea whether or not it would be my sort of style at all. As it turns out I find Sen incredibly easy to read and very engaging. His prose reminds me of reading Peter Singer (although obviously the content is quite different), it isn't unnecessarily academic or esoteric (as a lot of philosophy can tend to be) yet at the same time it doesn't undermine the intelligence of the reader. As the title suggests the theme seems to be concerned with 'justice'. Most of the philosophy that I read is concerned with morality or ethics and seems to focus on 'right-ness' or 'wrong-ness' of the decisions that we make. 'The Idea of Justice' takes a broader look at morality and focuses on the institutions and social systems that we live in. 'The idea of Justice' has the same sorts of aims as Rawl's 'A theory of Justice' and Nozick's 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia' and could probable be labelled as a sort of political philosophy.

I'm only 87 pages in so far so I can't really tell you much about Sen's theories yet, but I can tell you that Sen's work is worth reading if only for his prose and background. So far I've learnt about Ashoka Maurya and the ancient approaches to justice of Niti and Nyaya. It feels good to hear about the history and philosophy from non-western countries and it is, I think, hugely beneficial from a philosophical perspective to do so in order to avoid cultivating a 'west is best' prejudice. Anyhow, so far Sen hasn't actually began explaining his own theories and has just explained how and why his theory will differ from the Rawls' 'Theory of Justice' and the problems with trancendental institutionalism.  

***************