The Spring 2010 issue of The Gadfly is soon out in print and now available online. We hit the highlights: On protest, or Columbia’s recent lack thereof. (p. 4) On religion and science. (p. 7) On philosophy and art. (p. 11) On whatever Finnegans Wake is about. (p. 20) On love. (p. 24) On parents. […]

The Fall 2009 issue of The Gadfly is out in print, and Bwog hits the highlights: Why skeptical science is better than paradigmatic science. (p. 6) God and poetry: twins? (p. 10) Stop, collaborate, and think beautifully. (p. 14) Emotions affect attitudes affect feelings affect actions… (p. 16) Religion through philosophy (p. 24) Neuroenhancers: Why? […]

In which Kate Hughes attempts to discover the meaning of life. It was no surprise that the room was filled entirely with older scholars, the types of people who actually have the time to contemplate life. Chins perched thoughtfully in their elbows, they listened with interest to Charles Taylor, philosopher and Professor Emeritus at McGill. […]

The Journal of Philosophy, run and published by Columbia’s philosophy department, has been around in one form or another for more than a century, and it is certainly an important part of the university’s reputation: PrezBo’s a trustee of the journal. But the Internet Age is leading to criticism of the journal’s editorial process.  Most […]

Intrepid Lecture Hopper Anna Kelner headed to Philosophy this blustery February evening to hear Joyce Carol Oates speak about the process of revision, a part of The Creative Writing Lecture Series at the School of the Arts.  The cups of wine, the plaid, the audience taking notes on Moleskine journals: the School of Arts clearly […]

Bwog Guide to the Weekend Editor Sara Jane Panfil attended last night’s 2008 Thomas Merton Lecture about “The Problem of Evil in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.” Justify your midterms anguish with Aquinas! There’s no better time than midterms time to ponder the meaning and existence of human suffering.  After all, it doesn’t seem […]

When we posted an update about all the new professorial friends you’ll be making (and losing) next year, we weren’t aware that we had made a grave and conspicuous omission. One recent grad informed us that Cheryl Mendelson, wife of Edward Mendelson, is filling in as “Term Associate Professor” in the Barnard Philosophy Department next […]

The depths of procrastination have truly reached a new low: We’ve taken to Googling our professors on YouTube. An anonymous tipster points us in the direction of “Prolegomena to any Future Numa Numa,” which features philosophy professor John David Collins and one of who we believe to be the children of Collins and one of […]

In which a Bwogger gets in way over his head. It is relatively intuitive that the goal of any college student is to attain some sort of meaning from the classes they take, so I thought that Philosophy Professor Akeel Bilgrami’s graduate seminar on the topic would be enlightening.  I sidled into a Philosophy Hall […]

For those who need a refresher on Columbia’s new philosophy magazine, here’s an interview from earlier this year. Their current issue is available now and here’s some of what’s in it (page numbers are by the number in the pdf): An Explanation of What the Hell a “Work” Issue is About (p.3)  Columbia Undergraduate Philosophy […]

Armin Rosen spent the past couple nights seeing what The Tribe is up to. Jewish philosophical smack dooooooown! It’s about time the philosophical salon made a comeback: on Tuesday night, a couple dozen List College students gathered in the Mathilde Shechter music room for some laid back Judaically-focused philosophical disputation. The night’s topic was the […]

Noam Chomsky stormed campus yesterday with a lecture double-header. Bwog commences its in-depth coverage with the linguist’s more academic engagement. Below, Linguistics major Sara Maria Hasbun reports on deep thoughts. Noam Chomsky isn’t exactly known for his engaging lectures, but even so, he packed the theatre of the Casa Italiana by 2:45 for a 4:00 […]

A gadfly, according to Billy Goldstein (CC’ 09), is “some big-ass fly,” and also the only non-defunct undergraduate philosophy magazine at Columbia University. The Gadfly has so far printed one issue with a medley of contributions: a letter of explanation, a few art pieces, a fictional work, a quasi-Socratic dialogue, a lecture review, and–as a […]

It seems as if Columbia has been having a bit of trouble with Fire Safety lately.  Yesterday, two unrelated occurrences confirm that maybe we should be worried about the all-consuming wrath-fire after all. From Bwog Tipster Addison Anderson, on yesterday’s EC fire alarm: After the alarm from the smoke scare on the 14th floor stopped […]