Can’tstipation, or capacity disavowal, is a key topic and issue in Logic-Based Therapy and Consultancy. It also is a popular issue among clients of general Philosophical Practice. Despite the assumptions regarding the wisdom and detachment of philosophers from common problems, they are not immune from can’tstipation. On the contrary, philosophers develop their specific ways of being can’tstipated. LBT lists seven types of can’tstipation. Throughout this text, I will describe the custom-tailored versions of these seven types in the life of the (...) generic contemporary philosopher. Given that philosophers nowadays are predominately part of the academic world, their can’tstipation will often be connected to the trials and tribulations of academic life. (shrink)

The paper presents a concise history of enactivism in education, especially in mathematics education. Cases described by Davis’s, Proulx and Simmt’s work showcase the idea that enactivism is a viable alternative to constructivism or to classical views both in terms of practical teaching and theoretical models related to the process of learning. The idea that the student should solve a fixed problem, discover the universally correct solution, and eventually store that correct solution to find many other universally correct solutions to (...) other fixed problems reduces the student to a very simple mechanism aimed at informational efficiency. This problem is met by the enactivistic tradition that began with Varela and Maturana’s work, now updated to the aforementioned researchers. Contra the classical perspective, enactivism proposes the idea that the student collaboratively produces the problem, being able to see multiple solutions, and eventually becoming a performer of knowledge. The article takes these ideas developed in mathematics education and finds their use in philosophical education. The article especially focuses on the student’s problem of being unable to link a new philosophical text discussed in class with their intuition. The last part of the article offers a lesson design example. The philosophical design focuses on making the students explore their own thinking regarding the topic about to be discussed by using a philosophy text before introducing the text. (shrink)

Elegance ranks low on the list of debated topics in philosophy, mainly because of the fleeting and mundane character of phenomena that it relies on for its existence. However, the rise of kinaesthesia as an important topic in today’s philosophical and phenomenological environment facilitates the inclusion of elegance in the canon of philosophical debates. This article reviews two important positions regarding elegance, that of Renaissance philosopher Baldassare Castiglione and of 20th Century realist phenomenologist Dietrich von Hildebrand. First, we underline three (...) aspects of Castiglione’s concept of sprezzatura and showcase the significance and purpose of practicing elegance. This step is succeeded by a close look at von Hildebrand’s attachment to a realist phenomenological frame for understanding why he denies elegance the status of an ideal value. Last, we look at the connection between elegance and three ideas from a hybrid phenomenology from Husserl and Sheets-Johnstone. These connections form the basis for filling the significant gap between Castiglione’s Renaissance take on elegance and von Hildebrand’s realist perspective with a new phenomenological project regarding elegance. (shrink)