Oct 17, 2011

A New Virtue Ethics Blog

One reason I've been unmistakably lax over the last month in meeting my self-imposed obligations to timely and consistent posting on this blog stems from what might be regarded as a species of inconstancy. It's fortunate that blogs cannot exhibit or feel jealousy, or else I might have problems on my hands in addition to those involved in skillful time-management -- or juggling the consequences of its lack thereof.   For, I must admit that another blog has been absorbing much of the energies and attentiveness I had earlier been devoting to Orexis Dianoētikē, which, to judge by readership counts, has not remained entirely unattended in my all-too-often absences.

I started a new blog, Virtue Ethics Digest, intended to function as a complement to Orexis Dianoētikē, much more tightly focused on one area of my lasting interests -- Virtue Ethics as a means for understanding moral issues in contemporary culture -- as well as sparer in design, shorter in post-length, with somewhat less of my own voice compensated by more block quotes from the sites whose articles and entries I would mine for relevant and provocative material.  The original impetus and idea emerged from a combination of two factors:  teaching Ethics to interested, well-motivated students and some degree of experience with another tumblr blog. [note:  I've since switched V.E.D. over to a Blogger platform]

Oct 11, 2011

Time, Technology, and Teaching

academic octopus multitasking writing publishing work technology teaching learning students
Given the length of time I've allowed to lapse since my last posting here on Orexis Dianoētikē, before taking up the threads anew of previous musings, conversations, discussions and diatribes, I ought perhaps to say a bit about what I've been up to, and introduce yet another topic to the mix, one bearing on and bearing out a shape of practical rationality.  My starting and anchor point is a Tenured Radical (Claire Potter) post, The Problem That Has No Name: Or, If Computers Are A Labor Saving Device, Why Am I Working A Double Shift?

A tenured professor, with an enviable position, class load, and preparation requirements, made the experiment of charting out her time in order to get to the bottom of a puzzle.  It would seem that academics possess a considerable amount of leisure time. . .  so where does all of it go?  How do we end up working longer and longer days?  Before examining at what she discovered, I'll  mention my own similar conundrum and commiserate in advance and by analogy.