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updated: 11/10/15

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[1] Ponder Einstein statement

"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Source: Mathematical Circles

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[2] Dass Guided Imagery focused on sending light and love

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES:

 Best and Worst" for second half of alphabet

 

11-12 Coetzee 3; The Poets and the Animals 

 

 Understand the role of literature and art in ethics generally and advancing animal rights specifically; become aware of the advantages and disadvantages of analogies such as that between the Holocaust and slaughterhouses.

[2A2] ETHICS [ The second goal of the required leadership/ethics flag courses -- learn to make real-life ethical choices -- is closely related to the core purpose of the University of Texas, to transform lives for the benefit of society. It is also one of the basic education requirements of U.T.: "have experience in thinking about moral and ethical problems." Our ethics goals are

 

[2A2a] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by Anti-Semitism, especially the Holocaust.

[2A2b] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by racism, especially slavery.

[2A2c] To experience more directly the ethical dilemmas presented by speciesism, especially cruelty to animals.

[2A2d]  To become aware of real-life ethical choices made daily by all of us involving cruelty to animals.

[2A2e] To return to the traditional college goals of developing character and conscience.

              [2A2f] To practice replacing fear and greed with love, compassion, tolerance, and the sympathetic imagination.

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TODAY'S TOPICS :Use this novel to ONLY CONNECT AND HAMMER INTO UNITY everything we have learned since August about animals and ethics. Special focus: the value and validity of analogies such as those between the Holocaust and slaughterhouses in this novel and elsewhere. In other words, we are testing how well the approach in the course description works for you:

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recall DFW's commencement speech:

one  "truth you shall know" is that you are not just your default settings, you can break free of them:

you have choices, such as your daily ethical choices about food, clothing, entertainment, etc.; because you have choices you are FREE of your default settings, FREE to create your new, more authentic, consistent, ethical self.................

11-12   MEET AT STATUE OF MLK ON EAST MALL. Coetzee 3, The Poets and the Animals; Quiz in class."Best and Worst" for first half of alphabet Quiz on Rilke and Hughes poems in class.

CATS

904-905           Rilke, "Panther"

906-907           Hughes Intro

908                  "Jaguar"

909                  "Jaguar II"

910                  Rilke, "Black Cat"

RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WRITING ABOUT CATS FOR PROJECT TW0:

911-913           Cat Sense

ANCIENT WORSHIP OF CATS

914-916           "In Ancient  Egypt, Greece, and  Rome," Dorothy Stuart

 917-921          "The Cat in Ancient Egypt"

922-923           "What Happens to Cats," Herodotus

924                  Siamese Temple Cats ; The Origin of the Cat in Islam

925                  Cat Eye folklore

CAT COMPANIONS IN ANCIENT ART

926                  TiYi, Egypt, 1500s B.C.

927                  Penby, Egypt, 1200s B.C

928                  Southern Italy, 4th c. B.C

LATER CAT COMPANIONS

929                  Mahomed + Belgian "Cat's Prayer"

930-931           "Jeffry," Christopher Smart, 18th c

932                  "Never Again," Doris Lessing

933                  "Killing Willie," Mary Hemingway

CAT TEACHERS

934                  Zen Masters, Ekhart Tolle

935                  "Miao," Dilys Laing

FROM THE CAT'S POINT OF VIEW

936                  "Kitten's Recollections," A. N. Wilson

937                  "From the Laws of Cats," Karel Capek

938                  "Hiddigeigei," J. V. Von Scheffel

939                  "Simon," Frederick Pollock

940                  "Cat of the House," Ford Madox Ford

941                  "The Ballad of Tough Tom," Paul Gallico

942-945           "Diary of a Cat," Edwina S. Babcock

CAT EPITAPHS

946                  "Duchesse du Maine" Sir Edmind Gosse

947                  "Epitaphium Felis" Jorton