In an extended interview, philosopher Douglas B. Rasmussen responds to a series of questions about his life and work.
Dr. Rasmussen is a professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York. In addition to the books discussed in the interview, he is the author of articles in American Philosophical Quarterly, The Review of Metaphysics, International Philosophical Quarterly, and many scholarly anthologies.
CEE Professor Shawn Klein has a new course for Spring 2012: Ideas of Liberty in Modern Philosophy. Our ideas about liberty and individual freedom have their roots in the thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Students will explore these ideas in the influential works of Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Burke, and other modern thinkers.
Jeffrey van Davis talks with Dr. Stephen Hicks about the inspirations for making his documentary Only A God Can Save Us, which explores Martin Heidegger’s involvement with the National Socialist movement. Mr. van Davis also discusses the process of making the film and its public reception. Parts I-IV are embedded below.
Martin Heidegger is considered by many to be the most profound thinker of the 20th century, and his philosophy continues to be influential.
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In May of 1933, Heidegger joined the Nazi Party and became the first Nazi Rector of a German university.
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Heidegger’s final words of despair in a famous Der Spiegel interview make it clear that he had no faith in democracy: “Only a God can save us.”
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The film Only A God Can Save Us is a critical view of Heidegger’s so-called “flirtation” with Nazism and examines the elements of his philosophy which may have led him to support the National Socialist revolution.
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Come watch highlights from the two-hour documentary film about this controversial philosopher and stay for a discussion panel featuring Jeffrey Van Davis, the film’s director, and Rockford College faculty members Stephen Hicks (Philosophy), David Sytsma (History), and Jules Gleicher (Political Science).
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Friday, March 4 from 3-5 p.m. in the CEE office in Burpee
Great news via Stephen Hicks’s website: the Department of Philosophy at Rockford College announced a new minor track in Ethics.
The core courses include several sponsored by CEE: Introduction to Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Sports Ethics, Business and Economic Ethics, Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Ethical Theory. The department will also offer occasional special topics courses with a strong value component that can count toward the minor.
Mary Mazzio is an award-winning independent filmmaker, Olympic rower, and former law firm partner with Brown Rudnick. She received her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, a law degree from Georgetown University, and studied film production at Boston University. Her company, 50 Eggs, LLC, has produced five independent films shown across the United States on television, in classrooms, and in theatres. We met with Ms. Mazzio outside of Boston, Massachusetts, to explore her thoughts on entrepreneurship and the challenges and excitement of making documentaries.
Kaizen: You’ve been a lawyer, an Olympic rower, and now a documentary filmmaker. When you were young, did you have any idea your adult life would be so varied?
Mazzio: Not at all. Although as a kid I remember always having a sort of boundless enthusiasm for whatever it was that I was doing. So I always thought that good things would happen in the end but I had no idea.
