“Boy with a Coin”
Iron and Wine – 2007
“It’s pretty much impossible for me to come up with a favorite song. ‘High Hopes’ by Pink Floyd (that guitar solo!!), ‘New Dawn Fades’ by Joy Division, ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen, and ‘Galapagos’ by the Smashing Pumpkins are all some of my all-time favorite songs—often for deeply personal reasons. There are songs for every occasion; favorite love songs, favorite songs for sadness, favorite songs for ‘pushing plates’ at the gym, etc. All that said, I’d like to highlight ‘Boy with a Coin’ by Iron and Wine. I see the song as wrestling with the silence of God amidst personal suffering and the capriciousness and inscrutability of life. Fun stuff!”
“The Secret of our Success”
Joseph Henrich – 2016
“I’m afraid it’s nearly impossible for me to come up with a favorite book. The non-philosophy book I’m most ‘geeking out’ over right now is Joseph Henrich’s, ‘The Secret of our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter.’ According to Henrich, a biologist at Harvard University, humans are fundamentally creatures of culture, designed to learn from and further the riches of our forebears. It gives a scientific account of human nature that I think raises some extremely important philosophical questions, and I think it sheds light on the importance of a liberal arts education.”
“A Serious Man” – 2009
“‘When I was much younger ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001) was one of my favorite movies, and I thought its inscrutability hid deep truths. But I haven’t busted the will re-watched it as an adult. To be honest, I’m deeply worried that what I saw as deep profundity as a teenager might, upon further viewing, turn out to be nonsense mascaraing as profundity. ‘A Serious Man’ (2009) is another one of my favorite movies right now. In many ways the movie mirrors the book of Job, and it wrestles with how we understand the world around us and the troubles of life. Plus, the main character is a professor applying for tenure, so lots to relate to there!”