Author Archives: shaunmiller

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About shaunmiller

I have just completed a visiting position as an assistant professor at Dalhousie University. My ideas are not associated with my employer; they are expressions of my own thoughts and ideas. Some of them are just musings while others could be serious discussions that could turn into a bigger project. Besides philosophy, I enjoy martial arts (Kuk Sool Won), playing my violin, enjoying coffee around town, and experimenting with new food.

Alive in Milwaukee

Posted on August 29, 2010 by shaunmiller

I haven’t posted in a while.  That’s because for the past few weeks I’ve been moving and preparing for school in Milwaukee. I’m extremely excited to start.  I’ve already had the orientations about the school and I’ve met some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 2 Comments

Theories for the Middle East Conflict

Posted on August 3, 2010 by shaunmiller

As promised from a previous post, I would present some theories or models as to why there’s a huge conflict in the Middle East.  These aren’t my views.  They are views that I have picked up over time and have … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Culture, Economics, Experts, Global Warming, Government, Middle East, Paper Topic, Politics, Religion, Soldiers, Values, War | 4 Comments

First-Order and Second-Order Actions

Posted on July 21, 2010 by shaunmiller

Or maybe this post should be called “First-Order and second-order Thoughts”?  I’m not sure where I’m going with this but this could relate with existentialism, stoicism, action theory, free will vs. determinism, the self and identity, epistemology, and countless others.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Existentialism, Paper Topic, Personal Identity, Psychology, Relationships, Stoicism | 5 Comments

Book Reviews: What Went Wrong? and The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis

Posted on July 13, 2010 by shaunmiller

Over this past weekend, I read two books by renowned scholar Bernard Lewis. First, I’m not a fan of his writing style.  It’s clear, but he talks up different paths and then he (hopefully) gets to reader to conclude where … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Middle East, Politics | 1 Comment

Fighting For Freedom?

Posted on July 5, 2010 by shaunmiller

We often hear that we must “Fight for Freedom.”  It’s practically saturated everywhere in our culture, especially right after 9/11.  But what does this mean?  Well, this statement seems to have the assumption that we are fighting for x.  Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Free Will, Government, News, Paper Topic, Politics, Rights | 5 Comments

Intelligence and Snobbery

Posted on June 30, 2010 by shaunmiller

We seem to say that being more intelligent is better.  After all, we’d rather be a society of education rather than one of ignorance.  But there’s a price with education, at least the academic kind that I’ve noticed. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, J. S. Mill, Respect | 3 Comments

Newsweek (6/21/2010), and How to Help the Green Movement in Iran

Posted on June 21, 2010 by shaunmiller

Newsweek has some really good articles this week pertaining to the oil spill, charter schools, marriage and immigration laws.  I’ll bring them up and give my opinion on them as well: Fareed Zakaria talks about how the media is too … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Experts, Fareed Zakaria, Government, Love, Politics, Relationships | Leave a comment

Eternity and Death

Posted on June 14, 2010 by shaunmiller

I’m teaching World Religions this summer semester and I’ve been thinking about the notion of eternity and death, particularly dealing with one’s soul after death. Let’s start with the typical Western conception of an afterlife: as soon as you die, … Continue reading →

Posted in Immortality, Paper Topic, Personal Identity | 11 Comments

Personal Time Zones

Posted on June 7, 2010 by shaunmiller

In a fascinating talk by Philip Zimbardo, he discusses how different people, cultures, and geographical places have different personal time zones.  Through this, it explains why people get into conflicts and how we all view the world: For clarification, Zimbardo … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Psychology, Time | 1 Comment

Steven Landsburg on the Oil Spill

Posted on June 4, 2010 by shaunmiller

Steven Landsburg makes some interesting points about the recent oil spill here, suggesting that we should actually be more concerned about the bailouts and federal spending, economically speaking. Quoting from the blog: Let’s try for a little perspective. The BP … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Environment | 4 Comments