Sunday, August 23, 2009

An Official Goodbye

Those of you who pay attention to this space may have noticed a substantial drop-off in the rate of postings on this blog. This has been a busy summer: I've been to North Carolina, Israel, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York, with stops in Connecticut in between and, finally, a trip out to Arizona at the end. My dad is remarried, I have sat through nearly a month of seminars, I've seen many of my friends from college, I somehow managed to not spend all of the money I saved from working this past year, and I have at long last arrived at the doorstep of the next major chapter in my life. I couldn't be more excited.

This semester will be my first as a student in the University of Arizona's philosophy PhD program. I will be taking a course in Environmental Ethics and Policy with David Schmidtz, a seminar on Equality with Thomas Christiano, and a first-year proseminar with Marga Reimer on a subject which has not yet been revealed to me. I'll also be TAing three sections of a class called The Economics and Ethics of Wealth Creation, taught by Michael Gill. Outside of my coursework and professional responsibilities, I have an incredible array of opportunities open to me. I can sit in on lectures, join reading groups, network with climate change researchers in other departments, enjoy the perpetual sun and magnificent mountains, spend time relaxing with some of the most brilliant philosophers in my age group, hang out with my mom, and explore the culinary awesomeness available throughout Tucson.

But one thing I've decided to cut from the roster is this blog. It seems to me that if I am going to be working on philosophy, there are much more pressing things I should be doing than posting here. I'm going to leave all of the existing content here, just the way it is, with two hopes. First, if there's anything on here that I've gotten right, I hope that people will find some use for my thoughts and that somehow all of this writing will help someone move across the terrain I've covered a bit more quickly than I did. But second, in the far more likely event that I one day look back on this blog as an amusing artifact of my mentality at a particular point in my young life, I hope that this site will serve as a set of snapshots of who I have been since I began writing here over a year and a half ago, and that I will be able to look fondly upon it in spite of its many shortcomings.

I want to thank all of the wonderful and brilliant people who have been a part of making this ongoing project as rich and productive as it has been for me. Dr. Hunt, Gene, Dr. Long, Dr. Chartier, Chip, Alex, Roman, Vichy, Michael, Greg, Dmitry, Dan, Jad, Giles, Stan, Alan, Joel, Radical Hippo, and JEK come to mind from the last several months, and I'm sure that there are a number of people who I'm leaving out but who played an integral role in helping me to refine my thinking. And that, of course, is leaving out the many fabulous anonymous commenters who have contributed substantially in their own right. Thank you all so much for making this such a worthwhile and educational experience for me!

I hope that this blog has been as interesting and thought-provoking for you to read as it has been for me to write. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you keep in touch.

The End.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Danny said...

Troll!

Michael said...

Good luck at Arizona!

Neverfox said...

Damn typos, eh, Vichy?

Well, shit, Danny. This makes me want to cry. But I suppose your reasons will just have to do. Can we at least get a "Minnesota goodbye"?

Gregory said...

It has been a pleasure Danny. Good luck with your new adventures.

Sheldon Richman said...

Good luck, Donny. Keep in touch!

Danny said...

Thanks, guys. Roman, you know how to reach me; I'm not going anywhere.

GilesS said...

Danny, it's a shame to see that you won't be posting here any more, but at least this way I'll have a chance to catch up on all the past posts that I haven't read.

In any case, I'm sure that what we lose in blog posts we'll make up in journal papers in a few years from now.


Good luck, although I'm not sure why you're not taking the "The Ethics of Liberty" seminar and the "A indeed equals A" class. What a shame it would be if after all these years of grad school you still hadn't learned that Klemm has a moral obligation to die for mankind.

Jason said...

This is a very interesting blog that you have here. It's important that their are blogs out there who hold a very strong opinion towards certain issues.

I have a site myself where anyone can freely express their opinion towards controversial issues. I'm telling you this because I believe that you can provide others with some valuable insight towards some issues.

Keep up the good work, and maybe we can do a link exchange.

Sincerely,
Jason

Danny said...

Thanks, Giles. Hopefully my professors will see the light by next semester so I can sign up for those and other great classes like Why Having Arguments Automatically Makes You a Libertarian, The Commie-Nature of Concern for the Poor, and Advanced Seminar in Envirofascism.

Jason, thanks for stopping by! Your site looks pretty interesting; thanks for turning me onto it! I'm not sure what you mean by keeping up the good work, but assuming that you mean it in the broadest sense I'll most certainly do my best :-P

GilesS said...

I'm optimistic for you yet Danny! That last seminar sounds especially great, if only the great Dr Reisman himself was teaching it you might be able to take his revolutionary class "Why Opportunity Cost Doesn't Exist".

But at least now you can buy his wonderful, and underpriced lecture series and learn some real economics.

But seriously, try to get this information out. Maybe people will finally start believing that you really don't have a hammer and sicle tattooed on your back.

Mitchell said...

Hi Danny. Do you have a current email address? I just tried to email you at Wisconsin and it bounced.

Danny said...

Giles, that tattoo is supposed to be a secret!

Hi Mitchell! You can reach me at dcshahar at gmail dot com; the University of Wisconsin took away my e-mail account when I graduated in '08.

Nick Manley said...

Good luck! I never got around to posting on here, but I can tell you're intelligent and passionate.

Do you mind sending me an email address to chessanarch@gmail.com? I like to have a contact list for other people interested in this kind of scholarship.

BTW I was Nick Manley of http://www.lifeloveandliberty.com/. I came out as transgendered ~ hence the name change.

Danny said...

Thanks Nataliya!

Stan said...

Good luck, Danny.

Our discussion was fun but frustrating, and I'm glad you found it in some way useful.

I hope you will find some time here and there to explore the more sciency areas of behavioral science, as it relates to your questions.

Lester Hunt said...

Danny,

I'm sorry you are discontinuing your blog, but your new regime does sound really exciting.

Maybe you can add to this blog periodically if you observe the first law of blogging: Posts shall be *short*!!

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Good riddance!!

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Independent Thinker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Independent Thinker said...

Good luck with this new chapter of your life and have a great time at Arizona.

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