The following reflections were inspired by the recent interview published on the Emancipations with Daniel Tutt YouTube channel. Daniel Tutt also writes on Substack (Daniel’s Journal) and runs study groups, organized through Patreon. Here (at the time and place of this writing), it is Canada Day, which for me means a brief break from work,…
Optimizing Content: Practices & Purposes in Changing Environments
In an article I co-authored with philosopher Nevia Dolcini, we explored action and agency at different levels of a goal hierarchy, distinguishing between relatively lower- and higher-level goals (Gozli & Dolcini, 2018; see also Gozli, 2019). For example, considering coffee-making as a higher-level goal, filling the machine with water, adding coffee beans, placing the mug,…
A Chekhov Reading Project: Selected Stories (Pevear and Volokhonsky)
Starting this week, I’ve begun a reading project focused on Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. The plan is to read slowly and post a short video commentary on each story. I announced the plan last week in this video. Below is the list of the stories/videos to be…
Anne Dufourmantelle’s “Power of Gentleness: Meditations on the Risk of Living”
Power of Gentleness: Meditations on the Risk of Living by Anne Dufourmantelle, translated by Katherine Payne and Vincent Sallé The following quotations are meant to offer a small sample of the book. Not included are Dufourmantelle’s discussions of sensuality (with multiple chapters devoted to “Sensory Celebration”), trauma, animality, and psychoanalytic practice. “Gentleness does not belong…
The Discipline of Hosting and Participating in Reading Groups
Reflections on organizing online reading groups What I want to share here are some reflections on what actually sustains a reading group, whether it is an online reading group, a philosophy book club, or a small virtual literature discussion. Not inspiration, not intensity, but the quiet and steady discipline behind it. I have been hosting…