It could be said that philosophy is about rational, systematic thought; intellectual creativity; defining our existence; resolving ethical and political challenges; etc. However it is defined, it essentially boil down to something that can benefit each individual, both in terms of contributing to his happiness and in terms of contributing to the well-being of the organizations he holds a place within. This is, I expect, the reason why, in Quebec, college (CEGEP) students are expected to take three philosophy as a perquisite for their diploma.

However, this leads to certain complications. How can we teach philosophy to students who have no genuine interest in the matter? Because these courses are mandatory, the reality of things is that many students attend them solely for their degree and have no passion for what is thought in the classroom; they merely want to get it over with. This is something that is obviously taken into account, as the courses seem designed to introduce students to certain concepts, rather than to elaborate upon them. Still, we do not know how to best teach anything to students, let alone something as subtle as the art of reason.

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(Recommended Artist: K’naan – Strugglin’)

Europeans have been complaining a lot about the Canadian seal hunt, about those cruel, cruel men, devoid of empathy, pity, love and perhaps emotion as a whole — those men who murder seals for the sake of profit. What I find pitiful here is not so much the situation of the seals, as the conspicuous hypocrisy on the part of most politicians, activists and every-day men and women who complain about the seal hunt and use this as an excuse to erect trade barriers, all while revealing troubling hypocrisy on their part.

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