Scott Samuelson holds a joint appointment at Iowa State University in Philosophy & Religious Studies and Extension & Outreach. The winner of the 2015 Hiett Prize in the Humanities for his work in bringing philosophy to the public, he’s the author of three books: Rome as a Guide to the Good Life, Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering, and The Deepest Human Life—all published by the University of Chicago Press. Along the way, he’s worked as a movie reviewer, a talk-show host for community discussions about ethical issues in the news, and a sous-chef at a French restaurant on a gravel road. He’s currently working on The Angels of Bread, a philosophical cookbook about the profound messages to be found in sharing food and drink. Email: ssamuelson1973 [at] gmail.com
by Scott Samuelson Though I’m at best a mediocre tennis player, I’ve achieved something in the sport that the pros achieve only at their finest, which I’ve taken to calling “tennisosity,” a hybrid of “tennis” and “virtuosity.” I coined the term several years ago, in the sweaty aftermath of a match in which my opponent…
by Scott Samuelson When we conjure up what thinking looks like, what tends to leap to mind is an a-ha lightbulb or a brow-furrowed chin scratch—or the sculpture The Thinker. While there’s something deservedly iconic about how Rodin depicts a powerful body redirecting its energies inward, I think that the most insightful depictions of thinking…