Philosophize This!

In my recent travels to Bean Town and Steel Town, I've had a decent amount of quality time with my windshield. As also my Garmin GPS and new Sirius Radio. Before I get to the meat of my discussion for this evening, a quick note about both of the aforementioned, vehicular friends. I love my Garmin, oh wise, oracle of the 4-Runner. Of course it is a woman - a German woman - telling me where to go. It pains me to disappoint her, when I travel off course and she again tells me she must recalculate. And although I love that sweet, little Kati (yes my name for her), I think she is having an affair with my Sirius Radio. But she did disappoint me yesterday. While in search of a lunch venue before my meeting, I selected Fudrucker's from her lengthy list of options. After several twists and turns (through some delightful, brick, steel-baronesque homes) it too me to a rundown home in a neighborhood. An old one. Not sure Fudrucker's was ever there. But we all have our faults.
I love Sirius Radio. Especially because it searches out my favorite artists and alerts me to them so I can change the channel. I've fallen in love with the "Left of Center" channel - indie, underground and import music. Bands I'd forgotten about. Fantastic tunes that fit my demeanor and tastes: Better than Ezra, Sebedoh, Spoon, Wilco, Dinasaur Jr., and even some new ones: MIA (her song has gunshots as part of the chorus - how cool is that!), Coconut Records, etc. And of course the comedy channel is great.
But I've also spent quality time listening to my 'Portable Professor' CDs. These are lecture series from renowned professors on a variety of topics. My current series is "What Would Socrates Do?" a discussion of the history of ethics and moral throught. A completely fascinating topic. I've been able to reconnect in a fantastical thread the philosophical works I read in school: Plato, Aquinas, Kirkagaard, Aristotle, etc. And it raises great questions regarding why people should be good, what the purpose of life is and what really makes us really happy. My favorite lecture so far was on the Purpose of Life and Thomas Aquinas' discussion of 8 possible goals: wealth, honors, fame, power, health, pleasure, virtue and God. Obviously I do not agree with all the points of past Western philosophers, but it is fascinating to identify the strings of truth that weave through them. Like in Plato's Meno he spells out all 4 of the major thoughts for the next 2300 years, on man's relation to virtue (being good) in one paragraph: it is natural to be good, it is taught, it must be practiced or man is naturally evil. I enjoy also the comparisons from pre-modern philosophers to modern intellectuals. One great insight is that in the past, the intellectuals (ie the philosophers) were the bastions of moral thought. Now days, most intellectual circles believe in moral relativism, while the average person is more absolute in their understanding of what is right.
The CDs are a great way to pass the time. But they also are so very enriching. Can't say that I look forward to 5 hours of driving. But it isn't so bad this way.
HRP