As always, host Bob Barrett selects an Academic Minute to air during The Best of Our Knowledge.
Each week this program examines some of the issues unique to college campuses, looks at the latest research, and invites commentary from experts and administrators from all levels of education.
For this week‘s edition (#1261), Bob has selected Dr. Steve Gimbel of Gettysburg College’s segment on an ethics of joking.
Dr. Steve Gimbel‘s research focuses on the connection between scientific evidence and explanation, interpretations of the geometrical aspects of gravitation theories, and the development of 20th century analytic philosophy. He has also been interested in questions of sportsmanship arising from the Kasparov/Deep Blue chess match, the geometry of M.C. Escher’s art, the environmental ethic of the American Nazi Party, and Dr. Seuss’ non-trivial use of tautologies. Most recently, he has been working in the philosophy of humor.
The classes Steve teaches include Einstein in Wonderland: Physics, Philosophy and Other Nonsense; Bad Science, Wrong Science and Pseudo-science; Language, Truth, and Reality; From Zero to Infinity: Philosophical Revolutions in the History of Numbers; and From Aristotle to Einstein: Philosophical Revolutions in the History of Space.
