Lilly lectures
philosophy prof's life lessons
Sarah Barry
Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
At 8 p.m. on Feb. 24, Reginald Lilly of the philosophy department gave the Moseley lecture, the highest honor bestowed on a faculty member at the college. Lilly spoke about trauma and beauty and how these concepts affect our understanding and experience of time.
President Glotzbach and the vice dean of academic affairs, Susan Kress, introduced Lilly with a description of his esteemed accomplishments and his path to the college. "In order to inspire one's students, one must first be inspired oneself," Glotzbach said.
The lecture is considered a prestigious honor for a faculty member. "Delivering this lecture represents the highest honor for a faculty member at Skidmore," Kress said. Professor Lilly has done many things outside of teaching. He's an accomplished chef and he spent a stint of his life as a truck driver.
Lilly explained that it had been 30 years since a philosopher was asked to speak at the lecture.
"We hear that everything is connected. The most basic way to connect things is through an account, a narrative," Lilly said. Lilly explained that all experiences are not connected because all things are singular, and he explained how trauma and beauty reveal the singularity of each moment in time.
"My thesis is this: not everything is connected; indeed, in the end it's not clear what is connected, if anything, or what 'being connected' means," Lilly said.
He then described how our experiences of any given moment can never be repeated. "This moment is incomparable to every other moment, and all other moments are incomparable to it," he said.
Lilly explained how certain experiences highlight how humans experience time. "There are two contexts in which the singularity of being becomes salient: one is trauma, and the other is beauty," he said. He played a video by Peter Campus that depicted the need for intimacy.
Lilly was humble and quick to thank the people who have aided him on his journey to his current philosophy. "Trauma - beauty: if I've been able to shed any light on these topics, it's thanks to many, many, many others who've helped me see what there is to see," he said.
Lilly concluded with his hopes for his current thesis. "I hope that bringing to light this impossibility fissuring the human condition helps point toward a path, not of divine, ideal or phantasmatic, but of truly human, earth-bound and possible joy," he said.
"I'm amazed that he was bold enough to show a five minute silent movie," Eric Germani '10 said. "I thought it was incredibly insightful; it definitely changed the way I look at things," Doug Pilawa '12 said. "I found it moving and puzzling at the same time. It was challenging and unsettling in a stimulating way," said Professor Diggory of the English department.
After the lecture, Professor Lilly expressed his gratitude, echoing the sentiment of Glotzbach's introduction. "You have to rise to the occasion. I'm very grateful to be given the award and talk about what I think," he said.
President Glotzbach and the vice dean of academic affairs, Susan Kress, introduced Lilly with a description of his esteemed accomplishments and his path to the college. "In order to inspire one's students, one must first be inspired oneself," Glotzbach said.
The lecture is considered a prestigious honor for a faculty member. "Delivering this lecture represents the highest honor for a faculty member at Skidmore," Kress said. Professor Lilly has done many things outside of teaching. He's an accomplished chef and he spent a stint of his life as a truck driver.
Lilly explained that it had been 30 years since a philosopher was asked to speak at the lecture.
"We hear that everything is connected. The most basic way to connect things is through an account, a narrative," Lilly said. Lilly explained that all experiences are not connected because all things are singular, and he explained how trauma and beauty reveal the singularity of each moment in time.
"My thesis is this: not everything is connected; indeed, in the end it's not clear what is connected, if anything, or what 'being connected' means," Lilly said.
He then described how our experiences of any given moment can never be repeated. "This moment is incomparable to every other moment, and all other moments are incomparable to it," he said.
Lilly explained how certain experiences highlight how humans experience time. "There are two contexts in which the singularity of being becomes salient: one is trauma, and the other is beauty," he said. He played a video by Peter Campus that depicted the need for intimacy.
Lilly was humble and quick to thank the people who have aided him on his journey to his current philosophy. "Trauma - beauty: if I've been able to shed any light on these topics, it's thanks to many, many, many others who've helped me see what there is to see," he said.
Lilly concluded with his hopes for his current thesis. "I hope that bringing to light this impossibility fissuring the human condition helps point toward a path, not of divine, ideal or phantasmatic, but of truly human, earth-bound and possible joy," he said.
"I'm amazed that he was bold enough to show a five minute silent movie," Eric Germani '10 said. "I thought it was incredibly insightful; it definitely changed the way I look at things," Doug Pilawa '12 said. "I found it moving and puzzling at the same time. It was challenging and unsettling in a stimulating way," said Professor Diggory of the English department.
After the lecture, Professor Lilly expressed his gratitude, echoing the sentiment of Glotzbach's introduction. "You have to rise to the occasion. I'm very grateful to be given the award and talk about what I think," he said.
Be the first to comment on this story