This is just a thought. There are no plans to move to Hyde Park. I visited Hyde Park and the University of Chicago yesterday. I was giving a tour to my friend Jose, whom I met ten years ago in the Marine Corps. He has become very interested in computer science, mathematics, and artificial intelligence, and his occupation as a computer engineer verifies that he has the mental chops to deal with these things intelligently. Anyway, that is a different story.
It has been many months since I visited Hyde Park last. Every time I am there, I am inspired by the tranquility of the Quad, and the single-minded purpose that the entire environment seems to be designed for. I felt in awe, and I felt that I wanted to be closer to this place on a daily basis.
My life is changing, and I think for the better. I lived in Hyde Park four years ago, for the duration of one year. I was filled with anxiety at the time, as this was a new place and I was getting accustomed to a new level of education. Frankly, I was not prepared for it. By the end of that year, shocked by the size of my debt, I was not certain if I had made the right decision. And for years afterward, I wondered if the track I was on would lead to anything of fruition. It was the most difficult time of my life, I believe.
Things have changed for the better. I am now a fairly successful adjunct professor of philosophy, and it seems that a full time position will be secured for the Spring. But my long term goals are not to simply settle in to this position and continue to think at the same level that I have been thinking, simply because it is adequate for the current job. No, that is not my goal. Rather, I seek to improve my dedication and knowledge of philosophy to ever higher levels. In many ways, I am behind my peers. That is, in those things that are proper to the study of philosophy, I know far less, and my ideas are far less sophisticated than those individuals who have never left the school. In other things, I am far ahead: I have spent years of my life outside academia, and it has taught me the more real lessons of life in a way that is irreplacable.
The advantage and disadvantage is largely obvious: I am advantaged because every reading I do in philosophy is considered from more perspectives than my peers. I am disadvantaged because my conceptual sophistication does not allow me to dig as far as my peers within a single perspective. Both are important to philosophy, but unfortunately, the latter is probably more important for the sake of peer review. This is not to say that it should be that way: it is simply the condition of contemporary academic philosophy.
How do I remediate my disadavantage? I spend more time studying technical material, and being hard on myself when the ideas that sit in my mind are fuzzy. I surround myself with those people who are most likely to have intelligent criticisms of my views. I put myself in an environment that encourages contemplation and academic pursuit.
My current home is very pleasant. I sit in a small apartment in “Boystown,” on the eastern edge of Lakeview in Chicago. I have three grocery stores within a ten minute walk. Public transportation whisks me to my school in thirty minutes. I have never felt the least bit afraid, and crime is a relatively rare thing here. I am close to my friends and my favorite drinking establishments. I can get on my bike and explore the city to no end. This is excellent, and I have enjoyed my three years in Lakeview. But when my lease is up next June, and I have a full-time job as a philosophy professor, do I want to continue living this life? Or is it time to arrange certain aspects that are more harmonious with my long term goals?
The answer seems obvious, but it is not without difficulty. This will mean a greater distance from my friends, and likely more loneliness. I have never quite fit in with the Hyde Park community, and I cannot say what the prospects are for doing so in a future attempt. Grocery stores are more distant, my commute time increases, and I will leave the home that I have become accustomed to.
I will have to think on this, and perhaps repeated trips to the University of Chicago are in order this year.
Natural Causes 