Tuesday, December 03, 2013

CFA: Steve Jobs and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy Series)

CFA: Steve Jobs and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy Series)
Edited by Shawn E. Klein

  • Papers must focus on topics or ideas that are significantly connected to the life, work, and/or cultural impact of Steve Jobs. 
  • Submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to: sklein@rockford.edu 
  • Direct any questions about possible topics to: sklein@rockford.edu 
  • Abstracts due: On-Going
  • Notification of accepted abstracts: On-Going
  • Completed paper due: May 9, 2014
  • 3,000-word philosophy papers written in a conversational style for a lay audience 

 Any relevant topic considered, but here are some possibilities:

  • Jobs’ leadership style and ethical considerations raised by it: the virtues of leadership and how these were (or were not) exemplified by Jobs.
  • Epistemological issues of creativity (related to how Jobs sought to inspire and cultivate creativity and innovation at Apple, NeXT, and Pixar)
  • Epistemological and ethical issues in being a “visionary”; the effects of the so-called “Reality Distortion Field” 
  • The ethical, social, or corporate importance of creativity 
  • Epistemological issues in intuitionism and its role in Jobs’ thinking. 
  • Perfectionism: virtue or vice? 
  • Technology and aesthetics (Form and function) 
  • The originator vs. the integrator/popularizer. (e.g. Apple didn't invent the GUI or point and click, but integrated them with other systems and made them popular) 
  • Philosophical lessons learned by failure and success (from the Newton to the Iphone; Jobs getting pushed out and then returning to lead Apple) 
  • Buddhism and its role in Jobs’ life and career. 
  • The juxtaposition of Jobs’ counter-culture attitude and his capitalistic success. 
  • The virtue (or vice) of pride: moral ambitiousness or hubris? 
  • Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates/Apple vs Microsoft
  • Jobs on philanthropy 
  • Jobs’ political philosophy/outlook
  • Company creating and building as a moral enterprise.

 Steve Jobs and Philosophy will be a book in Open Court Publishing Company’s Popular Culture and Philosophy Series: http://www.opencourtbooks.com/categories/pcp.htm. Submit ideas for possible future PCP books to the series editor, George A. Reisch, at pcpideas@caruspub.com.