How to make the best of the Christmas holidays

You may have pressing deadlines in other subjects than Philosophy, these coming holidays but there is an enjoyable way of keeping your philosophical mind ticking without too much mental exertion in Yuletide. You may, for instance, feel like (re)watching a television series like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad or Homeland and start pondering over the moral issues raised in these thought-provoking series. By the way, an excellent American imprint, Open Court, specialises in the philosophical treatment of popular culture, such as music, films and TV series. Check out their fabulous book list and you won’t believe your luck.

You may also be ‘tempted’ to revisit your favourite novel and pencil in hand, annotate passages which you find of particularly philosophical significance. Remember that you do not need to find a lengthy quotation but an extract from a novel or a play which fittingly summarises and in your opinion, perfectly illustrates a specific philosophical attitude or position, previously encountered in your studies.

If you are not into series or literature, you may take a walk to your local art museum and let your imagination wander from room to room until one painting attracts your attention and makes you reflect upon love, freedom, the meaning of life … But if you are too lazy to get out of your house, there is still another way of ‘doing’ ‘easy’ philosophy: just pick up a magazine and look at the advertising pictures on offer. One of them may trigger a philosophical reaction that you may wish to explore further on paper, as your first step in the preparation of your IA essay. After all, philosophy is everywhere to be found to a vivid mind, open to the challenging stimuli in our everyday lives.