Ken Knisely

This is a personal post. My friend Ken Knisely died Sunday. Ken was a teacher and philosopher. He believed in philosophy not as an academic discipline but as the search for truth and wisdom and the right way to live. Another college friend of mine - Greg Kitsock - recently wrote a great appreciation of Ken which you can see here. And this is Ken's own website - No Dogs or Philosophers Allowed.

Over the years, I saw less of Ken because I moved around and because - well - just because. We all make our compromises with power and the material demands of life and the inertia that comes with age but Ken did so less than almost any other person I know. The quote on his website from Socrates reads like this:

You are a citizen of a great and powerful nation. Are you not ashamed that you give so much time to the pursuit of money, and reputation, and honors, and care so little for truth and wisdom and the improvement of your soul?

By that standard, Ken had very little to be ashamed of.