Philosophy

About a month ago, the Ravens revealed a new philosophy at the end-of-the-season news conference in which they stated they wouldn't mortgage the future for the present. Yesterday, they stayed with that approach, basically allowing Pro Bowl outside linebacker Adalius Thomas to become an unrestricted free agent. The Ravens had until 4 p.m. yesterday to put the franchise tag on Thomas or allow him to begin negotiating with other teams next Friday, and they chose to let Thomas test his value.

EVERYTHING you need to know about Texas Gov. George W. Bush you learned in kindergarten.Launching his presidential campaign in Iowa recently, Mr. Bush outlined a threefold agenda: to impose "bad consequences for bad behavior" and "love our neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves"; to help churches and charities "to nurture, to mentor, to comfort" people in need; and to insist that "every child must be educated."A less daring platform can scarcely be imagined. Yet the media lauded Mr. Bush's speech for its boldness, citing the "contrasts" he drew with President Clinton while "appealing to a different kind of audience from the one that had elected his father" and "distinguishing himself from the rest of the crowded Republican field."

Art exhibitions sometimes seem designed to keep the museum-going public happy and reinforce generally accepted notions of beauty. Amid growing pressure to increase attendance at exhibitions and a desire not to offend these days (think Rudy Giuliani), it's understandable.So a show that makes us squirm -- and pushes us to re-examine some of our most deeply ingrained beliefs -- seems all the more unusual.The exhibition, "Adrian Piper: A Retrospective, 1965-2000," on view at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, through Jan. 15, doesn't allow you to leave feeling complacent.

WASHINGTON -- In a ballroom in the basement of a hotel here, some of the most educated people in America stand -- resumes in hand, nerves in check -- hoping that somewhere in the sea of tables in front of them is the chance to pursue their chosen profession.The problem is that the booming American economy is not crying out for philosophers.``I feel so sorry for the applicants,'' says the Rev. Joseph Conley of Fordham University in New York, one of the 150 or so colleges interviewing last week at the annual Eastern division meeting of the American Philosophical Association.

"Against the Tide: The Battle for America's Beaches," by Cornelia Dean. Columbia University Press. 336 pages. $24.95.If you can see the ocean, the ocean can see you."This cautionary comment by eminent beach geologist Orrin H. Pilkey, as quoted in "Against the Tide," sent a shiver down this shore-dweller's spine. And it should. When you live within earshot of the sea, your house is built on a shifting foundation. You have two choices: accept that your perch is impermanent, or fight the forces of nature in a battle that at best, will be a costly and endless stalemate.

When Columbia Association Vice President Rob Goldman asked for $145,000 this year for improvements to the financially beleaguered equestrian center, Columbia Council members all but issued an ultimatum: Improve the facility's bottom line or face the possibility of closing it.It was a line the council, the governing body of the association, hadn't drawn before -- despite long-standing questions about Horse Center management, the estimated $1.5 million in...

It has been nearly 2,000 years since sober men in togas gathered at Rome's central market, coaching each other to put aside worldly wants and walk a straight and moral path. Now -- in a time of presidential hanky-panky, 24-hour entertainment and murky social values -- their ancient creed is being resurrected.Stoicism is back for a small but growing group of adherents, thanks to the unlikely convergence of America's most biting chronicler of pop culture and one of its most celebrated Vietnam War prisoners.

If Helen B. Mitchell had her way, traditional philosophy teaching methods would be as dead as Socrates.In Mitchell's ideal world, students would learn about female philosophers as well as male, Eastern philosophers as well as Western. They would learn to apply philosophy to everyday life -- rather than viewing it as an esoteric discipline best fit for graying professors in Ivy League schools.Thanks to Mitchell, 57, a professor of philosophy at Howard Community College in Columbia, students around the country now have that option.

"FOR THE Love of Wisdom," a philosophy telecourse taught by Howard Community College philosophy Professor Helen B. Mitchell, will be available nationally this spring.Cable Eight, the Howard Community College station that produced the course, is completing details on a distribution agreement with the Public Broadcasting System Adult Learning Satellite Service.The telecourse, introduced locally last fall, is based on Mitchell's textbook, "Roots of Wisdom," and an accompanying reader, "Roots of World Wisdom."

The Kennedy half-dollar rolled back and forth across the knuckles of David Abram's hand. Faster and faster it went until the silver coin seemed to flow like liquid."

Kingsley Blake Price, a retired philosophy professor who taught at the Johns Hopkins University for more than three decades, died Oct. 27 of multiple organ failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care. He was 92. Born in Salem, Ind., the son of a Baptist minister and homemaker, he later moved with his family to Santa Rosa, Calif., until finally settling in Berkeley, Calif. He was 3 1/2 years old when he fell ill with scarlet fever, which left him blind. As a boy, he was encouraged by his parents, who sent him to a boarding school to learn Braille, to do things for himself.

From what general manager Peter Keck tells me, Hampden has been in desperate need of a wine bar. Who knew? Since 13.5% Wine Bar (1117 W. 36th St., 410-889-1064, 13.5winebar.com) opened July 10, he said, business has been booming. Perhaps owner Wayne Laing had fans from when he owned the Wine Underground, the nearby liquor store. Perhaps it's the wine bar's jazzy space, with its retail wall and a handsome flagstone wall opposite the bar. The seating (for 85 or so) is divided between traditional tables and couches in the lounge area, and the bright orange bar stools set the room's color scheme.

The Ravens have a rookie quarterback and a young offensive line. They have a mostly new coaching staff with a rookie head coach. And they have most of those unhappy veterans from a year ago who were happy to see the former coach leave. It's a good mix of young and old, and the chemistry could come together if the Ravens get off to a good winning streak. And if they don't, there could be problems at the Castle. The Ravens could implode. "If we don't get off to a good start, I believe we can handle it," Ravens linebacker Bart Scott said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- He started at one of the far corners of the Orioles' spring training complex. His hands behind his back and clutching a blue binder that detailed the day's itinerary, Rick Kranitz observed four of his new students throwing side by side, balls popping into catchers' mitts in unison. Satisfied with what he saw, Kranitz walked briskly to an adjacent field, settling behind a batting cage to get a view of Jamie Walker delivering the last of his practice pitches. When Walker was done, Kranitz met him outside the third base line and patted the pitcher on his left shoulder.

DEAR CAL -- Our 11-year-old has been allowed to play for only two innings in the field and one at-bat in our fall educational league. When we confronted the coaches and league president, we were told it was because he played in the dugout. They started the season out like this and have not even given him a chance to show them what he can do on the field. The spring season was the exact same. The only time he has played more than the two innings was when they were short on players and he had to play.

For Marie Atalla, the small, white-paneled house and green yard on quiet College Road in Sykesville represents the fulfillment of a dream. After searching for the right location, renovating and planning, Atalla, who grew up in Egypt, is set to open Ava Wanas Montessori School, for children 2 to 5 years old, this fall. The school follows the decades-old Montessori School of Westminster and Mount Airy's Misty Mountain Montessori, a program going into its fifth year, said Marliese Roth, its director.

The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of a Universe Michael Frayn Metropolitan Books / 506 pages / $32.50 Michael Frayn is known as a playwright (Noises Off, Copenhagen) and novelist (Headlong, Spies). But this prolific British author is also a philosopher, having studied philosophy at Cambridge in the 1950s. The Human Touch is a profound, personal account of his work on a range of topics, beginning (and ending) with the philosophy of consciousness and passing through the nature of physical law, the problem of free will, the relationship of language and thought to reality and the origin of the universe.

About a month ago, the Ravens revealed a new philosophy at the end-of-the-season news conference in which they stated they wouldn't mortgage the future for the present. Yesterday, they stayed with that approach, basically allowing Pro Bowl outside linebacker Adalius Thomas to become an unrestricted free agent. The Ravens had until 4 p.m. yesterday to put the franchise tag on Thomas or allow him to begin negotiating with other teams next Friday, and they chose to let Thomas test his value.

In Sunday's convincing 35-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints, the Ravens took a grounded philosophy, establishing the run to set up the pass. It's unknown whether this will be the Ravens' offensive profile heading into a pivotal final two months of the regular season. Bengals@Ravens Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 3 Seeing 30/30 Since the 2002 season, the Ravens have scored more than 30 points six times. They have followed half of those games by scoring at least 30 points.

"Open a new window" is the guiding philosophy of free-spirited Mame in the musical that bears her name. But that philosophy doesn't fully apply to the new revival at Washington's Kennedy Center. Large in scale (the cast numbers more than 30) and stylish in design (with Art Deco-flavored sets by Walt Spangler and 250 sparkling costumes by Gregg Barnes), director Eric Schaeffer's Mame is more of a reverential retelling than an inspired reinterpretation of the 1966 musical. MAME / / Through July 2 -- Kennedy Center, Virginia and New Hampshire avenues, N.W., Washington -- 800-444-1324