Years ago I was shopping in Chicago. Paying for a sweater in a posh boutique, I noticed a quotation about "the web of belief" etched in a glass panel above the cash register. I asked the saleswoman about it. "Oh, that's W.V. Quine, the philosopher," she explained. "Our CEO just loves him."

Lululemon, the cultie athletic-wear store, sells philosophy along with $14 headbands. The store's reusable shopping bag offers up messages about health -- drink water, practise yoga, avoid stress -- and that seems fair enough. I get a little uncomfortable, though, when the company's in-house intellectuals lurch toward the big questions. "Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce," reads the bag. "Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life." I'm not quite sure what Lulu is getting at here, but it sounds a bit creepy and ubermenschy. A little Will-to-Power-ish.