Saturday, January 31, 2009
Shakespearean koan ...
... while preparing a barley pilaf this evening I remembered, for some reason, that ever since I served as a prompter for a run of Much Ado About Nothing many years ago, I have from time to time thought of a particular line of Dogberry's as the equivalent, in English, of a Zen koan. The line is this:
... well, God's a good man; an two men
ride of a horse, one must ride behind.
I will say no more. Koans are not meant to be explicated.
Aha! ...
... thanks to Dave Lull, who sends the link that follows, I now know what was happening when I tried to google something this morning: Google brands every website - even its own - as harmful.
High-stakes literature ...
... The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig.
To his eternal credit, the composer Richard Strauss, when told that the Nazis had ordered Zweig's name be taken off the program for an opera of his that Zweig had written the libretto for, insisted that Zweig's name be put back or that his own be taken off as well.
I quite agree ...
... Why Israel Still Shuts Wagner Out. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Of course, I'm not overly thrilled by the music, either.
Of course, I'm not overly thrilled by the music, either.
Nige pitches in ...
... Reflections on the Laureateship.
... he even tries to help Bryan cheer up: Good Cheer in Dark Days.
... he even tries to help Bryan cheer up: Good Cheer in Dark Days.
Happy birthday, John ...
... today is John O'Hara's birthday. Here's a post from a few years back: A literary visit ...
This house on Mahantongo Street is where John O' Hara and his family lived. O'Hara renamed the street Letenengo.
This house on Mahantongo Street is where John O' Hara and his family lived. O'Hara renamed the street Letenengo.
Saturday feature ...
... On Charlie Rose: An appreciation of John Updike. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And don't miss this splendid piece by Ian McEwan: Beyond the bounds of realism. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And don't miss this splendid piece by Ian McEwan: Beyond the bounds of realism. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
That is the best piece on Updike I have read. Makes me want to sit right down and re-read chucks of his work. McEwan's grasp of the religious dimension to Updike's writing is especially insightful: 'he was constitutionally unable to "make the leap of unfaith".' Me, too.
Demographic of one ...
... `Calm, Contemplative and Animal'.
Patrick mentions Ikiru, a wonderful film. I remember, when I first sawit, thinking to myself at one point, "I'm watching a movie about an aging, dying mid-level Japanese bureaucrat - and I can't take my eyes off the screen, I don't want to miss anything!"
Patrick's mention of the Japanese film scholar, reminds me of what J.B. Priesley said about Turgenev:
Russian critics, not necessarily Communist, have sometimes complained that Turgenev has been over-valued in the West while other Russian writers, of equal stature at home, have been under-valued or ignored. But we take what we want from each other's literature. Like Chekhov, who probably owes as much to Turgenev as Turgenev does to Pushkin, Turgenev represents a side of the rich Russian character, the gently ironic, tender, vaguely poetic side, that we in the West can most easily understand and enjoy.
Bravo, Sidney ...
... “In my day we were brought up to have a go”.
I'll bet those onlookers can be pretty tough at the keyboard with their snark, though.
I'll bet those onlookers can be pretty tough at the keyboard with their snark, though.
It's called life, guys ...
... Credit crunches and the limits of science.
See also: Save capitalism from the banks - Nassim Taleb. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
But what, Nassim, will save us from the state, which, when it controls us economically, will control us almost totally? If I am not economically free, I believe I am a serf. Not a bad idea about Bob Rubin, though.
See also: Save capitalism from the banks - Nassim Taleb. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
But what, Nassim, will save us from the state, which, when it controls us economically, will control us almost totally? If I am not economically free, I believe I am a serf. Not a bad idea about Bob Rubin, though.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Unconvincing ...
... and peculiar: The Descent of Taste. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I find this review perplexing. The reviewer, Anthony Gottlieb, says that "We know so little about the environment of our Pleistocene ancestors, what they were like, and how they lived, that almost any hypothesis about which strategies might have helped them to reproduce, and thus let their characteristics ripple through the gene pool, is bound to be highly speculative."
OK. He continues: "... this [and some other things he mentions] ought to be a problem for Dutton’s book, but I rather think it isn’t." Apparently because "[Dutton's] considered view (though he sometimes strays into more ambitious explorations) is that Darwinian aesthetics sheds light on literature, music and painting not by demonstrating them to be evolutionary adaptations, but by showing how their existence and character are connected to prehistoric preferences, interests and capacities."
But those preferences, interests and capacities are just the things Gottlieb has told us are "highly speculative." Moreover, if Dutton doesn't demonstrate that art is an evolutionary adaptation, in what sense are we talking of a Darwinian aesthetics?
Gottlieb concludes by saying that "What makes a genuine piece of Darwinian science — like the explanation of the development of the eye — so powerful is the way in which a large number of intermediate steps are shown to lead gradually from humble beginnings to a magnificent result. No such progression of intermediate steps seems to be available for inspection in the case of evolutionary explanations of the instinct to make art.
"Still, Dutton’s eloquent account sheds light on the role art plays in our lives ..."
Perhaps it does, but apparently in a way that has nothing to do with its central thesis and without any evidence that we can credit.
I have not read The Art Instinct, and anyone familiar with this blog knows I am skeptical of evolutionary psychology, but I suppose I shall have to get a copy and see for myself.
POSTRCRIPT: As indicated in a comment, I think I failed to make clear in this post that it is the review I found unconvincing. The book is on the way, so I can comment on that later.
I find this review perplexing. The reviewer, Anthony Gottlieb, says that "We know so little about the environment of our Pleistocene ancestors, what they were like, and how they lived, that almost any hypothesis about which strategies might have helped them to reproduce, and thus let their characteristics ripple through the gene pool, is bound to be highly speculative."
OK. He continues: "... this [and some other things he mentions] ought to be a problem for Dutton’s book, but I rather think it isn’t." Apparently because "[Dutton's] considered view (though he sometimes strays into more ambitious explorations) is that Darwinian aesthetics sheds light on literature, music and painting not by demonstrating them to be evolutionary adaptations, but by showing how their existence and character are connected to prehistoric preferences, interests and capacities."
But those preferences, interests and capacities are just the things Gottlieb has told us are "highly speculative." Moreover, if Dutton doesn't demonstrate that art is an evolutionary adaptation, in what sense are we talking of a Darwinian aesthetics?
Gottlieb concludes by saying that "What makes a genuine piece of Darwinian science — like the explanation of the development of the eye — so powerful is the way in which a large number of intermediate steps are shown to lead gradually from humble beginnings to a magnificent result. No such progression of intermediate steps seems to be available for inspection in the case of evolutionary explanations of the instinct to make art.
"Still, Dutton’s eloquent account sheds light on the role art plays in our lives ..."
Perhaps it does, but apparently in a way that has nothing to do with its central thesis and without any evidence that we can credit.
I have not read The Art Instinct, and anyone familiar with this blog knows I am skeptical of evolutionary psychology, but I suppose I shall have to get a copy and see for myself.
POSTRCRIPT: As indicated in a comment, I think I failed to make clear in this post that it is the review I found unconvincing. The book is on the way, so I can comment on that later.
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: Christians of the East, Lives of Burns, Men of action, etc.
Good for her ...
... Wendy Cope dismisses Poet Laureate post. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
I'm not sure that I agree that good poetry cannot be composed to order, but such poetry would not be introspective and lyrical. And that is what we want poetry to be these days, which is why there is so little narrative poetry and the little there is either gets overlooked or does not work because it is too lyrical and lacks narrative thrust.
Not much to choose from ...
... between snark (which, I would suggest, is angry snottiness standing in for argument) and some old fogey's bitching: Harsh Words for Nastiness. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"Everyone, it seems, wants to be a comic." These ham-fisted wannabes lack the "imagination, freshness, fantasy, verbal invention and adroitness" of their professional counterparts. "If you crave immediate proof, turn to the discussion threads that follow a routine post on so many Web sites," he writes.
I wonder if Denby cites any examples from those discussion threads and if he displays any familiarity with the blogosphere - other than what he's read about it?
Bryan on the banks ...
... Cull the Banks. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I would add this to the comment that I made on Bryan's post: Bryan is right that the banks have gone rogue. But so has much of the political class. The best thing that could happen in this country would be to have an election this fall replacing every member of Congress (I know they're not all bad, but let's just clean house anyway).
Our political class ...
... Not the judiciary's finest hour, to say the least.
How the hell did these guys manage to justify this to themselves, I wonder?
How the hell did these guys manage to justify this to themselves, I wonder?
Two on evolution ...
... David Attenborough on Darwin and the Bible. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, Attenborough certainly is right when he calls his views on Genesis "a gross oversimplification." Gypsy moths, for instance, manage to devastate large areas of forest without any Biblical encouragement. And many people have interpreted Genesis to mean that one should care for the world, not despoil it. Just for the record, I have no problem with Darwin's theory as Darwin intended it: as an explanation of how species came to be. In fact, I think it's a wonderful description of the Tao at work (bear in mind that the aim of every true artist is sprezzatura - the illusion that the work just happened). But I do have problems when it is used - usually by people who are not biologists - as a theory of everything. I would also suggest that the aim of biology is not to prove - or disprove - Darwin, but to get at the facts of the matter. If Darwin helps do that, as it appears he does, well and good. Should something come along that does this better than Darwin, well and good also. Also for the record: I suspect evolution is ongoing and that it is purposive.
Speaking of which: Are We Still Evolving? A debate at Kings Place 9 Feb 2009. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Speaking of which: Are We Still Evolving? A debate at Kings Place 9 Feb 2009. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Not Eustace Tilley ...
... Will The New Yorker Fold Next? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Here's a thought: The New York-centric mindset may just be a tad provincial in these Web-centric days.
Here's a thought: The New York-centric mindset may just be a tad provincial in these Web-centric days.
I entirely agree ...
... with Michael Oakeshott on Rationalism in Politics. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This also brings to mind Gödel's incompleteness theorems.
I think anyone who has practiced any art know this is so, which is why those who can do, while those who can't theorize.
Oakeshott argues that the rationalist, in awarding theory primacy over practice, has gotten things exactly backwards: The theoretical understanding of some activity is always the child of practical know-how, and never its parent. In fact, he sees the dependence of theory on practice as being so unavoidable that not only is the rationalist incapable of skillful performances guided solely by theory, he is not even able to stick to his purported guidelines while performing poorly. Instead he inevitably will fall back on some tradition of how to proceed in order to give context to his abstract instructions. (This is similar to Wittgenstein’s insight that every attempt to follow a set of formalized rules necessarily is grounded on informal customs and practices that determine what it means to follow a rule “correctly”—the formal rules cannot also embody their own, “correct” inter-pretation because any effort to incorporate that interpretation into the first-level rules would create a set of “meta-rules” themselves requiring meta-meta-rules to guide the interpretation of the meta-rules, and so on, in an infinite regress.)
This also brings to mind Gödel's incompleteness theorems.
Oakeshott contends that the essence of an accomplished practitioner’s skill cannot be conveyed to a neophyte through explicit technical instructions, but instead must be learned tacitly, during a period of intimate apprenticeship. The formal rules purported to underlie success in an activity merely present an abstraction from the concrete and formally unspecifiable knowledge possessed by the true master, who may offer such an explicit set of precepts as a rough surface map of his deep sea of experience-born proficiency, useful so that the beginner does not feel lost when first venturing into those waters, but hopelessly inadequate as a guide to their depths.
I think anyone who has practiced any art know this is so, which is why those who can do, while those who can't theorize.
As well he ought ...
... Sebastian Barry savours £25,000 Costa victory. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Parris said the "judges did not feel that Dr Grene worked as well as a narrative voice as Roseanne — but in her, a voice of transcendence had been created, which completely redeemed the novel".
I spent a part yesterday writing about The Secret Scripture for The Inquirer (the piece will run on Feb.8) and I thought of discussing this. I think it is entirely wrong. Dr. Grene's voice is to Roseanne
s what a minor is to a major. They complement each other. Dr. Grene's voice is entirely his own, just as Roseanne's is entirely her own. I hope to God none of these judges ever tries to write a play.
I spent a part yesterday writing about The Secret Scripture for The Inquirer (the piece will run on Feb.8) and I thought of discussing this. I think it is entirely wrong. Dr. Grene's voice is to Roseanne
s what a minor is to a major. They complement each other. Dr. Grene's voice is entirely his own, just as Roseanne's is entirely her own. I hope to God none of these judges ever tries to write a play.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Don't know ...
... what the hell to make of this: The Worst Pop Singer Ever.
Billy Joel as "the Andrew Wyeth of contemporary pop music"? Well, I can't doubt that Ron knows his Billy Joel, but I have to wonder how well he knows his Wyeth. I'm no huge Billy Joel fan, but I rather like "She's Got a Way" and "Don't Ask Me Why" and even "My Life," though that last one doubtless exhibits the "unearned contempt" Ron finds so contemptible. He never does get around to connecting any of this with Denis Dutton's book. Guess that's for another day. As for the worst pop singer ever, how about Neil Diamond?
In Memoriam ...
... TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF BOB SCRIVER. (Hat tip, Maxine and Dave.)
If various things had not intervened (such as a number of deadlines) I would have by now finished Bronze Inside and Out. When I do, I plan to write about it at length. This much I can tell you: It's worth getting.
If various things had not intervened (such as a number of deadlines) I would have by now finished Bronze Inside and Out. When I do, I plan to write about it at length. This much I can tell you: It's worth getting.
No laughing matter ...
... Bloomberg’s voluntary War on Salt making it hard to write satire.
What a meddling dipshit Bloomberg is.
What a meddling dipshit Bloomberg is.
Minimalism, please ...
... the Publius Project. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... the Authors.
I prefer as little control as possible. I think the net should be, as much as possible, an island of anarchy in our increasingly - and largely incompetently - regulated world.
... the Authors.
Through this series of essays, we hope to generate a discussion among global stakeholders and netizens regarding rule-making and governance on the net, and in the process, to envision the net of the future. We will cast fundamental questions that will intrigue both experts and laypeople, by asking who should (or shouldn’t) control cyberspace? Can it be governed? Who decides?
I prefer as little control as possible. I think the net should be, as much as possible, an island of anarchy in our increasingly - and largely incompetently - regulated world.
Sic transit ...
... Lib and Let Die. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
That's why Hillary Clinton was right when asked whether she was a liberal during a primary debate and preferred progressive to refer to the relevant zone of positions. Progressive does not carry the associations that Richard Nixon, Roger Ailes, and others have given liberal, and thus steps around sticky, aggrieved debates over what liberal "is supposed to mean."
From what I see on the Internet, though, it's getting there. And the fact is, Clinton's very use of it indicates it is already being employed as a weasel word.
Nige and Bryan ...
... on John Updike.
Here's Nige: Updike - A Few Words.
Here's Bryan: John Updike.
It is clear that perhaps the thing people admired most about Updike was his craftsmanship and the pleasure he took in it. His simply joy in writing is apparent in his every sentence.
Here's Nige: Updike - A Few Words.
Here's Bryan: John Updike.
It is clear that perhaps the thing people admired most about Updike was his craftsmanship and the pleasure he took in it. His simply joy in writing is apparent in his every sentence.
Survivor ...
... the son of Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy remembers his parents: On the Cape, vows rewritten.
"There seems to be fire missing from Reuel Wilson's history of his parents' time together, his conclusions clinical and abstract."
Seems the wisest approach given the isufferable egoism of Ma and Pa.
"There seems to be fire missing from Reuel Wilson's history of his parents' time together, his conclusions clinical and abstract."
Seems the wisest approach given the isufferable egoism of Ma and Pa.
I'm unpersuaded ...
... News You Can Endow. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I suppose it would hard for newspapers to be any more bien-pensant than they are already, but if they can't make it on their own, let them die. I also suspect higher education would be better if it were less protected.
I suppose it would hard for newspapers to be any more bien-pensant than they are already, but if they can't make it on their own, let them die. I also suspect higher education would be better if it were less protected.
A good idea ...
... don't you think? (Hat tip, Ed Champion.)
The sheer superficiality of this report should serve as a warning about anything similar you might see today.
The sheer superficiality of this report should serve as a warning about anything similar you might see today.
I beg to differ ...
... Taleb Says Nationalize Banks, You Can’t Trust Them. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
What makes Taleb think the government is any more trustworthy than the banks, or that the banks are any less trustworthy? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government entities, Nassim, remember? And who would bear the burden of the government's risk-taking? The same people who already do: the taxpayers. I admire Taleb's contributions to epistemology. He should maybe bone up on political science.
A former Inquirer employee ...
... who made good: The Seriously Funny Man. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
I can;t say I'm surprised to discover that Matthew Arnold was humor-challenged.
I can;t say I'm surprised to discover that Matthew Arnold was humor-challenged.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I didn't know ...
... there was one, but I see they've found me: The Blog of the American Chesterton Society. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This could prove ...
... very interesting: Watch out Wikipedia, here comes Britannica 2.0. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It costs me five bucks a month to subscribe to Britannica Online. It is well worth it.
It costs me five bucks a month to subscribe to Britannica Online. It is well worth it.
Hard to object ...
... Let's All Throw Used Gorilla Poo At Creationists. (Hat tip, Dave Lull and Maxine Clarke.)
Having actually met and talked with people who believe that the Earth was created in six 24-hour days about 6,000 years ago, I can attest that you won't get very far trying to persuade them otherwise. Hate mail of course is awful, especially coming from people who call themselves Christians. And damning people to hellfire is especially appalling. Judgment is God's job, not ours and I believe (and hope) that His mercy is the determining factor and that what counts most is our acts of kindness, not our inevitable failures. I am sure that even Professor Dawkins has performed many acts of kindness in his life and they are far more important in the grand scheme of things than his third-rate philosophizing. As for David Attenborough, I met him once and he's a grand gentleman.
Together at last ...
... John Ashbery, Pierre Martory, and Jackson Pollock.
I have been reading the Martory book from time to time, which I think is the best way to read it. It is very much worth getting to know, though it doesn't yield its secrets easily, I find.
I have been reading the Martory book from time to time, which I think is the best way to read it. It is very much worth getting to know, though it doesn't yield its secrets easily, I find.
Interesting ...
... Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg/The Assault on Liberty by Dominic Raab.
I downloaded Goldberg's book on my Kindle because I was curious about a book that had made it on to the NYT best-seller list without ever being reviewing in the Times or most other papers and because I didn't want to pay the full price for what I suspected might be a screed. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a well-written historical survey of a set of ideas and how they grew. I was also surprised by what I learned about Mussolini.
In praise of Updike ...
... Carlin Romano on John Updike, Pa. son, literary giant, dies at 76.
... Channel 4: John Updike dies of lung cancer at 76. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... PBS: Acclaimed American Author John Updike Dies at Age 76. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Obit magazine: Updike's Dark Certainty.
... Channel 4: John Updike dies of lung cancer at 76. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... PBS: Acclaimed American Author John Updike Dies at Age 76. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Obit magazine: Updike's Dark Certainty.
Mystical journalist ...
... Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy: The Making of GKC 1874-1908. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
A writer passes ...
... John Updike, R.I.P.
I confess that I, too, never succeeded in engaging with Updike's work, though I liked a lot of his non-fiction prose - and a lot of his poems. But his death comes as a shock. He seemed always young and he was the young writer when I was coming of age (I can still remember reading a review of The Poorhouse Fair in Time when I was in high school - I think the reviewer thought it flawed but promising). I find it difficult to think that he was 76 years old, let alone that he is dead. Eternal rest grant unto him.
See also:
When I met John Updike.
John Updike.
John Updike’s death makes me think of a glorious few days reading.
See also:
When I met John Updike.
John Updike.
John Updike’s death makes me think of a glorious few days reading.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Roger Miller ....
... on John Updike: ‘A body of work second to none’.
...see also John Updike in Scientific American: The Dance of the Solids. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
...see also John Updike in Scientific American: The Dance of the Solids. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I never thought of this ...
... Sharing is Creepy.
I wonder if that's because I've been writing and publishing stuff in various places for more than 40 years and blogging, to me, is just one more venue. I've also never really had anything to do with Twitter or Facebook or MySpace.
I wonder if that's because I've been writing and publishing stuff in various places for more than 40 years and blogging, to me, is just one more venue. I've also never really had anything to do with Twitter or Facebook or MySpace.
Very sad news ...
... John Updike, prize-winning writer, dead at age 76. (Dave Lull has also alerted me to this.)
More here: John Updike Dies and here: Acclaimed writer John Updike dies at 76.
... from The Telegraph: John Updike.
... Christopher Lehman-Haupt: American writer John Updike dies.
CNN: Famed author John Updike dies of cancer at 76. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Post bumped.
More here: John Updike Dies and here: Acclaimed writer John Updike dies at 76.
... from The Telegraph: John Updike.
... Christopher Lehman-Haupt: American writer John Updike dies.
CNN: Famed author John Updike dies of cancer at 76. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Post bumped.
They got the hope ...
... but could use some audacity: Obama Should Acknowledge His Roots. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Attention Colbert fans ...
... and you know who are: Philosopher Denis Dutton, author of The Art Instinct, will appear this week on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. You will be able to see him ritually humiliated by Mr. Stephen Colbert in front of gazillions of viewers on Wednesday night. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Here, by the way, is the Web site for The Art Instinct. I notice that Professor Dutton says of his books that "I argue that art is produced by culture, individuals, and their evolution in a complex interaction." That seems fine as far as it goes, but it also seems to imply a certain degree of reification of evolution.
Disordered priorities...
... Cuts at libraries mean Philadelphia students could have nothing. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
L'Isle Joyeuse ...
... The Pleasure of Watteau. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The painting is Watteau's The Embarkation for Cythera and the YouTube clip is Samson François playing Debussy's "L'Isle Joyeuse."
Fighting snark ...
... with snark: New Yorker critic rails at web malice. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Ed chats with David Denby: The Bat Segundo Show: David Denby. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And more: Sticks and Stones. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Ed chats with David Denby: The Bat Segundo Show: David Denby. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And more: Sticks and Stones. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The interesting thing about snark and the Internet is that the latter has simply enabled those who lack the guts to say that sort of thing in person to get it off their chests. As someone who has, over the years, said in public quite a few things that could be described as snarky, I think I know what I'm talking about. Of course, I'm much more mild-mannered now.
Sunday Mass ...
... Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.
This was the Mass I attended Sunday afternoon. This is my parish church. Throughout the Mass people were in tears. At times even I was. One woman came out afterward just saying over and over, "That was so beautiful, that was so beautiful." Father Carey tells me that when he gave communion (at the rail) some of the older parishioners were crying. Perhaps even more interesting: fully a thord of those in attendance were about 35 or younger - in some cases much younger.
Dissident Puritan ...
... Roger Williams. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Williams offers a theological understanding of human morality, including claims about the universality of conscience and the reliability of natural moral capabilities, that allows him to argue that public morality doesn’t require government defense of religion. This is an approach that’s likely to be much more persuasive to traditional Christians (and perhaps other religious persons) than appeals to Enlightenment assumptions about the alleged private nature of religion and the preference of reason over religion.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Another odd couple ...
... Lincoln and Darwin. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"There are two kinds of intelligence," Gopnik writes at the end of an already-parenthetical passage about Darwin's intellectual sensibility, "the analytic ability and the aphoristic gift."
I think this a dubious dichotomy - and it reminds me of what someone once said, that there are two kinds of people: those who think there are two kinds of people and those who don't. I'm among the latter.
"There are two kinds of intelligence," Gopnik writes at the end of an already-parenthetical passage about Darwin's intellectual sensibility, "the analytic ability and the aphoristic gift."
I think this a dubious dichotomy - and it reminds me of what someone once said, that there are two kinds of people: those who think there are two kinds of people and those who don't. I'm among the latter.
In the beginning ...
... The Origin of the Nerd. (Hat tip, Jim Carmin.)
And more: 10 stories behind Dr. Seuss stories. (Hat tip, Jim Carmin.)
And more: 10 stories behind Dr. Seuss stories. (Hat tip, Jim Carmin.)
Soul adventure ...
... Mystics Under the Microscope. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
For what it's worth, this is pretty much in accord with my own experiences. Psilocybin was my favorite hallucinogen, and I took it usually in its natural form: mushrooms. (Just for the record, I experimented with these sorts of things for about 20 years, from about 1969 to 1989; in 1989 I went straight for good.) Anyway, I liked shrooms the best because the high seemed more natural (there was always something inorganic about the LSD experience), and there is no doubt that set and setting are crucial, and that one tends to interpret - or even have - the experience in terms of the religious tradition one is most familiar with. I certainly have come to think that all the great religions are takes on the same transcendent dimension of being (if I can put it so) from different angles of approach.
For what it's worth, this is pretty much in accord with my own experiences. Psilocybin was my favorite hallucinogen, and I took it usually in its natural form: mushrooms. (Just for the record, I experimented with these sorts of things for about 20 years, from about 1969 to 1989; in 1989 I went straight for good.) Anyway, I liked shrooms the best because the high seemed more natural (there was always something inorganic about the LSD experience), and there is no doubt that set and setting are crucial, and that one tends to interpret - or even have - the experience in terms of the religious tradition one is most familiar with. I certainly have come to think that all the great religions are takes on the same transcendent dimension of being (if I can put it so) from different angles of approach.
Post -intelligence, all right ...
... Teacher proclaims Twain, Lee and Steinbeck irrelevant in Obama age. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
The last sentence of this article is weird: "The three books - Huck Finn, Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird - regularly make the American Library Association's list of titles the American public has objected to most frequently." I think what is meant is not that the American public has objected to the books - I have never heard anything to that effect - but rather that more attempts have been made by the intellectually underprivileged to ban them.
Death's greatest hits ...
... The Day the Music Died.
I detest "American Pie," but I like "Bohemian Rhapsody."
I detest "American Pie," but I like "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Sage advice ...
... `Inconsequence Is Not Futility'.
I have read the Imitation more than once - though many years ago. For some reason, one line from it has always stayed with me: "I would rather feel compunction than be able to define it." God knows, I have had plenty of reason to feel it.
I have read the Imitation more than once - though many years ago. For some reason, one line from it has always stayed with me: "I would rather feel compunction than be able to define it." God knows, I have had plenty of reason to feel it.
Reviewing as encounter
... and just so there be no misunderstanding, I mean that as a compliment:
... On not losing faith.
... (Long review) Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis.
Genuine faith is indeed an adventure
... On not losing faith.
... (Long review) Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis.
Genuine faith is indeed an adventure
Sunday, January 25, 2009
And another ...
... Sunday Salon: Part Two of John Carey’s What Good are the Arts.
While you're there, go to the home page and scroll away, if only to see the chicken.
While you're there, go to the home page and scroll away, if only to see the chicken.
Happy birthday, Bob ...
... Nige on Broons, Burns, Birds.
Since Nige brings it up, I have to say that Burns's appeal has never really reached me, either.
Since Nige brings it up, I have to say that Burns's appeal has never really reached me, either.
Speaking out ...
... against gross misrepresentation. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Does this man not realise that we have trained thousands, perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands, of our young people in media studies? Does he not know that equal numbers of young British girls, despite having a baby or two, have finished courses on hair and beauty (admittedly without much positive effect on their own appearance, but as the great Doctor Johnson pointed out a long time ago, you can criticise a table without being able to make one). Does the author of this scurrilous article masquerading as serious commentary think that, in a crisis, people will go without their televisions, their hair or their beauty?
More about Sam ...
... Reviewing the Review: January 25 2009. (Hat tip, Ed Champion.)
Sam would do himself and his readers a favor if would assign reviews to people like Ed and Levi. I did. Levi's review of Steve Martin's autobiography was one of the best reviews of a celebrity memoir I ever ran. And I would have overlooked Warren Ellis's Crooked Little Vein if Ed hadn't pitched it to me. Time to break out, Sam.
Sam would do himself and his readers a favor if would assign reviews to people like Ed and Levi. I did. Levi's review of Steve Martin's autobiography was one of the best reviews of a celebrity memoir I ever ran. And I would have overlooked Warren Ellis's Crooked Little Vein if Ed hadn't pitched it to me. Time to break out, Sam.
Bryan times two ...
... Saatchi, Slow-Tech and the Reticence of Neil MacGregor.
I like what Bryan says about interviewing technique. Of course, the whole idea, when you interview somebody, is to get them to open up, something Chris Matthews has never managed to learn.
I like what Bryan says about interviewing technique. Of course, the whole idea, when you interview somebody, is to get them to open up, something Chris Matthews has never managed to learn.
Another take ...
... Inaugural images drown poem.
As I remarked on Bryan's blog, to do public poetry well, you have be an Auden or a Dryden, and you need a sensibility different from the one that makes people want to be poets these days.
More here and here and here.
As I remarked on Bryan's blog, to do public poetry well, you have be an Auden or a Dryden, and you need a sensibility different from the one that makes people want to be poets these days.
More here and here and here.
Poe this afternoon ...
At the Manayunk Art Center (MAC), 419 Green Lane (rear), hosts “A Poe Bicentennial Celebration At the MAC” on Sunday, 25 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. $4 donation. Refreshments available. 215-482-3363.
Odd prophet ...
... Urning. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It isn't mentioned in the article, but the Chester Alan Arthur III referred to was the grandson of the 21st president of the U.S.
It isn't mentioned in the article, but the Chester Alan Arthur III referred to was the grandson of the 21st president of the U.S.
Radio alert ...
... Mark Sarvas on Lit Media Reviews. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Note that it's at 5 this afternoon, and I'm presuming that's ESS.
Note that it's at 5 this afternoon, and I'm presuming that's ESS.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Carlin Romano on Why everyone is an artist.
Pardon me, but "evolution" does nothing. The word describes a process that is, presumably, taking place. Organisms evolve. Breathing does not cause me to live. I live, therefore I breathe.
For a contrary view see: Origin Of The Specious.
I plan to run a roundup of reviews, pro and con, of this book later on.
In the meantime, Jared Bernstein on John Bogle: Old-fashioned virtues on the ledger. And that appears to be it for today.
Indeed, Dutton eloquently blasts reductionism, contending that "great works of music, drama, painting, or fiction set us above the very instincts that make them possible. Paradoxically it is evolution - most significantly, the evolution of imagination and intellect - that enable us to transcend our animal selves. . . ."
Pardon me, but "evolution" does nothing. The word describes a process that is, presumably, taking place. Organisms evolve. Breathing does not cause me to live. I live, therefore I breathe.
For a contrary view see: Origin Of The Specious.
I plan to run a roundup of reviews, pro and con, of this book later on.
In the meantime, Jared Bernstein on John Bogle: Old-fashioned virtues on the ledger. And that appears to be it for today.
And the winner ...
... of the NBCC's 2009 Balakian Award is.
Michael Antman, who posts at When Falls The Coliseum, was also a nominee. This will show you why: Linden Frederick and the Magic of Realism.
Michael Antman, who posts at When Falls The Coliseum, was also a nominee. This will show you why: Linden Frederick and the Magic of Realism.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Homogenous ...
... Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story.
The centerfolds never did it for me. They just seemed like real-life Vargas illustrations. And the gospel of high-end consumerism always struck me as somehow provincial. As for Hefner himself, he's the kind of person who gives shallowness a bad name. But to give credit where it's due:
And that is why, whatever else you may think of him, he was a great editor.
As Watts puts it, Hefner "edited Playboy for himself." He was a work-obsessed, bunny-centric monomaniac, the "editor, publisher, and, at the same time, audience" of the magazine.
And that is why, whatever else you may think of him, he was a great editor.
Liturgy alert ...
... tomorrow afternoon at 3, at my parish in South Philly (St. Paul's, on Christian Street between Ninth and 10th), a solemn high Tridentine Mass will be celebrated in honor of the parish's patron saint. The music for the Proper will be Palestrina's Missa Brevis. If you can attend, please do. It should be most impressive.
A nation of Gatsbys ...
... Where's Guare?
Once, the wealthy were scorned for the elitisim and lack of sympathy for the poor and downtrodden. Now they have successfully palmed themselves off as populists. I still don't think they have much time for working stiffs, however.
In praise of loners ...
... The End of Solitude.
My own formative decade, the '50s, is routinely portrayed as a time of conformism, but I see more groupthink today than I ever did in the '50s.
Young people today seem to have no desire for solitude, have never heard of it, can't imagine why it would be worth having. In fact, their use of technology — or to be fair, our use of technology — seems to involve a constant effort to stave off the possibility of solitude, a continuous attempt, as we sit alone at our computers, to maintain the imaginative presence of others. As long ago as 1952, Trilling wrote about "the modern fear of being cut off from the social group even for a moment." Now we have equipped ourselves with the means to prevent that fear from ever being realized. Which does not mean that we have put it to rest. Quite the contrary. ... The more we keep aloneness at bay, the less are we able to deal with it and the more terrifying it gets.
My own formative decade, the '50s, is routinely portrayed as a time of conformism, but I see more groupthink today than I ever did in the '50s.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Give me a break ...
... How novels help drive social evolution. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'd take this more seriously if some other species told stories.
"Maybe storytelling - from TV to folk tales - actually serves some specific evolutionary function," says Gottschall. "They're not just by-products of evolutionary adaptation."
I'd take this more seriously if some other species told stories.
Where literature ends up ..
... On Finding a Copy of Ovid’s Fasti at the Local Goodwill. (Hat tip, Jeff Sypeck.)
Dutch lose their nerve ...
... Wilders, January 21: ” A Black Day for Freedom”. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Here's a fine chance for any number of American writers to speak truth to power.
See also Bruce Bawer's Submission in the Netherlands. (Also from Dave.)
Here's a fine chance for any number of American writers to speak truth to power.
See also Bruce Bawer's Submission in the Netherlands. (Also from Dave.)
The appalling decision to try Wilders, the Freedom Party’s head and the Dutch Parliament’s only internationally famous member, for “incitement to hatred and discrimination” against Islam is indeed an assault on free speech. But no one who has followed events in the Netherlands over the last decade can have been terribly surprised by it. Far from coming out of the blue, this is the predictable next step in a long, shameful process of accommodating Islam—and of increasingly aggressive attempts to silence Islam’s critics—on the part of the Dutch establishment.See also The War on Wilders.
It does not exaggerate the case to say that Wilders is being accused of nothing more than holding an opinion with which the court’s judges disagree. (One cannot call it an unpopular opinion since, if recent polling is any guide, majorities of the Dutch public share Wilders’s apprehensions about Islam and Muslims' ability to assimilate.)
An invitation ...
... Please take part in my very simple survey! (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
After that, you may want to consider what happens When philosophers don't get along.
After that, you may want to consider what happens When philosophers don't get along.
Fruitful encounter ...
... for Ed Champion: In which I Talk with Tanenhaus. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
That's our Ed!
... any man who can tell me to my face that he doesn’t care for my work, without a cowardly online pseudonym or an entirely batshit perspective, can’t be all bad.
That's our Ed!
More differences ...
... Nige on Home. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who wonders if Nige and Bryan are planning some sort intervention on my behalf.)
As I noted on this post, Garret Keizer felt many of the same objections to Robinson's novel as I did. So did Nige. But for both, in the end, the novel not only worked, but was deeply affecting. I am quite willing to entertain the notion that the deficiency may be mine. Should I re-read it? Maybe, but I confess that the thought of spending any time in the immediate future in the company of the Boughtons does not appeal. Their place in Gilead reminds me uncomfortably of certain stuffy households I had to visit while a small child. I should perhaps have made it clearer than I did in my review that Home is simply not to my taste. I don't like the people inhabiting it and am not in sympathy with its theology (mine is much more Chaucerian). It is a credit to Robinson's skill as a novelist that she can create characters to which one can relate so passionately, even if the passion is negative. Maybe if Nige and Bryan agree to re-read Brideshead Revisited (which moved me to tears when I read it this past summer for the first time 40 years), I could revisit Robinson's Iowa, and we could all compare notes.
As I noted on this post, Garret Keizer felt many of the same objections to Robinson's novel as I did. So did Nige. But for both, in the end, the novel not only worked, but was deeply affecting. I am quite willing to entertain the notion that the deficiency may be mine. Should I re-read it? Maybe, but I confess that the thought of spending any time in the immediate future in the company of the Boughtons does not appeal. Their place in Gilead reminds me uncomfortably of certain stuffy households I had to visit while a small child. I should perhaps have made it clearer than I did in my review that Home is simply not to my taste. I don't like the people inhabiting it and am not in sympathy with its theology (mine is much more Chaucerian). It is a credit to Robinson's skill as a novelist that she can create characters to which one can relate so passionately, even if the passion is negative. Maybe if Nige and Bryan agree to re-read Brideshead Revisited (which moved me to tears when I read it this past summer for the first time 40 years), I could revisit Robinson's Iowa, and we could all compare notes.
The inaugural poem (cont'd.) ...
... well, I've now read it, thanks to Rus Bowden who appends it to a comment on this post.
I'm afraid it strikes me as, at best, rhetoric. But even as rhetoric it seems weak to me:
Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?
I simply do not find this coherent. Are we meant to contrast the second and third examples, who live by "do no harm" or "take no more than you need" with those who live by "love thy neighbor" or are they all meant to be contrasted with "the love beyond" that follows? And what exactly is that love, if it isn't "love thy neighbor as thyself" (which, by the way, is only half of the admonition).
Then there's this:
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what's on the other side.
This is not only incoherent - I am not even sure it is grammatical; the who is certainly problematic - and worse, it reminds me of all those "Why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes.
Poems are not just strings of words that sound nice (though these words don't sound particularly musical to me). The words are supposed to say something. They should be hyper-precise. These are hypo-precise.
So I have to respectfully disagree with Rus on this one - though Rus does seem to have addressed the poem qua poem. Miller and Gilmore, it seems to me, judge it more by extra-poetical criteria.
Finally, an inaugural poem is supposed to be about a process, not a person. So excuse me if, when it comes to cults of personality, I'm with Sam Goldwyn: "Include me out."
Bryan also comments: The Obama Poem.
I'm afraid it strikes me as, at best, rhetoric. But even as rhetoric it seems weak to me:
Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?
I simply do not find this coherent. Are we meant to contrast the second and third examples, who live by "do no harm" or "take no more than you need" with those who live by "love thy neighbor" or are they all meant to be contrasted with "the love beyond" that follows? And what exactly is that love, if it isn't "love thy neighbor as thyself" (which, by the way, is only half of the admonition).
Then there's this:
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what's on the other side.
This is not only incoherent - I am not even sure it is grammatical; the who is certainly problematic - and worse, it reminds me of all those "Why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes.
Poems are not just strings of words that sound nice (though these words don't sound particularly musical to me). The words are supposed to say something. They should be hyper-precise. These are hypo-precise.
So I have to respectfully disagree with Rus on this one - though Rus does seem to have addressed the poem qua poem. Miller and Gilmore, it seems to me, judge it more by extra-poetical criteria.
Finally, an inaugural poem is supposed to be about a process, not a person. So excuse me if, when it comes to cults of personality, I'm with Sam Goldwyn: "Include me out."
Bryan also comments: The Obama Poem.
Maxine serves up ...
... two fine posts: Stieg Larsson flies to new heights and Paperbacks in January and February.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a very good book.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a very good book.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Great Books (cont'd.) ...
... Middlebrow Messiahs.
To his great credit, reviewer Brendan Boyle, identifies the flaw in this reasoning:
The best way to know more about the Middle Ages is to make some effort to figure out how people in the Middle Ages - like Thomas Aquinas - thought, and to at least entertain the notion that, even if they didn't think quite the way we do, they had thoughts very much worth getting to know.
Beam sat in on a St. John’s laboratory seminar and found it “flat, flat, flat.” The same went for a seminar on portions of Aquinas’ Summa Theologica (example: “Whether the proposition ‘God exists’ is self-evident?”). “Everyone had done the reading,” Beam laments, “but few could make heads or tails of it.” The problem, as Beam sees it, is that the students aren’t allowed to bring to the discussion anything outside the text. Beam imagines “a thousand interesting questions” that would have enlivened the proceedings: “Why did Aquinas feel the necessity of proving God’s existence? Who in the Middle Ages disagreed with him?”
To his great credit, reviewer Brendan Boyle, identifies the flaw in this reasoning:
Beam’s lament, moreover, reveals a deeply middlebrow fantasy shared by many. It goes like this: if only we knew more about the Middle Ages—had more information on Aquinas’s hometown, his antagonists, and his childhood—the Summa Theologica would give up its secrets. We might not even have to read it!
The best way to know more about the Middle Ages is to make some effort to figure out how people in the Middle Ages - like Thomas Aquinas - thought, and to at least entertain the notion that, even if they didn't think quite the way we do, they had thoughts very much worth getting to know.
Something you should know ...
... Why you can't find a library book in your search engine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also suggests: See also Mark Lundy's comments at the OWL: Librarian's Place FriendFeed room.
Dave also suggests: See also Mark Lundy's comments at the OWL: Librarian's Place FriendFeed room.
Strike three ...
... Another for the Stuffed Owl: Elizabeth Alexander manages to compose history’s worst inaugural poem. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
What Kanfer says is mild compared to Patrick Kurp's thoughts:`No Social Function'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
What Kanfer says is mild compared to Patrick Kurp's thoughts:`No Social Function'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
“Praise Song for the Day,” in fact, is not poetry but an inferior species of prose. It is what one expects from an earnest junior-high-school student with little gift for language, or from a professor at Yale.Ouch!
I didn't watch the inauguration (the only one I can remember seeing is Kennedy's!), and I haven't read the poem, but the lines quoted in Kanfer's article are dreadful. Had I been asked, I would have suggested to Alexander that she read the Gettysburg Address and pay close attention to its simplicity and brevity. Something contrasting in style and tone to the the pomp and circumstance of the event, while remaining apposite to true patriotic sentiment, might just have done the trick. That would have required, however, what the Augustans - masters of public poetry - called decorum, which is hard to come by these days.
In case you were wondering ...
... How to Publish in a Recession: New Directions' Declan Spring. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Never again ...
... or so we had hoped: What’s behind 21st-century anti-Semitism?
What does it mean to be anti-Zionist? Given that Zionism means supporting a Jewish homeland, does being anti-Zionist mean that one does not favor the establishment - or the continued existence - of a Jewish homeland? Just asking.
The most worrying dynamic in Europe today is not the explicit vitriol directed against Jews by radical Muslim groups or far-right parties, but the new culture of accommodation to anti-Semitism. We can see the emergence of a slightly embarrassed ‘see nothing, hear nothing’ attitude that shows far too much ‘understanding’ towards expressions of anti-Semitism. Typically, the response to anti-Jewish prejudice is to argue that it is not anti-Semitic, just anti-Israeli. Sometimes even politically correct adherents to the creeds of diversity and anti-racism manage to switch off when it comes to confronting anti-Jewish comments.
What does it mean to be anti-Zionist? Given that Zionism means supporting a Jewish homeland, does being anti-Zionist mean that one does not favor the establishment - or the continued existence - of a Jewish homeland? Just asking.
Plays on merchandise ...
... The 50 Best Pun Stores. (Dave Lull got this from his daughter, Emily, who also sent him the Forrest Button/Benjamin Gump piece I linked to earlier. Thank you, Emily.)
Filming ...
... the ‘Examined Life’. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm not sure I get this. A bunch of philosophy professors doing stuff like jogging. I'm not sure philosophy professors are necessarily philosophers. I'm not sure Zizek belongs in polite society. See The punchline is fascism ... and More on Zizek ...
Curiouser and curiouser ...
... Evolution and Taste.
I think we can all agree with Nige regarding millipedes vs. dung, but what struck me was this: "It's a rare snapshot of evolution caught in the act." Some beetle or beetles must have been pioneers in the killing and eating of millipedes, in the course of which subtle changes in head and neck came about, which were then passed on. Do I have that right? Is this the inheritance of an acquired characteristic? Because surely they are not suggesting that the subtle changes came about and then the beetles started eating the millipedes. How would the beetles know that developmental changes have taken place in their anatomy making it unnecessary for them to eat the traditional dung? I would also think dung would be about as common a food source as is imaginable, obtainable in greater abundance than millipedes and easier to get at.
Another warning ...
... that the end is nigh: Author Larry McMurtry sees the end of book culture. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
See also, as Dave Lull suggests in his comment, Books Unbound. I lean toward Grossman's view.
See also, as Dave Lull suggests in his comment, Books Unbound. I lean toward Grossman's view.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Reprise ...
... The Curious Case of Forrest Button… Or Is That Benjamin Gump? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm a longtime fan of the Scott Fitzgerald story on which Button is supposed to be based. This persuades me to not bother seeing the film.
I'm a longtime fan of the Scott Fitzgerald story on which Button is supposed to be based. This persuades me to not bother seeing the film.
Real crime ...
... my friend Paul Davis not only reviews crime fiction, but also writes about actual crime. Here are two links to columns about the recent Fort Dix case: Dodging Bullets and The Fort Dix Five and The Fort Dix Five: Part 2.
Under review ...
... Inaugural Poem by Elizabeth Alexander.
... and more: Adam Kirsch on Elizabeth Alexander's Bureaucratic Verse. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm with the Romans re the oath, by the way, but maybe that's because I read Mary Beard's The Roman Triumph.
... and more: Adam Kirsch on Elizabeth Alexander's Bureaucratic Verse. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm with the Romans re the oath, by the way, but maybe that's because I read Mary Beard's The Roman Triumph.
Sic transit ...
... The Last Professor.
I am not sure that it is an altogether bad idea for it to become evident to all that colleges and universities are no longer places of education, since this creates an opportunity for someone to establish an institution that is such a place. Those interested in genuine education - which is formative of character and personality (as opposed to training, which is instrumental and designed to provide skills needed for earning a living) - have always been and always will be a minority. Once the idea took hold that everyone should be "educated" (which meant that everyone should have the accreditation provided by a diploma), the dilution of education into mere training was inevitable. That it should have got its start in America, where the notion that what is good for anyone must be good for everyone also got its start, is hardly surprising. We all know that not everyone can be a violin virtuoso, but surely everyone ought to be able to get a bachelor of arts degree, right. Well, apparently, only if you water down the curriculum - get rid of those dead languages, skip the course in logic and rhetoric, make history fun, etc. (I might add that philosophy did itself no favors by ceasing to be focused on living an examined life and focusing instead on technical matters of epistemology and language.)
Anyway, there will always be some people interested in the real thing, so maybe it's time for someone to establish a school just for them - one specializing in learning and understanding as ends in themselves, rather than as a means to a choice entry level position somewhere.
Anyway, there will always be some people interested in the real thing, so maybe it's time for someone to establish a school just for them - one specializing in learning and understanding as ends in themselves, rather than as a means to a choice entry level position somewhere.
A good idea ...
... New Media Venture Turns Bloggers Into Print Journalists. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I have long thought that if people who don't go online saw how good much that you can only get online is they would realize what a bill of goods their local newspaper has sold them about blogs. And if they could get that stuff offline they would snap it up. This could actually exacerbate newspapers' problems, since the competition would be on their own print turf.
