Monthly Archives: October 2019

The Worse, the Better?

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Abigail

The Worse, the Better? In the 1930’s a political strategy known as “worsism” was in fashion. Worsists believed that the worse, the better! This meant, the more desperate people became, the closer we got to the revolution that would bring … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, bigotry, books, bureaucracy, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Courage, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Hegel, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Martyrdom, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, slave, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, Suffering, Terror, terrorism, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged above the battle, all hat and no cattle, American Indian fighting, anti-Israelism, anti-semitism, Arapahoe, Arendt’s Forgiveness, bad guys lose, biological racism, bringing the revolution, curing bigotry, curing delusions, delegitimizing Israel, digging in deeper, dominance and subordination, evening the moral score, evening the score, false memory, German philosopher, good guys and bad guys, good guys win, group dynamics, groupthink, Hannah Arendt, happy-ever-after, Heidegger’s apologists, Heidegger’s Black Notebooks, Heidegger’s defenders, high gear denial, identity politics, inciting agressors, incremental change, inherited guilt, intention as power, Jewish sensibility, Kasim Hafeez, Martin Heidegger, meliorism, metaphysical racism, mob rule, moral rank, moral scorekeeping, natural riding, Nazi commitments, new heaven and earth, old-time Westerns, Palestinian, past life memory, political philosopher, political strategy, politicizing the campus, politics of experience, pre-revolutionary conditions, pulling moral rank, reversing social syndrome, reversing syndromes, revolutionary hopes, riding into the sunset, run-up to the Holocaust, shadow boxing, Shoah, social climate, social comedy, social persona, social pose, social syndromes, the 1930’s, the Indians win, The Nazi Party, the oldest hatred, the unthinkable becomes thinkable, the worse the better, theological demonization, tough guys, tragic sense, virtue signaling, worsism | Leave a comment

Androgyny?

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Abigail

Androgyny? “The Lure of Androgyny” is the title of an article I just read. It reports that the trend to downplay biological differences between the sexes is now world-wide. This is different from giving women equal opportunity. More like: THERE’S … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, Anthropology, Art of Living, Autonomy, beauty, books, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Immorality, Institutional Power, Journalism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Medieval, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, motherhood, novels, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged actors and actresses, androgyny, anti-male prejudice, athletes, biological female, biological male, blue jeans, censorship, crude men, cultural change, Dante's Beatrice, debased men, defending honor, defending women’s honor, Emmanuel Levinas, entertainment fields, equal opportunity, female vulnerability, feminine security, fire fighting, firefighter rescue, French philosophy, Freudian prohibitions, gender as social construct, Hamlet, hatred of men, high fashion designers, idealizing women, level playing field, Levinas’s “And God Created Woman”, life or death situation, magazine article, make love like a man, male bashing, male gallantry, male protectiveness, male trustworthiness, marital partnership, marital protection, Marriage, Mary Eberstadt’s “The Lure of Androgyny”, masculine protection, misandry, misogyny, Ophelia, overcoming inhibitions, parental role model, policewoman, political correctness, pop music, pressures on men, prizes for acting, protective fathers, redemptress, relations between the sexes. human to human v man to woman, respect for women, Richard Lovelace’s “To Lucasta on Going to the Wars”, sexual revolution, sexual tact, single mother, targeting weakness, the arts, the eternal feminine, The New York Review of Books, the victimized woman, theatre awards, toxic masculinity, trendy article, trust, truth in sports, unisex, unisex bathrooms, unisex designers, unisex outfits, unisex sports, winning the race, women athletes, women firefighters, women in the military, women's liberation, women’s self-defense, Woodstock, worldwide trends | Leave a comment

What Kind of a Jew Was Jesus?

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Abigail

What Kind of a Jew Was Jesus? The other night this question kept me up half the night. I’m not concerned with his orthodoxy. He allowed healing on the Sabbath and held that what you said could be more polluting … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, Christianity, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, non-violence, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Political Movements, politics of ideas, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, secular, self-deception, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, Utopia, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abraham’s covenant, avoiding extremes, “His eye is on the sparrow”, “take no thought for your life”, Christian answers, Christian persecution, Christian questions, common sense, gates of heaven, God as partner, God as Witness, God's pilot project, God’s paradigm case, going to extremes, healing on the Sabbath, Hebrew Scripture, Isaiah's vision, Jesus the Jew, Jesus's hard sayings, Jesus’s love, Jewish practices, justice without mercy, King David’s story, life story, lion lying down with the lamb, living historically, living in balance, man from Nazareth, mercy without justice, netherworldly extreme, non-fiction narrative, non-resistance to evil, orthodoxy, otherworldly escapism, patriarchal stories, personal vulnerability, Pharisaic parables, Pharisaic self-criticism, Pharisees, reality checks, reform rabbi, Reform temple, religious dissenter, rigid orthodoxy, sleepless night, social prestige, surface and depth, taking Jesus literally, the gnostic Jesus, The Gospels, The Metaxy, the middle ground, The Old Testament, theological puzzles, turning the other cheek, unorthodoxy, Ur-story, what defiles, what is a Jew?, what to do about Jesus | Leave a comment

Red Letter Day

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Abigail

Red Letter Day In recent columns, I’ve alluded to reversals of fortune, a succession of them, coming in the form of rejection letters. Two came from senior editors who turned down an article, controversial and breaking new ground, which was … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, books, bureaucracy, Chivalry, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Health, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immortality, Institutional Power, Literature, Love, Masculinity, master, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, Political, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Romance, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victims, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", anti-humanism, anti-semitism, at home in the world, Augustine’s Confessions, big shots, book people, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, controversial essays, exhausting one's options, experiment with truth, feeling lighter, gender asymmetry, identity politics, illustrated books, influencers, influential people, internalizing rejection, literary agent, literary prizes, lungeing the horse, magazine editors, Marxism, men and women, millenarianism, natural riding, newsworthy article, Nobel Prize, novelistic non-fiction, opinion shapers, popularity, race relations, Red letter day, rejection letters, respect from horses, respecting horses, reversals of fortune, Rousseau’s Confessions, self-publishing advantages, self-worth, sexual asymmetry, sexual equality, shedding light, stunned silence, trade press, true story, university press, unpublished book, weight of the world, words and images, world views, worldly considerations | Leave a comment

The Ephrussis of Paris and Vienna

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Abigail

The Ephrussis of Paris and Vienna The book I’ve just finished reading had an impact on me greater than any book I can remember. By impact, I don’t mean long-term influence on my heart or mind. I mean something like … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Freedom, Friendship, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Hegel, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Martyrdom, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, nineteenth-century, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Race, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, terrorism, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", aestheticism, anti-Dreyfusards, arriviste, bibelot, blessing of Abraham, boomerang effect, Charles Swann, collector’s item, covenantal blessing, cultural outsiders, cultural resentment, cultural roots, Degas, Dreyfus Case, Edmund de Waal's The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, emulating the natives, Ephrussi family, European-ness, evil of Nazism, fanaticism, faux-Parisians, faux-Viennese, filial piety, French survivor, Gestapo looting, haute bourgeoisie, high society, Holocaust literature, host culture, Impressionist patron, Impressionists, influential books, inheritance, Jewish banking families, Jewish success, Marcel Proust’s In Quest of Lost Time, memoirs of survivors, mob action, moral certainty, Nazi clergy, Nazi memoirs, Nazi trial transcripts, Nazis in Vienna, netsuke, nouveaux riches, Odessa, Odessa chief rabbi, Odessa in the 19th-century, Paris, Proustian narrator, Rav Tsair, Renoir, Rothschilds, Russian schoolgirl, secularized Europe, secularlism, sepia photograph, state propaganda, sumptuous dinners, tastemakers, tchotchke, the beautiful people, the best circles, theological rationalizations, Tsarist Russia, unintended consequences, University of Lausanne, Vienna, witnessing | 6 Comments

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Monthly Archives: October 2019

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