Monthly Archives: May 2023

Character Witnesses

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Abigail

Last week’s column reported on work being done by archeologists and historians, Christian and Jewish, in Israel and surrounding lands, to uncover the real state of Jewry at the time of Jesus. My hope, in describing some of these findings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute freedom and terror, Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Female Power, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Hegel, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Medieval, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, Mysticism, non-violence, novels, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, science, 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, Terror, 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, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged animal intuitions, anti-semitic incuriosity, archeology in Israel, Biblical true life dramas, character witness, Christian and Jewish historians, Christian Jewish reconciliation, Christianity’s story of the Jews, Christians Jews and ancient history, culture and the absolute, culture and values, culture’s defining story, culture’s justifying story, curing anti-semitism, dog intuitions, equine therapy, forgiveness, Freudian repression, Hegel and culture, horse riding and neuropathy, horse sense, interfaith reconciliation, internalizing accusations, Jesus and his Jewish contemporaries, Jesus missionaries in antiquity, Jews at the time of Jesus, keep off the grass, oldest hatred, personal and cultural values, philosophic therapy, status of Jesus, strenuous incuriosity, synagogues in the Roman Empire, the dog knows, the horse knows, theology and atheism, theology and culture, theology and personal self definition, theology and secularism, theology and the absolute, travelers from Israel, what animals know | Leave a comment

Theological Rivalry

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Abigail

The other day, Jerry said to me over brunch, “Why don’t Jews move to claim Jesus as their own?” I thought about that a minute, then answered, “The evangelicals are the most significant American voting bloc that still supports Israel. … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Female Power, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, Mysticism, non-violence, novels, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Renaissance, Roles, Romantic Love, science, 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, Terror, 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, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged ancient Jewish miracle workers, anti Judaism and the erotic factor, anti-Judaism and Christianity, archaeology and Roman Judea, archeology and ancient synagogues, archeology and Jesus, Bible movies, Christ of faith, Christian Jewish friendship, Christian missionaries in the ancient world, crucifixion expiating Original Sin, David Flusser’s Jesus, early Christians, evangelicals and Israel, fate of Judas, God incarnate, historical Jesus, Israeli and Christian scholarship, Israelis and Israelites, Jesus and contemporary followers, Jesus and his Jewish contemporaries, Jesus and loving your enemies, Jesus and miracles, Jesus movement in classical times, Jesus the Israelite, Jesus the miracle worker, Jews and Jesus, Jews and loving your enemies, Jews outside Judea, Judaisim in Roman occupied Judea, Judaism and miracles, Judaism and Paul, Luke’s Gospel, mind power, miracle workers as God’s intimates, miracles and laws of nature, miracles and physicalism, non Jewish friends of God, original sin, Paula Fredriksen’s When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation, Pauline doctrines, politics of persecution, Pontius Pilate, Rabbi Irving Greenberg and Jesus, religious competition, Resurrection of Jesus, righteous Gentiles, Roman occupied Judea, Sadducean doctrines, Sadducees, synagogues in the Roman Empire, The Passion of Christ, theological rivalry, theology of contempt | Leave a comment

Book Matters

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Abigail

Philosopher’s Holiday by Irwin Edman (Viking 1938, Penguin Books 1943) This is the sort of book that doesn’t get written these days, brought into being by the sort of man who doesn’t himself get produced any more. Irwin Edman was … Continue reading →

Posted in book reviews, books | Tagged Irwin Edman's Philosopher's Holiday | Leave a comment

My Body in the Culture Wars

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Abigail

Hegel would say that culture wars occur where there are opposing claims to define the culture – have the final say, the last word – decide what determines “the absolute” for that culture. Depending on where you find yourself on such … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, books, bureaucracy, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Female Power, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Hegel, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, non-violence, novels, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, Racism, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romantic Love, 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, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged acing a test, ad hominem argument, animal intuitions, arguing with a narcissist, attracting predators, best lack all conviction, betraying one's calling, betraying trust, body language of confusion, body language of predators, body language of victims, breaking norms to disarm others, categorizing victims, choice between wrong answers, Columbia College Core, Columbia College Core Curriculum, Columbia University, confronting a mob, conscience and crime, crime and public interest, crime and publicity, culture wars, debating Trump, defending against a swarm, defining the culture, disarming a hostile crowd, don't apologize, escaping a mob, evil and denial, fallacy in argument, fight or flight, Freeze response, go along to get along, Grad Record Exams, Hegel, ideals of yoga, insult in debate, inviting predators, Jennie Lightweis-Goff's Vulnerability in America, Liberal Arts, mob mentality, moral explanation, morally painful and mentally easy, multiple choice of wrong answers, nonverbal combats, North Korean classrooms, nothing is sacred, phenomenology of depravity, pretend neutrality, pretense of neutrality, rating crime by demographic category, rating crimes as drawing viewers, ridicule in debate, signaling defeat, signaling victory, SIX HIRB, smelling danger, sociological explanation, sociological vs moral explanation, subjectivity and objectivity, taunting in debate, teachers of propaganda, Ten Commandments, the Absolute in culture, the absolute in Hegel, the body in social space, the case for common sense, thou shalt not kill, tyranny and propaganda, unfair accusation and apologies, verbal combats, visibly fearless, vulnerability of women, W. B. Yeats, woke at Columbia University, woke in academe, women and objectivity, women's disadvantage in debate, words can be powerless, worst full of passionate intensity, Yeonmi Park's In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom, Yeonmi Park's While Time Remains: a North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America | Leave a comment

How I Grew Up, Eventually

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Abigail

Abbie at 10 on Prince. I never wanted to grow up. In fact, one of my childhood heroes was Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. For one thing, I thought grownups were ugly. They were too big, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Anthropology, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, book reviews, books, Childhood, Chivalry, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Female Power, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Martyrdom, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, non-violence, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, 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, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged academic politics, act like a woman, acting as if the dead can’t see you, adjusting to womanhood, adolescence, adult friendships, adults and children, antisemitism in academe, artificial adulthood, at home in one’s skin, becoming oneself, behind the back of the dead, believing defamatory fictions, Cain and Abel, cat’s away mice will play, childhood freedom, childhood heroes, collegial friendships, congenial social circles, CUNY faculty, daughterly duties, defamatory fictions, don’t speak ill of the dead, Downeast Maine, fight for popularity, fight for the legacy, filial piety, fitting into one's skin, fragile integrity, fratricide, go along to get along, growing pains, growing up, growing up and liking it, growing up and not liking it, grownup orphan, grownups, hard to fool, Henry M Rosenthal’s The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza’s Way, house in Maine, how children see adults, how not to greet a child, human nature and philosophy, identity development, ingratitude, inherited friendships, interesting parents, learned womanliness, losing friends, Maine locals, memorial service, midlife redefinition, novelistic, out of the mouths of babes, parental friends, personality redefinition, Peter Pan, philosophy as home, philosophy as natural, posthumous rivalries, put your money where your mouth is, Rav Tsair, real life is stranger than fiction, redefining self, remaining oneself, repositioning in adulthood, restoring oneself, romantic eligibility, saying what you see, showing true colors, sincerity of children, slander is always believed, small town realism, social standing, staying healthy in a fight, teenage dating, teenagers, the dead can see us, troubles of adolescence, unseen by the dead, unsupported groundless allegations, wallflowers, who am I?, world of one’s parents | Leave a comment

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Monthly Archives: May 2023

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