Category Archives: Martyrdom

Private Matters

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Abigail

Private Matters The man I love has gone through harrowing surgery this week. It was not one of the operations currently at the frontier of the surgical arts. Once, it was. Now it’s about at the middle. Surgeons do it … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, Mortality, novels, Ontology, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, scientism, 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, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 'till death do us part, academe, acceptance, action fields, aloneness, beshert, broken history, bypass surgery, cutting-edge surgery, difficult recoveries, facing the abyss, falling in love, falsified life, friendship, Heart surgery, human entanglements, husband and wife, institutional supports, life renewal, life system, limit situations, living artificially, living naturally, long term storage, Manhattan parks and museums, marriage for modern women, marriage vows, meaningful work, mind/body relations, moral accounting, moral record, moral support, New York City life, ordeal, philosophic commitment, philosophical articles, philosophy professor, professor/student interaction, recovery process, relativism, search for truth, short term storage, single life, solitude., state-of-the-art medical care, survivor’s predicament, taking risks, the city one loves, the old neighborhood, true love, truthfulness, untangling life knots, Upper East Side, women’s identity | 3 Comments

Nudnikerie: My Album of Antisemites

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Abigail

Nudnikerie: My Album of Antisemites Nudnik: “A nudnik is not just a nuisance; to merit the status of nudnik, a nuisance must be the most persistent, talkative, obnoxious, indomitable, and indefatigable nag.” The Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, Biblical God, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Love, Martyrdom, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, non-violence, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, 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 Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", ad hominem attack, bigotry, Christian friends, collegiality violated, dangerous pessimism, dark corners, dark memory, double standard, European Femininity, European women, evasion, G.I. Bride, German complicity, good guys, groupthink, Hitler’s reading list, Hitler’s sport events, in the wrong job, insulting speech, Jerry L. Martin's "God: an Autobiography as Told to a Philosopher", Jewish neighbors, Jewish opinion, loaded questions, memory, naturalistic worldview, outdoor cafes, outdoor prayer, peaceniks, personal stories, picking a quarrel, prayer as last resort, religious experience, religious turn, requirements of priesthood, self-deception, self-righteousness, Shoah, talking to God, the Holocaust, the human soul, the Other, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, war-time trauma, womanly arts, wrong life path, wrong vocation | Leave a comment

Paradigm Shifts

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Abigail

Paradigm Shifts We live under the sheltering umbrellas of our worldviews. To the point where we would feel naked if we were caught in the street without them. That being the case (that we run around conceptually clothed, whether we … Continue reading →

Posted in Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, Bible, Biblical God, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Eternity, Ethics, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immortality, Institutional Power, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Martyrdom, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, Mortality, Mysticism, non-violence, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political Movements, politics of ideas, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, 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, twenty-first century, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 4 Gospels, accosting lone females, Arun Gandhi’s The Gift of Anger, Christian creed, Christian missionary, Christianity, Christians, competing theologies, conceptual framework, condescension, conscientious objector, Crucifixion of Jesus, death of Jesus, devout family, dialectic, Doylestown Bookshop, empty tomb, flagrum, former Muslim, Gandhi’s influence, Interfaith dialogue, Islam, Isle Saint Louis, Jesus resurrection, love of truth, Mahatma Gandhi, medical student, Muslim missionary, Muslim/Christian debate, Muslims, Nabeel Qureshi’s “Seeking Allah Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity”, New Testament, non-judgementalism, non-violence, pacifism, paradigm, paradigm shift, Paris, philosophical friendship, philosophically sophisticated, philosophy student, religious commitment, religious debate, satyagraha, secular faith, Shroud of Turin, Socratic argument, the Qur'an, worldview | Leave a comment

Shunning

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Abigail

Shunning We are social beings, so nobody likes to be shunned. I first encountered shunning after I wrote a letter to Proceedings and Addresses. That’s the journal where schedules for philosophic meetings are posted, academic publishers place ads for their … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, eighteenth century, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, 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, Journalism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, 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, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged AAUW, abrasive manner, academic publisher, APA’s Memorial Minutes, APA’s Presidential Address, APA’s Proceedings and Addresses, borough president, cattiness, censoring dissent, Committee of Public Safety, congressman, Cotton Mather, CUNY Board of Trustees, derogatory remarks, dining alone, discrimination against women, enjoying solitude, errors of fact and logic, ethnic facial features, feminist controversy, feminist philosophers, feminist self-criticism, first Puerto Rican, ganging up, gay feminists, gender discrimination, getting denounced, groupthink, Harvard presidency, Herman Badillo, imaginary crimes, Larry Summers, losing political power, loss of power, Mayans and Incas, mean girls, moment of silence, Moral psychology, Parisian aristocrats, philosophic journal, Place de la Revolution, political enemies, political influence, political rivalry, pre-Columbian appearance, public higher ed, public space, Salem witch trials, sensitive remarks, shunning, Social beings, social climbing, social demotion, speaking one’s mind, Stephen Vincent Benét, the Guillotine, the right people, the tumbrils, thought police, unsung heroes, virtue signaling, woman philosopher, women and academics, women in hard science, women’s professors | Leave a comment

Sacrificial Acts

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Abigail

Sacrificial Acts A review of mine, written in support of an author I greatly admire, was just accepted for publication. It was written at the sacrifice of long-postponed time and energy that, right now, I really needed to expend … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Art of Living, Autonomy, books, bureaucracy, Cities, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, Erotic Life, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, Political, politics of ideas, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, Sex Appeal, 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, victimhood, victims, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way" by Henry M. Rosenthal; ed. Abigail L. Rosenthal, 17th Century Philosophers, academia, altruism, “Brooklyn Connections”, Benedict Spinoza, Brooklyn College, career advancement, career sacrifice, college curriculum, deathbed promise, expecting pay off, expecting rewards, faculty fight, father fixation, father/daughter relationships, finding balance, getting published, happy endings, higher education, honoring commitments, impromptu speech, invited speaker, Jerry L. Martin, job struggle, knowing what is due, Life Force, love at first sight, love sight unseen, modern philosophy, online editors, online publications, overcoming the ego, personal life, posthumous work, professional advancement, professional reputation, professional standing, providence, publication, self-sacrifice, setting priorities, strategic acumen, tea with friends, teaching obligations, Thomas Hobbes, unexpected rewards, unjust firing, unpublished manuscript, unselfishness | 2 Comments

The Psalms

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Abigail

The Psalms The other day, and night, I was having a dark night of the soul. It was about A Good Look at Evil again, and the recurrent struggle to get my book shown correctly on Amazon. My patient readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, Childhood, Christianity, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, Heroes, hidden God, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, non-violence, novels, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, radicalism, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, 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, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a good book, abandonment, Amazon books, assertiveness training, Balmedie Scotland, bedtime reading, beleaguered widow, boring Psalms, Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre", dark night of the soul, despair, divine human intimacy, English-speakers, F. Scott Fitzgerald, feeling abandoned, feeling overwhelmed, frustration, hardback and paperback, Hebrew and English, invisible God, Jesus' last words, Judeo-Christian Civilization, Louisville Kentucky, modern translations of the Bible, non-detachment, non-sublimation, orphans, personal concern, pompous philanthropist, Psalm 22, Psalms, publication date, reading Psalms, real estate acquisitions, research assistant, revised versions, Scotland golf course, self-concern, talking politics, the English language, the human condition, The King James version, Trump's career, Trump's character, unconcealedness, virtuous life, widows and orphans, Wipf and Stock | Leave a comment

“Evil? What Do You Mean, ‘Evil’?”

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Abigail

“Evil? What Do You Mean, ‘Evil’”? Back when the first edition of A Good Look at Evil came out, I told a Maine neighbor that I had written a book about evil. He was a carpenter who had done a … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, 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, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged backhanded compliment, biological determinism, class privilege, common sense, concealed enmity, controlling, copping out, cruelty, cultural determinism, cultural relativism, defying public opinion, denial, determinism, dissent from consensus, dodging responsibility, Downeast, encounters with evil, environmental determinism, escapism, evil as objective, evil as subjective, experimental psychology, expertise, fact/value split, fearing the worst, finding excuses, following the crowd, free will, guilt trip, hard-heartedness, history of evil, hitting the mark, holier-than-thou, hoping for the best, illusion of free will, illusion of freedom, indoctrination, insensitive, interested party, involuntary reactions, judgementalism, judgments of fact, judgments of value, Maine neighbors, manipulation, meanness, missing the mark, money privilege, moral absolutism, moral common sense, moral danger, moral evasion, moral evidence, moral interest, moral intuition, moral manipulation, moral relativism, moral superiority, moralistic language, morality moralism, narrowness, non-conformism, non-judgmentalism, one of the herd, out of control, out of touch, outlier, over-privileged, people as herd animals, personal condemnations, personal insults, projection, rationalizations, relativism, rigid, self-interest, self-righteousness, skepticism, social privilege, subjective relativism, the loner, tongue-lashing, tyranny's recruits, unconscious motivations, unforgiving | Leave a comment

	Penny Heiple, Three… on Private Matters
	Abigail on Private Matters
	Johan Herrenberg on Private Matters
	Abigail on Walking Into The Fire: The Pol…
	Johan Herrenberg on Walking Into The Fire: The Pol…

Category Archives: Martyrdom

Never miss a post! "Dear Abbie" in your inbox is a click away.

Email Abbie!

We’re Social.

Recent Posts

Recent Comments and Replies

Archives

A picture is worth…

Follow Dear Abbie on Twitter!