Tag Archives: Brooklyn College

Therapy from the Jews

Therapy from the Jews Have the Jews anything to offer the world today in their capacity as Jews?  The remarkable plasticity and resilience of anti-semitism doesn’t answer my question about being a Jew: what the hell good is it? Let’s … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, Gnosticism, Hegel, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, idolatry, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, memoir, memory, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mysticism, nineteenth-century, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, public facade, reductionism, relationships, roles, secular, self-deception, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Believed Juanita Back When

I Believed Juanita Back When When I watched Lisa Meyers’ NBC interview with Juanita Broaddrick, back when President Bill Clinton had just survived an impeachment vote in the Senate, I called myself a “Clinton Democrat.” Why then would I bother … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, bureaucracy, chivalry, 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, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, journalism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, non-violence, oppression, past and future, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, radicalism, reductionism, relationships, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Success in San Francisco

Success in San Francisco Jerry and I spent the last three days (plus two for travel) in San Francisco. The trip wasn’t exactly a willing one on my part because my spouse had talked me into giving a paper at … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, Christianity, cities, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, mysticism, ontology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, scientism, 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, terrorism, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Politics of Ideas”

“The Politics of Ideas” They say you are what you eat, but it’s been my experience that you are what you believe. People live and die for the ideas they believe to be true. What is more, people dress, work … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Christianity, cities, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, Hegel, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immortality, institutional power, Jews, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, medieval, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, mortality, mysticism, non-violence, ontology, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, political, political movements, power, propaganda, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Ain’t I a Person?”

“Ain’t I a Person?” What’s a person? Am I a person? All the time? Is God? What’s going on when people say yes or no to questions like that? Jerry and I were in D.C. this week to celebrate the … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, cities, contemplation, contradictions, cool, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, heroes, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, mind control, motherhood, non-violence, ontology, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, social conventions, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Happiness”

“Happiness” “Call no man happy until he is dead,” said Solon, the ancient sage, to Croesus. Croesus was “rich as Croesus,” as the saying goes, and king of Lydia. So he was nonplussed at Solon’s reluctance to admit that he … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, autonomy, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, history, history of ideas, identity, idolatry, institutional power, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, masculinity, memoir, philosophy, poetry, political, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, twentieth century, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“How to Pick Your Fights”

“How to Pick Your Fights”  “I’ve been perfect,” said Ammon Hennacy, pacifist, anarchist and dedicated Platonic lover of Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker movement. He had taken my arm as we walked the picket line together. “I’ve had to … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, autonomy, cities, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, modernism, non-violence, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, race, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Things in Their Right Places”

“Things in Their Right Places” The editing of my to-be-reissued memoir has its own life rhythms. The version that appeared a decade ago included a scaffolding of explanations. At that point, I was trying to do something that received opinion, … Continue reading

Posted in academe, action, alienation, autonomy, contemplation, cool, culture, desire, ethics, evil, faith, freedom, health, history of ideas, identity, institutional power, Jews, life and death struggle, memoir, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, relationships, roles, social conventions, spirituality, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of woman, twentieth century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Intellectual Women”

“Intellectual Women”  Ugh. What a subject! I guess I’m one, but it doesn’t sound like a fun topic. In college, I had hesitated before deciding to major in philosophy. Would it look mannish? Would eligible bachelors be put off? When … Continue reading

Posted in academe, action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, Hegel, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, institutional power, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, nineteenth-century, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, relationships, roles, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, time, twentieth century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Valentine’s Day”

“Valentine’s Day” Jerry and I have each been working single-mindedly on editing our respective books. The editing process has its own kind of tension. It is not the open-ended agony of scripting the original draft, where you don’t know if … Continue reading

Posted in action, art, autonomy, chivalry, cities, contemplation, courtship, culture, desire, erotic life, ethics, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, identity, Jews, love, masculinity, memoir, peace, philosophy, psychology, relationships, roles, sexuality, social conventions, spirituality, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, work, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment