Tag Archives: conflict of duties

The Story that Didn’t End

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Abigail

I hold the view that one’s life is best understood as a True Story with many chapters, the story-line running through one after the other, chronologically and continuously. In the narrative of my life, there was a recent chapter that … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, books, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, femininity, feminism, films, 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, Jesus, 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, Nihilism, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, power games, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, racism, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, remembrance, repairing the culture, 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, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, Truth, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a true story reopened, abuse of trust, academic support for Hamas, an unfinished story, animal intuition, barrel racing, brute power vs functional power, campus antisemitism, competitive equestrian events, competitive riding events, concern for Israel, conflict of duties, Country riding, Darwinism, English vs Western riding, escapism, expecting a response, facing the truth, fate in novels, female cattiness, female competitiveness, from the horse's mouth, horse intuitions, horse sense, horse whisperer and rider, horse-whisperer, horses' understanding of people, inadmissable truth, Israel and American Jews, living one’s story, made up stories, Maine, mean girls, misaddressed letter, misreported stories, missing information, moral contradictions, moral dilemma, moral holiday, moral rank-pulling, narrative view, novelists who rely on fate, Oct 7 2023 on my mind, open-minded to a fault, open-mindedness, pedagogic responsibilities, people who know horses, power games, professional horse riding, reaching out for closure, repairing a wrong, riding competitions, riding in Maine, riding instructor, rodeo competitions, sexual competition, silence as a response, status competition, story that needs an ending, survival of the fittest, teaching philosophy, Thomas Hardy effect, Thomas Hardy's novels, Thomas Hardy's use of fate, trivial accidents and important consequences, trivial causes with serious consequences, true story, unacknowledged prejudice, unhappy endings, waiting for closure, Western Pleasure, Western riding, what the horse knows | 1 Comment

Memoirs, True or False?

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Abigail

Memoirs, True or False? Readers of this column are reminded from time to time that I recently finished a memoir, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, and am looking round the publishing business to see if any editor/publisher will put up … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, law, legal responsibility, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, mind control, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, mysticism, nineteenth-century, ontology, oppression, past and future, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, 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, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "a dog in that fight", 19th century Denmark, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Abigail L. Rosenthal's Tales of Rav Tsair, academe, aetheists, akedah, autobiographical, being misinformed, believers, bequest, betrothal, biography, boat launch, broken engagement, Columbia class of 1925, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, conflict of duties, Copenhagen, defamation, Diana Trililng's The Beginning of the Journey: The Marriage of Diana and Lionel Trilling, Diana Trilling, editor, ego-driven, formative experience, generous renunciation, Grandpa, hagiography, higher purpose, intellectual influence, intimacy, jilted girl, Joakim Garff's Kierkegaard’s Muse: The Mystery of Regine Olsen, Kierkegaard's Diary of a Seducer, Kierkegaardian influence, last will of Kierkegaard, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, magic mountain, male friendship, manipulation, married life, masks of ego, memoir, Mrs. Regine Schlegel, Natalie Robins' The Untold Journey: The Life of Diana Trilling, neurotic suspension of the ethical, New York intellectuals, obedience to divine commands, opinion shapers, philosophy, publisher, publishing business, realm of duty, Regine Olsen, self-will, shallow dogmatism, spiritual seduction, submission to the divine, Swiss sanitarium, Swiss TB treatment, TB treatment, teleological suspension of the ethical, The Binding of Isaac, the ethical level, the seducer, the spiritual level, theology, trust in God, University of Lausanne, woman as ideal | Leave a comment

“Style”

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Abigail

“Style” Years ago, my acupuncturist used to know a guru named Ramamurti. He still has a following, although he has since passed to his reward. I am told that there are ashrams in Pennsylvania now dedicated to this guru. How … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, autonomy, chivalry, Christianity, class, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, mind control, modernism, motherhood, non-violence, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, propaganda, psychology, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged acculturation, Australian philosophy, baiters, beleaguered peoples, careerism, careers, chutzpah, classroom examples, collegial friendships, collegiality, conduct unbecoming, conflict of duties, congresswomen, contradictions, defensiveness, discrimination, Down Under, empathy, ex-husbands, fairness, Feminism, founding feminists, founding mothers, funeral mourners, funeral pyres, gender bias, Gloria Steinem, good style, guru, haiku, hecklers, Hinduism, holy men, honor, honorable, humor, Jews, jokes about Jews, knowing how to behave, malevolence, Maxine Waters, moral high ground, moral quicksand, neurosurgeons, personal dignity, personal vs professional life, political advocacy, political friendships, poor style, public dialogue, public figures, public friendships, pulling rank, Ramamurti S Mishra MD, resurrection, Richard J. Firnhaber acupuncturist, right on the beat, right on the note, saints, self-respect, social aggression, social attitudes, social barriers, social embarrasment, social gifts, social quicksand, social unease, social victim, synagogues, the Jewish assignment, the right comeback, unfairness, vulnerability, wifely duties, wit, Women in Mathematics, zen | 4 Comments

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