Tag Archives: Evil
Persons Real and Unreal
During the week just passed, I’ve gotten three invitations to enter into consequential interactions with correspondents who represented themselves as persons but in fact were not persons. What precedents are there for such an experience, in life or literature? Jewish … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical Archeology, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, Desire and Authenticity, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, fatherhood, female power, femininity, feminism, filial piety, 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, Married Philosophers Discuss Confessions, 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, 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 AI and perpetrators, AI con artists, AI fake reading group, AI generated exploitation, AI literary agent, artificial persons, changing style of conartistry, con artistry updated, conartistry and the Zeitgeist, contemporary bad actors, deniable deceptions, detecting online fakery, Evil, fake camaraderie, fake enthusiasm, fake fans, fake friends, fake literary agent, fake persons, fake reading group, fake sincerity, fate of Frankenstein’s monster, Frankenstein’s monster, futuristic persons, golem, golem as insult, golem in mystical lore, good, good and evil in AI, imitation sincerity, legal persons, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, new style perps, nonpersons, occult persons, persons, pretend writer, Ring of Gyges, Ring of Gyges and bad behavior, spiritual record card, styles of con artist, styles of wickedness, unprecedented experience
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“Evil is Really Not Banal”
“Evil is Really Not Banal” This past week we’ve been in California, where I’ve resumed my treatments for neuropathy at the Loma Linda hospital. The other event of the week, salient for me, was a talk at the Claremont School … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, dialectic, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, glitterati, guilt and innocence, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, martyrdom, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, secular, seduction, self-deception, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, 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, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", audience Q&A, author/publisher relation, “The Rake’s Progress”, banality of evil, behaviorism, Bernard Harrison’s Blaming the Jews: The Persistence of a Delusion, blaming the Jews, book endorsements, book reviewers, book reviews, bureaucratic mindset, Claremont School of Theology, Coincidences, conscious evil, diabolical cunning, Evil, evil personified, excusing the Holocaust, explaining evil, fiction and real life, fighting the good fight, firming resolve, futile counterargument, groupthink, guidance from above, Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Holocaust research, illustrations from life, knee fracture, Loma Linda Hospital, meaning what you say, moral coverup, Nazi arguments, Nazi canards, Nazi materials, Nazi talking points, neuropathy treatments, publishing snafus, speaker event, synchronicities, the Holocaust, the seducer, theologians, traps of argument, truth stranger than fiction, white-washing evil, wolf in sheep’s clothing
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A Good Look at Evil
A Good Look at Evil Last Friday the galley proofs arrived for the new edition of my book, A Good Look at Evil. When the first edition came out, decades back, Temple University Press nominated it for a Pulitzer prize. … Continue reading
Posted in academe, action, alienation, art of living, autonomy, bureaucracy, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, hegemony, heroes, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, motherhood, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, relationships, roles, secular, seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, 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, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "the talent in the room", Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", academe, academic eminence, academic research, Adolf Eichmann, ahead of its time, Betty Friedan, blurbs, book publishing, collegial relations, Eichmann's Argentine transcripts, endorsements, Eric Voegelin Society, Evil, Famous feminists, feminine self-erasure, first edition, flattery, founding mothers, galley proofs, genocide, Gloria Steinem, good and evil, good philosopher, Holocaust, Holocaust memories, keeping current, life story, Lionel Trilling, literary honors, living one’s story, mass murderer, Nazi thinking, non-fiction narrative, Norman Mailer, opinion shapers, philosophers, philosophic literacy, preface, professional recognition, professional renown, public intellectuals, Pulitzer Prize, reprint, second edition, Simone de Beauvoir, SS, Susan Sontag, Temple University Press, the Eichmann trial, the narrative view, Wipf and Stock
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Rocky Mountain Lowdown
Rocky Mountain Lowdown Jerry and I have about finished the first leg of a complicated journey, the part that took shape in the cities of Denver and Boulder in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado. Jerry had some talks to … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, Bible, Biblical God, Christianity, cities, contemplation, contradictions, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, faith, fashion, freedom, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, immorality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, memory, moral action, moral evaluation, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, power, presence, propaganda, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, secular, self-deception, social conventions, 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, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "the true Israel", academic conference, academic papers, ancient land, annihilation of the Jews, anti-Israel, anti-semitism, argument, Boulder, chosen people, chosenness, Christian doctrine, Colorado, covenant, covenant with Israel, death camps, death of God, Denver, divine encounter, divine visions, Evil, Faith, false prophets, God, God and humankind, God's chosen people, God's existence, History, Holocaust, Holocaust survivor, human freedom, human rights, intellectual defense, Israel, Jerusalem, Jewish angels, Jewish army, Jews, Jews as witness, Nazi murders, Nazi regime, philosophical argument, philosophy, public intellectuals, Richard Rubenstein, Rocky Mountains, shamans, Shoah, spirituality, Supercessionism, the absence of God, the human story, The Jewish nation, the presence of God, the prophets, theology, trial of Adolf Eichmann, tribal women, tribe, truth, Ur of the Chaldees., witness
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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 academic conference, academic illusions, academic panel, academic retirement, apocalypse, breath control, Brooklyn College, colleagues, communism, control of pace, crumbled illusion, delusional systems, disliking publicity, disliking travel, dissenters, divine dimension, Downeast, eliminating dissent, enraged millennialism, Eric Voegelin, Eric Voegelin Society, escapism, esteem of colleagues, esteem of peers, Evil, EVS International Meeting, extremism, false escapes, false messiahs, fear of public speaking, gnostic movements, growth rate, Hannah Arendt, human uncertainty, idealogues, ideologies, invisibility, John Rawls' Theory of Justice, killing the messenger, liquidating dissenters, Maine, man-made gods, Millennial Experience, millennial movements, Name professorships, Nazi regime, Nazism, original position, panel discussion, philosopher, philosophic relevance, political dissenters, political thinker, posthumous glory, prayer, prayer guidance, presenting papers, public speaking, reductionism, revised reading list, San Francisco, sinking feeling, small town, the Hannah Arendt industry, the Holocaust, the human condition, the human predicament, totalitarian temptation, totalitarianism, totalitarians, travel, Voegelinians, wealth redistribution, woman philosopher
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Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah I really hadn’t wanted to go this time. It’s the night for commemorating/remembering the Shoah, the Holocaust, which my temple observes annually. Christian clergy sit on the raised platform at the front of the sanctuary and read, taking … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, chivalry, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, 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, medieval, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, non-violence, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, 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, scientism, seduction, self-deception, 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, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged a past life, annihilation of the Jews, anti-Jewish imagery, anti-Zionism, Augustine's Jewish problem, Bishop Ambrose, board of trustees, burning synagogues, ceremony, choir, Christian clergy, Christian factions, commemoration, crazy history, David Nirenberg's Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition, diaspora, Divine Presence, divine/human partnership, empathy, empathy with victims, enemies of God, Evil, ex-terrorist, factional disputes, genocide, graciousness, Hebrew revival, Hebrew Scriptures, historian, historicity, Holocaust, Kasim Hafeez, mass murder, mass persecution, meditative silence, memory, mercilessness, new Covenant, New Israel, nice guys, normalized history, norms of decency, old Covenant, Old Testament, past life memory, pitilessness, promised land, Reform temple, reincarnation, remembering, resistence songs, saints, sanctuary, school spirit, Shekinah, Shoah, showing the flag, sincere clergy, spiritual victory, St. Augustine, supersessionism, Swedish incarnation, temple, The Bible, The Longest Hatred, theology of contempt, truthful sermon, victims, wandering Jew, warm bodies, witnessing, Yom HaShoah
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“Where’s the Self?”
“Where’s the Self?” The other night I had a dream in which I was driving east on Route 313 looking for a definition of the self. Continuing east, I had just passed the crossroad of Route 263 when I realized … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, Biblical God, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, poetry, political movements, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, self-deception, 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, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", autotheory, bad guys, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, defining evil, defining the good, delusions, delusions of selfhood, detecting evil, dream figures, Evil, God and the story, good and evil, good guys, good guys and bad guys, life story, living your story, memoir, personal narrative, personality, philosophical authorship, philosophical views of evil, philosophy and personal narrative, providence, providential intervention, publisher, reprints, spoiling the story, the good, the personal, updated reprint, vampires
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