Tag Archives: groupthink

The Other Culture War

The Other Culture War People live and die by ideas.  That’s not the only thing we live and die by, but ideas are big in the lives of all of us.  For the last 100 years or so, trend-setting thinkers … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, Biblical God, bureaucracy, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, femininity, feminism, freedom, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, mysticism, ontology, oppression, past and future, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romantic love, science, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, seventeenth century, sex appeal, sexuality, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, 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, Utopia, victimhood, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comprehending the Fate of Women

Comprehending the Fate of Women Alfred de Muset, the romantic French writer, wrote a play with the title, On ne badine pas avec l’amour, or in English, One Doesn’t Kid Around with Love.  The heroine of this play speaks a … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, childhood, chivalry, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, 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, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Worse, the Better?

The Worse, the Better? In the 1930’s a political strategy known as “worsism” was in fashion.   Worsists believed that the worse, the better! This meant, the more desperate people became, the closer we got to the revolution that would bring … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, bigotry, books, bureaucracy, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, martyrdom, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, oppression, past and future, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, secular, seduction, self-deception, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, terror, terrorism, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Beauty for the Birds?

Is Beauty for the Birds? We set up our deck fountain fairly late this summer and — as a result, it seemed – no birds came.  For weeks, they just stayed away.  This was very disappointing, since we watch them … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, books, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, erotic life, eternity, ethics, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, health, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, ideology, idolatry, literature, masculinity, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, ontology, peace, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, Renaissance, roles, romance, scientism, secular, sex appeal, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Male Gallantry

Male Gallantry Like Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven, here’s a topic that’s been tapping on the casement of my mind during the past few weeks.  It’s reminded me of an incident that happened some years back, when I was tenured, published … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, bigotry, chivalry, 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 of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, immorality, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, oppression, past and future, philosophy, poetry, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, 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, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nudnikerie: My Album of Antisemites

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, postmodernism, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shunning

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 the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Jews on the Brain”

“Jews on the Brain” Over time, I have from time to time lost a friend or two – to many forces and factors – but, among them, sudden and insistent incursions of anti-Jewish feeling. Interestingly, I’ve encountered relatively little anti-semitism … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eighteenth century, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, freedom, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, 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, mysticism, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, Renaissance, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Peer Pressure”

“Peer Pressure”  No one can resist peer pressure. Such is the judgment of Peter Berger, sociologist of knowledge. To this generalization, I am no exception. For that reason perhaps, peer pressure interests me. One time, I entered the lobby of … Continue reading

Posted in academe, action, alienation, cool, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, gender balance, Hegel, history of ideas, ideology, institutional power, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, relationships, roles, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of woman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment