Tag Archives: Lionel Trilling
Competitive Friendships
Competitive Friendships When, as a young woman, I returned from a year in Paris with an affair to conceal (because that’s what you did about that sort of thing in those days) my women friends from high school and college … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, childhood, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, institutional power, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, nineteenth-century, novels, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, 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, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way" by Henry M. Rosenthal; ed. Abigail L. Rosenthal, 19th century sage, academic party, Americans in Paris, assimilationism, Atheism, autobiographical story, “God is dead”, belief in God, bitch goddess, brass ring, brilliant career, broken friendship, companionship, confidants, conversion, cooling friendships, English culture, English Literature, father/daughter relationship, first love, friendship, Fulbright year, group think, Henry M. Rosenthal, inner conviction, Jewish defenses, Jewish identity, Jewish irony, life choice, Life in Culture: The Selected Letters of Lionel Trilling; ed. Adam Kirsch, Lionel Trilling, literary gifts, living at a depth, male friendship, man of God, marital sweepstakes, marriage market, missionary efforts, National Geographic films, only game in town, personal identity, personal pathway, personal transparency, philosopher, popularity, Public Intellectual, rabbinate, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rat race, secret affair, short story, social advantage, social convenience, social life, social wars, standing by your friends, Success, The Menorah Journal, the problematic of branding, theologian, Thomas Altizer, winners and losers, women friends, youthful promise
Leave a comment
The Man from Dothan
The Man from Dothan In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, there is a brief but indispensable walk-on part played by a figure of whom we learn only that he is “from Dothan.” He guides young Joseph to Dothan … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, glitterati, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, motherhood, past and future, philosophy, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, 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 7 lean years, archives, Authenticity, Bible, brilliant career, Columbia class of 1925, covenant with God, cultural celebrity, dream interpretation, Egyptian bondage, false accusations, false imprisonment, father/daughter relationship, filial piety, friends of youth, Genesis, God-intoxicated, Henry M. Rosenthal, honor, integrity, intellectual memoir, Jewish existence, Jewish fear, Jewish self-contempt, Jewish vocation, Joseph in Egypt, Joseph revealed, Joseph's brothers, Joseph's coat of many colors, Lionel Trilling, male friendship, Man from Dothan, masked identity, Midianites, Modernity, Moses, oldest hatred, Passover story, paternal last will, Pharaoh's dreams, Potiphar, Potiphar's house, Potiphar's wife, precognitive dreams, Public Intellectual, sibling rivalry, Sinaitic covenant, Ten Commandments, The class genius, The Trilling correspondence, Trilling's students, Ur-story, writer's block
4 Comments
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
1 Comment
Memoirs, True or False?
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
