Tag Archives: philosophy

Married Philosophers Discuss Confessions: Preface, Part 3

Today Dr. Jerry L. Martin and Dr. Abigail L. Rosenthal (author of Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column) carry forward last week’s discussion of her new book, Confessions of a Young Philosopher. Let’s see how their discussion continues. *** *** Jerry: You just believed in … Continue reading

Posted in action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, 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, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, Married Philosophers Discuss Confessions, Married Philosophers Discuss Confessions, martyrdom, masculinity, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, Nihilism, 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, scientism, secular, self-deception, sex appeal, 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, twentieth century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Married Philosophers Discuss Confessions: Preface, Part 2

Today, Dr. Jerry L. Martin and Dr. Abigail L. Rosenthal (author of Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column) carry forward last week’s discussion of Confessions of a Young Philosopher. Let’s see how their discussion continues.  ***   Jerry: Having said that true love … Continue reading

Posted in action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, 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, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, Nihilism, 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, scientism, secular, self-deception, sex appeal, 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, twentieth century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Types of Intelligence

Two Types of Intelligence We’ve been in California this past week.  That’s where I go periodically for neuropathy treatments.  This time, the improvements weren’t merely measurable but also experiential.  For example, when we were trying to get to our connecting … Continue reading

Posted in academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, books, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, femininity, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, Jews, Judaism, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, modern women, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, ontology, past and future, philosophy, poetry, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, psychology, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, 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, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

For the Love of Wisdom

For the Love of Wisdom When I first began my graduate studies in philosophy, I’d be told – in so many words as well as body language – that any residual hopes of finding wisdom in this field should be … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, books, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, institutional power, law, literature, love, masculinity, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, motherhood, ontology, past and future, peace, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, 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, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snobbism

Snobbism I was reminded of how much I hate snobbism by another biography of a philosopher.  Having just finished Ray Monk’s Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius, from which I learned about a man, an era and a creative philosophical method … Continue reading

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, anthropology, art of living, autonomy, books, bureaucracy, childhood, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, life and death struggle, male power, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, oppression, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sexuality, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spirituality, status, status of women, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Alter Egos

Alter Egos  I’ve just finished reading the remaining chapters of my book, A Good Look at Evil. Though it’s a contribution to the field of philosophy, it has a dramatic build to it.  Initial chapters deal with the conceptual battles … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art of living, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, non-violence, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jewish Time

Jewish Time  Lately, I’ve had a growing sense of living my life on something I call “Jewish Time.”  Have I anything concrete in view? In my childhood, when my parents were awaiting Israeli dinner guests, they expected them to be … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Bible, Biblical God, books, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, Hegel, hegemony, hidden God, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, memoir, memory, mind control, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, novels, ontology, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, self-deception, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, 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, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Delusions of Intellection

Delusions of Intellection  “People live and die by ideas!”  “You are what you think – much more than what you eat!” With encouraging words like these, I would try to persuade students in an intro course to see the study … Continue reading

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, law, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, nineteenth-century, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, radicalism, reductionism, relationships, Renaissance, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, status, status of women, 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

Persecution and the Art of Writing

  Persecution and the Art of Writing That’s the catchy title of a book published in the 1950’s by a man named Leo Strauss – initially derided, later enormously influential.  Outside philosophy and political theory, Strauss’s name is not generally … Continue reading

Posted in action, art, art of living, books, contradictions, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, feminism, history of ideas, literature, love, philosophy, political, politics, politics of ideas, public facade, public intellectual, reading, relationships, roles, romantic love, social construction, social conventions, status, status of women, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments