Tag Archives: providence
Our Twenty-Fourth Anniversary
As of last Friday, Jerry and I have been married for twenty-four years. By the time we met, neither of us expected to meet our true love – Mr. and Ms. Right – much less meet the way we did. … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, Idealism-, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, ontology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, 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, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's A Good Look at Evil, academic excellence, acting on principle, analytic and continental philosophy, Brooklyn College, chance and providence, college administration, collegial conversation, commuting marriage, defending principles, defending who one is, destruction of the second temple, fact and fiction, faculty vote, failed marriage, fighting the good fight, Finding Mr. Right, giving up personal life, God makes divorces, God makes marriages, Graduate Center of CUNY, happy endings, improbable romance, inharmonious marriage, institutional intimidation, intimidated faculty, Israeli cousins, Jerry L. Martin, Jerusalem 70 CE, liberal arts curriculum, love and self protection, love when you least expect it, marital relations, marriage broker, married love, Mr. Right, Ms. Right, no atheists in foxholes, note in the Western Wall, personal defenses, personal life balance, petitionary prayer, philosophical colleagues, philosophical research, philosophy at Sydney University, prayer at the wall, principled life at personal cost, providence, providence and coincidence, religious skeptics, romance and self protection, romantic disappointment, romantic disillusion, romantic interest, romantic other, saving liberal arts, saving the core, secret ballots, selfless act, sense of self, serendipity and providence, shared values, strategic prayer, The Western Wall, true love, vulnerability, wedding anniversary
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Sacrificial Acts
Sacrificial Acts A review of mine, written in support of an author I greatly admire, was just accepted for publication. It was written at the sacrifice of long-postponed time and energy that, right now, I really needed to expend … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, art of living, autonomy, books, bureaucracy, cities, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, 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, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, martyrdom, masculinity, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political, politics of ideas, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, sex appeal, 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, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way" by Henry M. Rosenthal; ed. Abigail L. Rosenthal, 17th Century Philosophers, academia, altruism, “Brooklyn Connections”, Benedict Spinoza, Brooklyn College, career advancement, career sacrifice, college curriculum, deathbed promise, expecting pay off, expecting rewards, faculty fight, father fixation, father/daughter relationships, finding balance, getting published, happy endings, higher education, honoring commitments, impromptu speech, invited speaker, Jerry L. Martin, job struggle, knowing what is due, Life Force, love at first sight, love sight unseen, modern philosophy, online editors, online publications, overcoming the ego, personal life, posthumous work, professional advancement, professional reputation, professional standing, providence, publication, self-sacrifice, setting priorities, strategic acumen, tea with friends, teaching obligations, Thomas Hobbes, unexpected rewards, unjust firing, unpublished manuscript, unselfishness
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How Can I Tell If It’s God?
How Can I Tell If It’s God? I have Christian friends who tell me that a moment came in their experience when “everything changed.” They “met the living God.” Another friend, Jewish, who’s pretty well versed in Yoga, recently reported … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, 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, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, mysticism, nineteenth-century, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, 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, romantic love, scientism, secular, self-deception, 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, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Atheism, Authenticity, becoming oneself, Bible movies, burning bush, childhood religious training, Christians, coincidence, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, entering bliss, Epistemology, finding one's identity, founder of Modern Philosophy, Freudian view, gender of God, Hegelian view, Jesus in the movies, Jewish miracle, Jewish view, King James version, Kumbhaka, life saga, losing faith, making sense, meaning what you say, meeting God, Method of Doubt, miracle, miracle or coincidence, Moses in the movies, Patajali’s Yoga Sutras, providence, providential intervention, Real Voice, Rene Descartes, self-discovery, Spinozistic view, suspension of breath, theory of doubt, theory of knowledge, turning Godward, voice of God, weekly journals, yoga meditation
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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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For Rabbi Delcau, July 8th, 2016
For Rabbi Delcau, July 8th, 2016 Looking back over our four years with Rabbi Delcau, here are some sides of his presence that will always stand out for me. He has been a font of faith in this temple. If … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, idealism, ideality, identity, idolatry, Jews, legal responsibility, literature, love, martyrdom, masculinity, memory, modernism, mortality, mysticism, non-violence, past and future, peace, political, power, presence, promissory notes, psychology, public facade, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, self-deception, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged advocate for Israel, argument from design, balancing books, BDS, Boycott Sanction and Divestment, burning bush, contagion of cynicism, contagion of faith, contagion of pessimism, cynicism, debating Israel, defending Israel, dialogue with God, emotional distance, emotional presence, facing facts, facing the music, Faith, fear and Jews, for such a time as this, God of Israel, God's call, God's micromanaging, gratitude, Hashem, hostile questions, hostility to Israel, insolvency, Israel as home, keeping accounts, moral accounting, Mordecai and Ester, Moses, Moses in Midian, natural faith, pessimism, Presbyterian BDS, proof of God, providence, Rabbi Mitchell Delcau, rabbinic mission, reaping what you sow, Reform Judaism, resentment, speaking to God, Synagogue finances, temple search committee, terror and Jews, The Name, Torah Study, unselfconscious religion
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“Abandonment”
“Abandonment” Eloi eloi lama sabachthani These were the recorded penultimate words of Jesus dying on the cross. It’s a quote from a Davidic psalm, but clearly, for him, not an experience at second hand. My God, my God, why hast … 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, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, martyrdom, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, non-violence, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, power, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romantic love, seduction, self-deception, social conventions, spiritual not religious, spirituality, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged abandonment, addiction, addictive anti-semitism, alcoholism, anti-semitism, Aramaic, book signing, chariots of fire, chariots of Israel, coarsened national mood, coarsening of discourse, coarsening of public life, conversations with Jesus, creative people, crucifixion, Davidic psalm, Edward Alexander's Jews Against Themselves, Eloi eloi lama sabachthani, evidence for God, experience of God, false memory, fellowship, forsakenness, genocide, God's care, hippies, Holocaust, Jesus, Jesus in synagogues, Jewish fear, Jewish guilt, Jewish history, Jewish memory, Leo Bronstein, longest hatred, national discourse, past life memory, past lives, peace and love, peace on earth, peaceful thoughts, Pebble Hill Church, politicide, providence, recognition, refuge, religious "nones", retired hippies, sbnr, Second Kings 2:9, Second Kings 6:15, seekers, settled creeds, Shoah, spiritual but not religious, spiritual evolution, state of Israel, sympathy, synagogues, tenderness, the prophet Elisha, travail of life
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Put-Downs
Put-Downs More than one accomplished male philosopher I know has confessed, in a let-your-hair-down moment, to having lived for years in fear of the moment when the world would discover the Total Fraud he really was and get him Unmasked. … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Bible, chivalry, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immortality, institutional power, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, mind control, mortality, non-violence, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, propaganda, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, slave, 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, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged academic intrigue, academic pecking order, academic perks, academic politics, academic privilege, adversarial proceeding, Africa, angels, anger, animality, Arbitration, Arbitration Award, belittling, Biblical Daniel, Britain, brittleness, brutal forces, brutality, caricature, civilization, civilizations, colleagues, collegiality, conquest, corporation counsel, cross examination, cruelty, Daniel and the Lion's Den, Divine deliverance, doctoral degree, failure, grievance, hearing room, hegemony, Henry Ossawa Tanner, human civilization, human cruelty, human kindness, human suffering, humankind, hysterical females, imperialism, institutional rank, lawyering, major insults, major league, male philosophers, memoir, minor insults, miracles, moral rank, Ms., North and South America, open-heartedness, Oppression, peer review, philosophic frauds, power plays, powerful critics, professional power, providence, put downs, Q&A, seeing the story, self-advertisement, self-deprecation, self-promotion, slavery, Slavic countries, Success, suffering, sworn testimony, testimony under oath, The City University, the lion's mouth, Thomas Sowell's "Conquests and Cultures: An International History", titles, tragic annals, under oath, Union grievance, unmasking frauds, victimization
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