Tag Archives: self-respect
What Is Truth?
The question, famously put to Jesus by Pontius Pilate, was prompted by Jesus’ self-report that he had come to bear witness to the truth. Without capitalizing “Truth,” so that it acquires other-worldly sound-and-light effects – isn’t bearing witness to the … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, 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, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, Nihilism, nineteenth-century, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, 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, racism, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, remembrance, repairing the culture, roles, romantic love, romanticism, science, 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, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, Truth, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal’s A Good Look at Evil, acculturation and maturation, aesthetic theory, bearing witness, beyond good and evil, celebration of the novel, characters in novels, children’s adaptation to grownups, continental know-it-all, cultural history, culture and meaning, culture as influence on purpose, despair as affectation, destroying the culture, discerning life purpose, discerning one’s purpose, evil defined, evildoers and innocent purposes, evildoers attacking ordinary purpose, fashionable despair, feminine self-respect, fiction and nonfiction, good and evil, Guido Mazzoni’s Theory of the Novel, initial purposes, intellectual influence, Jesus, ladies don’t believe this creep, libertine Gnosticism, life as a journey, life as a pilgrimage, life as a quest, literary criticism, literary history, mapping and purpose, moral anomie, moral flatness, mutual influence in society, nineteenth-century novels, novelistic life stories, novels and real-life, Pontius Pilate, preferred purposes, pretense of amorality, revising purposes, seducer’s line, seducing the reader, self-definition, self-discovery, self-education, self-respect, stories true and false, story as putting purpose to the test, storylines, subjectivity mischaracterized, technique of seduction, testing purposes, the nature of evil, the novel, trials and errors, true stories, truth and falsehood, truth and postmodernism, truth vs fiction, undermining the culture, What is truth?, what you see is what you get
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Jewish Forgiveness
Jewish Forgiveness For some readers, this title is an oxymoron and might even prompt a double take. Are we talking about non-Jews forgiving Jews, and how they can do it? Surely Jews have a problem with forgiveness and grace. Jews … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, bigotry, books, Christianity, contemplation, contradictions, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, Idealism-, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memory, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, politics, politics of ideas, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, 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, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged accepting apologies, analytic ethics, bearing witness, British Analytic Philosophy, careless absolution, cheap grace, Christian culture, Christian forgiveness, common humanity, complexity of forgiveness, concern for justice, Day of Atonement, Emmanuel Levinas, Eve Garrard and David McNaughton's Forgiveness, evil unmitigated, evil's charm, evil's magnetism, excusing wrongdoing, foolish good intentions, foolish well-meaning, forcing good will, forgiveness withheld, forgiver and forgiven, forgiving injuries, generic humanity, God is watching, God's forgiveness, Hassidic master, Holocaust victims, honoring victims, human progress, human solidarity, identifying with wrongdoers, Jewish forgiveness, Jewish v Christian forgiveness, justice v self-interest, law v grace, looking good while being bad, misplaced fellow feeling, moral discernment, moral philosophy, moral vulnerability, parables of Jesus, prodigal son, rabbinic midrash, redeemable evil, repentance, secular viewpoint, self-promotion, self-respect, sincere apology, sincere regret, soul's redemption, spiritual discernment, spiritual intelligence, telling right from wrong, there but for the grace of God, thick skin, wrongdoers reform, Yaffa Eliach’s Hassidic Tales of the Holocaust, Yom Kippur
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The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Argument
The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Argument Arguing, in the philosophical sense, doesn’t mean quarreling. The term “argument” designates one or more statements, each capable of being true or false, which present the basis for a final statement called the conclusion. … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, immorality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master/slave relation, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social climbing, 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, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged actual human encounters, ad hominem fallacy, American Philosophical Association, analyzing argument situations, analyzing arguments, angry women, another woman’s marriage, answering with silence, anti-semitism, argument situations, argument stratagems, at a loss, bad argument, basis for knowledge, blindsided, body language, Christina Hoff Sommers, coded anti-Semitism, collegial friendship, collegial taboos, conclusion, contemporary feminism, covert aggression, covert anti-Semitism, criteria, critic of feminism, defenseless, false reasons, female friendships, feminine reasoning, feminist argument, feminist audience, feminist boundaries, feminist philosophers, fielding insults, flinging an epithet, friendship breakup, George Bernard Shaw's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism, guilt tripping, how to argue, informal logic, insulting your friend’s wife, intellectual boundaries, intellectual space, intelligent woman, irrelevant reasons, Jerry L. Martin, killing time, knowing better, linguistic consensus, loaded question, Logic, logic lessons, losing an argument, male combatant, male friendship, male quarrels, male/female combatants, man to man combat, masculine reasoning, my friend’s husband, neuropathy treatments, offending a wife, old friends, passive-aggressive insults, premise, preserving friendship, preserving social protocol, propositions, proving manhood, real life argument, real life argument context, reasoning, reasons to believe, responding to insults, self-respect, shared objectives, smiling insult, social insult, social self-respect, sound argument, speechless, statements, supporting an argument, term of art, textbook argument, the art of argument, theory of argument, unstated issues, valid argument, verbal counter-attack, virgin territory, women friends
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The Case of Patricia Hearst
The Case of Patricia Hearst Usually, when I write the weekly column for “Dear Abbie,” I’m in a reasonably upbeat state of mind, but I’m moved to write this one by anger and indignation. My outrage is prompted by Dana … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, journalism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modernism, mortality, nineteenth-century, oppression, past and future, poetry, political, political movements, politics, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, social climbing, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, status, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged activism, activists, assaults on self, bank robbery, Berkeley CA, betrayal, betrayal of comrades, blaming the victim, brainwashing, breaking the spirit, can't make an omelete, Citizen Kane, class enemy, class hatred, class privilege, coerced confession, coercive persuasion, commuted sentence, courtroom testimony, cults, Dana Spiotta, dignity, empathy, enemy of the people, envy, feminist writers group, feminists, Field Marshall Cinque, guerrilla group, hating the rich, hostage, human freedom, humiliation, identity, Jeffrey Toobin's American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst, kidnapping, life's lottery, limits of freedom, loss of identity, Loyalty, Marcus Foster, Mind Control, Native Americans, newspaper baron, nom de guerre, omelette, Orson Wells, Patty Hearst, Patty Hearst syndrome, pride, prison sentence, privilege, ransom, rape, rape as political, revolutionaries, revolutionary law breaking, revolutionary solidarity, ridicule, robberies, Robert Jay Lifton's Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'Brainwashing' in China, ruling class, sado-masochistic fantasies, self as social construct, self-respect, Shana Alexander, Shana Alexander's Anyone's Daughter: The Times and Trials of Patricia Hearst, Sigmund Freud, SLA, socialization, Spanish Inquisition, Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will, Symbionese Liberation Army, testimony, testimony under oath, The New York Times Book Review, Times Op Ed, torture, urban guerrillas, vulnerability, W. H. Auden, W.H. Auden's In Memory of W B Yeats, What does woman want?, William Randolph Hearst, witness, womanly sympathy
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“Style”
“Style” Years ago, my acupuncturist used to know a guru named Ramamurti. He still has a following, although he has since passed to his reward. I am told that there are ashrams in Pennsylvania now dedicated to this guru. How … Continue reading →
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, autonomy, chivalry, Christianity, class, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, mind control, modernism, motherhood, non-violence, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, propaganda, psychology, public intellectual, race, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, 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, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged acculturation, Australian philosophy, baiters, beleaguered peoples, careerism, careers, chutzpah, classroom examples, collegial friendships, collegiality, conduct unbecoming, conflict of duties, congresswomen, contradictions, defensiveness, discrimination, Down Under, empathy, ex-husbands, fairness, Feminism, founding feminists, founding mothers, funeral mourners, funeral pyres, gender bias, Gloria Steinem, good style, guru, haiku, hecklers, Hinduism, holy men, honor, honorable, humor, Jews, jokes about Jews, knowing how to behave, malevolence, Maxine Waters, moral high ground, moral quicksand, neurosurgeons, personal dignity, personal vs professional life, political advocacy, political friendships, poor style, public dialogue, public figures, public friendships, pulling rank, Ramamurti S Mishra MD, resurrection, Richard J. Firnhaber acupuncturist, right on the beat, right on the note, saints, self-respect, social aggression, social attitudes, social barriers, social embarrasment, social gifts, social quicksand, social unease, social victim, synagogues, the Jewish assignment, the right comeback, unfairness, vulnerability, wifely duties, wit, Women in Mathematics, zen
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“Ain’t I a Person?”
“Ain’t I a Person?” What’s a person? Am I a person? All the time? Is God? What’s going on when people say yes or no to questions like that? Jerry and I were in D.C. this week to celebrate the … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, cities, contemplation, contradictions, cool, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, heroes, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, mind control, motherhood, non-violence, ontology, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, social conventions, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged "the fix", academe, addiction, adulthood, alcoholism, anti-semitism, argument, autonomy, Brooklyn, Brooklyn College, collegiality, communication, corruption, D.C., dangers, defensiveness, dialogue, dignity, dumbstruck, empathy, fear, feminine identity, Feminism, fractional self, friendship, girlhood, God as Person, gothic, graft, grifters, happy child, healing, hidden self, higher ed, identity, inner core, innocence, interpretive frame, Jewish self-respect, Jewish students, life stages, loss, missing persons, opinions, orthodox Jews, person, personal God, personhood, philosophy, photo documentary, presence, reason, religious sincerity, righteous combats, self-respect, shock, teenage, toxic, trust, verbal hate, wholeness, womanhood, words, young-girl-in-flower
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“The Suffering of the Situation”
“The Suffering of the Situation” While the record snowfall piled up, higher than my shoulders where it touched the house in some corners, I was not thinking how beautiful it all was. I was not breaking out the marshmallows to … Continue reading →