Tag Archives: street smarts
The Soul Writ Large
The Soul Writ Large Plato wrote a dialogue on political justice. In English it’s titled The Republic. Besides Socrates, the major speakers are Plato’s two brothers. They are trying to solve a problem that’s been set up by an intruder … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute freedom and terror, Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, Anthropology, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, Bible, Biblical God, bigotry, books, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, 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, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, Medieval, Memoir, memory, Messianic Age, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, social climbing, social construction, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, 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 Abigail L Rosenthal’s Confessions of a Young Philosopher, American in Paris, British attitudes to women, cultural density, cultural layers, culture and nature, Darwinian struggle, escape from history, Fulbright fellowship, gnostic belief system, masculine culture, personal as political, philosophy and the feminine, Plato, political justice, power as explanatory, power struggle, real-world problems, Socratic dialogue, soul writ large, spiritual exhaustion, street smarts, student life in Paris, study abroad, The Republic, Thrasymachus, unreal solutions, utopian delusions, women’s fears
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Days of Awe
Days of Awe On the anniversary of September 11, I often rerun the column that I posted here in September 2001, after my visit to the City, a week later. Like many people, I’d felt shattered by the attack on … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, beauty, Biblical God, Christianity, Cities, Contemplation, Contradictions, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Jews, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Love, Martyrdom, Masculinity, Medieval, memory, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, relationships, Religion, Roles, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, 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 9/11, American crisis, art protection, Book of Job, Byzantine crucifix, city walking, cultural crisis, defining event, desire to live, divine immanence, Faith, fear, fearfulness, FEMA, first responders, gratitude, grief, Ground Zero, Henry M. Rosenthal's "Prayer and Its Power", heroes, Kali, loss, Lower Manhattan, mental concentration, mental focus, Metropolitan Museum, National Guard, New York City, New York cops, New York firemen, New York resilience, New Yorkers, power of prayer, prayer, psychological fragmentation, Rabbi, realism, self-integration, sermon, sincerity, sorrow, spirit, spiritual focus, street smarts, terrorism, Todd Stone, transcendence, urban attack, walking intelligently, war zone
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September 11, A Week Later
This post, written the week after September 11, 2011, is dedicated to Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz. Starting at the 88th floor on the North Tower, they went from floor to floor calling out to people who crouched in … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Cities, Contradictions, Cool, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Ethics, Evil, Faith, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Heroes, History, history of ideas, Ideality, Ideology, Idolatry, Institutional Power, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Memoir, non-violence, Peace, Political, Political Movements, Power, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Roles, Spirituality, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, Theism, Time, twentieth century, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged 9/11, art protection, attack, Byzantine crucifix, city walkers, cops, crisis, crisis center, cultural crisis, defining event, emergency vehicles, Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, Faith, fear, fearfulness, FEMA, fire station, first responders, God Bless America, gratitude, Ground Zero, heroes, immanence, Jihad, Job, Kali, Lower Manhattan, Metropolitan Museum, National Guard, New York City, New York Subway, New Yorkers, realism, sorrow, spirit, sprit of the City, street smarts, terrorism, Todd Stone, transcendence, TV history, urban neighborhood, voyeurism, walking intelligently, Wall Street, war zone
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September 11, A Week Later –
This post, written the week after September 11, 2011, is dedicated to Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz. Starting at the 88th floor on the North Tower, they went from floor to floor calling out to people who crouched in … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Action, Alienation, Art, Cities, Contradictions, Cool, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Ethics, Evil, Faith, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Heroes, History, history of ideas, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Institutional Power, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Memoir, non-violence, Peace, Political, Political Movements, Power, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Roles, Spirituality, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, Theism, Time, twenty-first century, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged 9/11, art protection, attack, Byzantine crucifix, city walkers, cops, crisis, crisis center, cultural crisis, defining event, emergency vehicles, Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, Faith, fear, fearfulness, FEMA, fire station, first responders, God Bless America, gratitude, Ground Zero, heroes, immanence, Jihad, Job, Kali, Lower Manhattan, Metropolitan Museum, National Guard, New York City, New York Subway, New Yorkers, realism, sorrow, spirit, sprit of the City, street smarts, terrorism, Todd Stone, transcendence, TV history, urban neighborhood, voyeurism, walking intelligently, Wall Street, war zone
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“Losers”
“Losers” The Loser is the epitome, the spittin’ image, of what we don’t want to be. One time I shared, with a fireman friend, how it feels when you walk down the street feeling like one. “And everybody knows,” my … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, life and death struggle, Philosophy, Psychology, relationships, Social Conventions, The Examined Life
Tagged abuses, aggression, birthright, blessing, crime, desolation, despair, economics, Edward Said, Emanuel Levinas, empathy, envy, fathers, firemen, French philosophers, hatred, Jacob and Esau, losers, manipulation, motivation, one-upmanship, philanthropy, psychology, rejection, self-destructiveness, sibling rivalry, sociobiology, solitude., street smarts, the Other, theories, violence, web of belief
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“Courage”
“Courage” Courage, Plato said, is knowing what ought to scare you, and what ought not to. What Plato said reminds me of the time I was driving home from the JFK airport in a rainstorm so ferocious that one passed … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, life and death struggle, Psychology, Social Conventions
Tagged blackout, courage, guidance, guts, handicaps, hazardous driving, hero, hitchhiking, JFK airport, male predators, Manhattan, New York City, pay phones, Plato, Port Authority, power failure, prayer, Rotary Club, street smarts, vulgarity, West Orange, wisdom
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