Tag Archives: vulnerability
“The Elevator Pitch”
“The Elevator Pitch” We fly to San Antonio this Thursday, to attend meetings of the American Academy of Religion. Jerry will chair two panels and meet colleagues in connection with the project he founded: Theology Without Walls. Why am I … Continue reading →
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Christianity, cities, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, masculinity, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romantic love, 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, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged AAR, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", acquisitions editors, advertising, American Academy of Religion, aporia, Augustine’s Confessions, author, autobiography, belief system, book exhibits, Christian conversion, Christian theology, Clinton's loss, communication, concubine, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, contemporary world views, creativity, creativity v marketing, crying uncontrollably, Dallas Airport, dialectic, Donald Trump, elevator pitch, epiphanies, first autobiography, first person narrative, getting heard, getting noticed, getting published, getting your heart broke, great saint, heartbreak, Hillary Clinton, holding your own, influence, intellectual space, life as story, live and learn, lived philosophy, lived story, living one's beliefs, looking like a winner, losers, marketing, mother nature, networking, opinion shapers, pagan diversions, pagan views, Pauline theology, philosophical experience, philosophical journey, playing the victim, public attention, publishing, put on a happy face, recieved hypotheses, resisting victimization, Roman circus, sales techniques, selling yourself, spiritual journey, St. Augustine, storied lives, tests of experience, the book business, Theology Without Walls, Trump's victory, TWW, vulnerability, well of tears, winners, winners and losers, winning the presidency, woman's spiritual journey, woman's spirituality, women fighting back, women holding their own, writer
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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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“Reality and Unreality”
“Reality and Unreality” Reality or unreality – does it matter? As I sometimes mention here, Léo Bronstein was my father’s best friend and a kind of godfather to me. One of the many things he did for me – for … Continue reading →
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, action, alienation, art, autonomy, childhood, cities, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, mind control, modernism, mysticism, ontology, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, power, psychology, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sexuality, slave, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, time, twentieth century, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged acupuncture, anomalies, Bellevue Hospital, childhood trauma, circus, clues, Communists, communists in the closet, decoding, delusion, detective story, detective work, discernment, dumbwaiter, eavesdropping, evidence, family, fathers, freak show, freaks, friendship, Holocaust memories, Holocaust rescue, humiliation, illusion, Léo Bronstein's Fragments of Life Metaphysics and Art, Leo Bronstein, madness, mentorship, metaphysics, midgets, musicians, mystery, New York City, New York cops, normality, past lives, paterfamilias, patriarchs, Phyllis Chesler's Women and Madness, proof of insanity, reality, reality checks, refuting instance, relevant facts, Richard Firnhaber acupuncture, Russian soul, seduction, seductive genius, sensitivity, society, STD treatment, The Underground, theatrical, tragedy, unreality, Upper Bohemia, venereal disease, vulnerability
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“Unhappiness”
“Unhappiness” Now there’s a rich topic! It seems easier to do (achieve) than happiness, or at least easier to write about. The New York Times Book Review — where you have a weekly roundup of what the people who read, … Continue reading →
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, autonomy, chivalry, cities, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, mind control, modernism, peace, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, writing, Zeitgeist
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Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", alienation, angst, anomie, anxiety, Australia, Australian unhappiness, bad guys, Brené Brown's "The Power of Vulnerability", choice of evils, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, despair, doom, enabling, failed romance, falling in love, false love, first love, frustration, generosity, good guys, happy endings, heartbreak, hidden facts, hidden life, Homer's Odyssey, lies and identity, literate readers, looking to score, lying, Mr. Right, New York Times Book Review, Odysseus, predators, psychic stability, rescuing others, Romance, saving others, seducers, self-sacrifice, Siren's Song, social defenses, staying in love, stolen identity, the fadeout, The Right Guy, the shootout, true love, unavoidable losses, unhappiness, unhappy loves, unhappy women Down Under, unsuitable loves, vulnerability, Westerns, writers
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“Jane Austen”
“Jane Austen” The Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle was once asked whether he read novels. He is supposed to have answered, “Yes, all six of them.” How is it that Jane Austen, the author of those six and quintessential novelist-of-women, had … Continue reading →
Posted in academe, art, culture, femininity, gender balance, literature, nineteenth-century, relationships, social conventions, the examined life, the problematic of woman
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Tagged Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bullying, coquetry, courtship, cynicism, Emma, Englishmen, feelings, Gilbert Ryle, girls, gossip, hard truths, Jane Austen, Literature, lying, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, persona, Persuasion, Plato, Pride and Prejudice, principles, Sense and Sensibility, social space, tact, the novel, vulgarity, vulnerability, Women
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“Guilt”
“Guilt” If anyone wants to control us, whether we’re women or men, short of violence the quickest way to get hold of us is by the guilt we carry. If we don’t want to fall prey to the controllers, we … Continue reading →
Posted in culture, desire, erotic life, femininity, feminism, gender balance, relationships, social conventions, the examined life, the problematic of woman
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Tagged accusations, brainwashing, conscience, control, Feminism, gender roles, guilt, guilt trip, Hercules, manipulation, morality, sociobiology, The Scarlett Letter, vulnerability
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“Heartbreak”
“Heartbreak” So far as I’ve been able to see, this is a world of desire. If we no longer care to live, there’s a fair chance we won’t. Depending on how deep it goes, our bodies will take the message. … Continue reading →
Posted in culture, desire, erotic life, femininity, philosophy, relationships, sexuality, social conventions
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Tagged broken heart, cynicism, desire, feelings, God, heartbreak, hope, hurt, love, suffering, the human heart, tragedy, vulnerability
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“Seduction”
“Seduction” Thanks to the “most interesting man in the world,” pictured above in the ad for Mexican beer, I don’t have to explain what I mean by “seduction.” Look deeply and fixedly into his eyes, ladies, and tell me nothing … Continue reading →
Posted in culture, desire, erotic life, femininity, feminism, gender balance, history of ideas, literature, masculinity, philosophy, political, psychology, relationships, sexuality, social conventions, the examined life, the problematic of woman
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Tagged classical antiquity, coquetry, courting, Creator, Flirting, girl, God, intimacy, Knesset, love, Marriage, Rabbi, relationships, Roman, Romance, seduction, sex, suitor, the most interesting man in the world, vulnerability, woman
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