Tag Archives: women friends

Friendship’s End

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Abigail

What else is there to record in a life except its possibilities for friendship? With what else could the political art be concerned? How else to measure a society or its relations between the sexes? I am in the midst … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, 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, female power, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, Idealism-, ideality, identity, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, male power, masculinity, master/slave relation, memory, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, non-violence, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, 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, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a southern lady, abandoned by friends, avoiding cynicism, becoming one's mother, blocking transcendence, bridging differences, brink of womanhood, bubble of privilege, cold hospitality, coming of age, damaged friendship, devout atheist, ego and friendship, ending a friendship, fearing a friend, feeling abandoned, female rivalry, feminine coming of age, feminine happiness, friendship and political differences, friendship and relations between the sexes, Fulbright scholars, girlhood and adulthood, girls and mothers, girls coming of age, group mores, healthy friendship, hopes of reunion, idealism disappointed, importance of friendship, lifelong friendships, maternal coldness, maternal hatred, mother daughter relations, newlywed shocks, philosophical friends, politics and friendship, providential coincidence, rationalizing pogroms, religious bullying, riding roughshod, romantic longing, shared past, social expectations, social ranking, testing someone's tolerance, transcendence and feminity, trendy anti-semitism, true love, unshared future, women friends, women victimizing women, worldliness versus idealism, worldly skills, young Americans in Paris, young girls in flower, youthful hopes | 2 Comments

In Quest of Healing

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Abigail

We are just back from one of our weeks in California, in quest of healing for my neuropathy. As I’ve said here before, the experimental treatment on offer at Loma Linda’s neuropathy clinic sees the illness as the result of … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art of living, autonomy, books, cities, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, female power, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, Jews, Judaism, life and death struggle, male power, masculinity, memory, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, oppression, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, science, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theology, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged anti-semitism, body shaming, consulting psychics, curable hurts, diagnostic mistakes, Director Mark Busssell, experimental treatment, finding meaning, harmful psychics, harmful shrinks, hypocrisy, incurable hurts, inflamation blockage, insider wounds, life review, life strategies, living honestly, lost innocence, medical frontier, mind/body, NDE, near death experiences, neuropathy, neuropathy treatment, placebo effect, processing suffering, psychoanalysis, psychosomatic, self-blame, somatizing painful experience, spontanious remissions, Thomas Nagel's subjective and objective in Mortal Questions, walking handicap, women friends | 5 Comments

Explain This.

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Abigail

Explain This. If the roof falls in or the ship is taking water, I’m the teammate you’ll want to have around. I’ll do anything that seems to need doing and I won’t try to be important while I’m about it. … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, bigotry, book reviews, books, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, female power, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, Idealism-, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, Jews, Judaism, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, martyrdom, memoir, memory, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, novels, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, poetry, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, 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, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 19th century novels, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", acupuncturist, avoiding platitudes, back to normal, barriers to friendship, can't make old friends, coming up roses, comrade in arms, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, covenantal renewal, defending the defenseless, extraordinary people, facing solitude, family reunion, fight with my name on it, friend in hospital, future Holocaust, going with the flow, group identity, illustrated books, in your lifeboat, Jewish origins, lifelong friendship, local sage, moral condescension, moral solidarity, multi-generational understanding, normality, ostracism, personal identity, picturing the story, post-surgical visit, preparing the Shoah, repairing friendship, rolling with the punches, social condescension, story and picture, teammate, unforced familiarity, what I am, who I am, women friends | 5 Comments

A Woman Friend

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Abigail

A Woman Friend To most women, our female friends are of great importance in our lives. If my mother was right when she said, “A friend is a witness to one’s life,” we call in our female friends to witness … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, 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, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, motherhood, novels, ontology, oppression, past and future, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, 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, 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 a woman’s anger, a woman’s world, Abigail L. Rosenthal’s Confessions of a Young Philosopher, allowing rescue, brutal marriage, childhood trauma, complexity and nuance of woman, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, coquetry, cruel mothers, desirability, diplomacy between women, dismissing religion, early disappointments, emotional wisdom, epicurean lifestyle, erotic happiness, feeling abandoned, female friends, feminine abyss, fragility of friendship, friend as witness, friendship, friendship breakup, go with the flow, ideal justice, incoherent narratives, injuries to self-image, insulting self-image, invisible realities, life struggles, living a true story, made up stories, male ambivalence, marital compatibility, marital partnership, men friends, men friends v women friends, Mr Wrong, personal life solutions, practical wisdom, problematic of justice, realm of thought, resumed friendship, self-protection, sounding board, spoiling others' stories, spoiling the story, supportive friendships, tact between women, thinking women, transcendence for women, travel, true story, woman confidantes, woman’s aims, woman’s self-image, women friends, women rescuing each other, women’s idealism | Leave a comment

The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Argument

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Abigail

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 | 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 | 2 Comments

Comprehending the Fate of Women

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Abigail

Comprehending the Fate of Women Alfred de Muset, the romantic French writer, wrote a play with the title, On ne badine pas avec l’amour, or in English, One Doesn’t Kid Around with Love. The heroine of this play speaks a … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, childhood, chivalry, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, 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, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 19th century novels, abusing women, actual v theoretical women, Alfred de Muset’s On ne badine pas avec l’amour, biological imperative, Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre", contraception and liberation, default position of women, defensive aggressiveness of women, desire and conquest, dynamic equilibrium of the sexes, educating women, egoistic weakness, egoistic willfulness, feminine power, groupthink, he had his way, le sort des femmes, male and female asymmetry, male dominance, male ego, male force, male self-command, masculine confusions, masculine nature, masculine will, modern clothes and liberation, Mr. Rochester, natural aggression, novelistic coincidences, perils of Jane Eyre, persuasive power, power-of-yielding, predicaments of women, protective love, public feminist, refrigerators and women, right to own property, right to vote, romantic French literature, self-sovereignty of women, self-supporting women, technology and women’s liberation, the fate of women, the private lives of public feminists, toxic masculinity, trust between women, unmanliness, vulnerability, what do women want?, women friends, women's vulnerability, women’s contingent freedom, women’s dignity | Leave a comment

The Death of a Friend

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Abigail

The Death of a Friend This week word came that my friend Shirley Kennedy had died. On the one hand, I was relieved for her. It was like hearing that a friend, unfairly imprisoned, had been set free. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in afterlife, art of living, autonomy, beauty, chivalry, class, contemplation, cool, courage, culture, desire, erotic life, eternity, ethics, existentialism, faith, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, health, heroes, hidden God, ideality, identity, immortality, Jews, life and death struggle, love, memoir, memory, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, ontology, past and future, peace, politics of ideas, power, presence, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, roles, romance, romantic love, scientism, secular, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a different woman, antebellum home, Back Bay Road, barrel racing, bodily failure, country friend, death as release, finding the true owners, G.I. Bride, home birth, horsemanship, humble gratitude, humble virtues, Jewish concerns, local historical society, local history, midwife, Milbridge Maine, Old Mainers, political extremism, post-war Germany, rodeo ribbons, selling the house you don’t own, Shirley Kennedy, sisterly feeling, the right of way, the shore strip, true friendship, understanding horses, Washington County, womanly arts, women friends | 2 Comments

Time and Me

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Abigail

Time and Me When I was a little girl, I didn’t worry about Time at all. I pretended I was a deer and roved the forests. I pretended I was a boy raised by wolves and roamed the jungle. Back … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, childhood, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, existentialism, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, identity, literature, love, masculinity, memoir, memory, moral psychology, mortality, motherhood, novels, ontology, past and future, peace, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, psychology, reading, reductionism, relationships, Renaissance, roles, romance, romantic love, 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, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged actualization and time, adolescence, adolescent boys, believing the unbelievable, book illustration, childhood’s end, coming of age, coquetry, coquetry in Europe, filling time, Flirting, flirting in America, future, getting your work done, growing pains, growing up in America, here today gone tomorrow, hypothetical and actual, imaginary worlds, intentionality, John Tenniel, knowing what’s real, knowing who one is, learning one’s purpose, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, life lessons, life regrets, life vocation, life’s work, Michelangelo, nostalgia, one’s calling, past, present, realization and time, running out of time, sufficient unto the day, teenage angst, temporality, the coming of reason, the lens of time, the real and the imaginary, Time, time and purpose, time flies, time of childhood, time’s wingéd chariot, to last and get your work done, wallflower, women friends, young girls in bloom | 2 Comments

A Moral Crisis

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Abigail

A Moral Crisis In A Good Look at Evil, I portray a moral crisis as a time when one’s story comes to a stop. The halt isn’t called because of an external obstacle. It comes from within. What causes this … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, memoir, memory, mind control, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, novels, ontology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, 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, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", academic praise, Authenticity, autobiography, behavioral norms, circumstantial constraints, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, crisis of faith, cultural beliefs, despair, disappointed expectation, disappointed hopes, Eric Voegelin Society, evil’s game, evil’s target, favorable auspices, favorable portents, ideal publisher, invisible script, let down, life path, life possibilities, life story, losing the script, loss of honor, loss of trust, making sense of one’s life, Moral crisis, multi-dimensional, narrative view, nonfiction novel, nonfiction story, personal beliefs, physical constraints, propensities and talents, publisher’s rejection, rejection, rejection letter, self-realization, self-trust, selfhood, Sense of identity, sense of self, shrewd adversary, social interdependence, social reciprocities, stopping the story, stratagems of evil, suicidal intent, thrownness, thwarting the story, true life novel, trust in the unseen, vulnerabilities, women friends, wrecking a life, youthful episodes | 1 Comment

Womanly Arts

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Abigail

Womanly Arts At the Eric Voegelin Society conference we attended this week in D.C., Jerry and I were on a panel entitled “Life as a Spiritual Journey.” They went awfully well — both of our (totally different) presentations. For the … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, motherhood, oppression, past and future, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, roles, romance, romantic love, 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, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", acculturated behavior, adaptive behavior, advising daughters, advising sons, Americans in Paris, arbitrary values, autonomic functions, conference panelists, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, contingency of values, cultural denial, economic substructure, Eric Voegelin Society, ethology, feminine reality, feminine virtues, feminist movement, Fullbright Grantees, gender acculturation, German Occupation of Paris, high-sounding words, life as a spiritual journey, Marxist remedies, masculine virtues, memoir, modeling manhood, modeling virtue, modeling womanhood, nature and nurture, painting in oils, parental guidance, Parisian impressions, personal bungling, pre-feminist, professed ideals, professional bungling, professional success, public feminist, selling the Brooklyn Bridge, Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, speaker’s anxiety, strategic mistakes, subsurface fears, surface idealism, the absurd, the feminine art, the masculine art, traditional virtues, tragic circumstances, Washington D.C., womanization, womanly fulfillment, women friends, you can’t say it, young American women | Leave a comment

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