Holy Foolishness

Time for a dose of the surreal—Slavoj Zizek says Donald Trump is channeling spiritual genius : Yurodivy  is the Russian Orthodox version of the holy fool who feigns insanity so he can deliver a message so dangerous for those in power that, if stated directly, it would cause a brutal . . . . Continue Reading »

Moby-Dick and Science Writing

On his Discover magazine blog, Carl Zimmer defends the infamously tedious thirty-second chapter of Moby-Dick . That’s the chapter entitled “Cetology” in which Ishmael endeavors to define and classify the various types of whales. Or as he more grandiloquently describes his project: . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Square Today

George Weigel on the crisis of a second Obama administration : President Obama’s re-election and the prospect of a second Obama administration, freed from the constraints imposed by the necessity of running for re-election, have created a crisis for the Catholic Church in the United States. In . . . . Continue Reading »

Tragedy and Modernity

Why are scenarios from Greek tragedy the source of so many motifs in modern thought, specifically in continental philosophy from the eighteenth century onward? Are modern writers simply mining the ancients for imagery, calling for a revival of interest, or doing something more subtle, like . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 11.14.12

The Cult of Art’s Last Stand Matthew Milliner, Millinerd Tikkun Olam Is Trending Sigal Samuel, Daily Beast Hedonist, Disciple, or Bourgeois? Eve Tushnet, The American Conservative Did St. Thomas Aquinas Believe in Ghosts? Br. John Maria Devaney, O.P., Dominicana Bishops and Bloggers Meet in . . . . Continue Reading »

Policing Ideological Turf

Bret Stephens wants the GOP to “get a grip” and “tone down the abortion extremism.” So let’s do a hypothetical exercise. Imagine that the 2012 Republican nominee believed in the rape, incest and life of the mother exceptions to abortion restrictions. Now let us further . . . . Continue Reading »

Disallowing Debate, Dictating Dogma

The Canadian province of Ontario’s education minister appears to believe her government has the authority to decree an end to a debate that has been going on for at least four decades in North America. She is also claiming a right to tell Roman Catholic schools what they can and cannot promote . . . . Continue Reading »