Theory must rule practice, and yet it cannot. Thinking is called to assume and to represent Being, but thinking is always preceded and exceeded by Being. This very excess of Being with respect to thinking – transcendence —- reason necessarily configures along two axes of significance or . . . . Continue Reading »
Now, I really, really, really hadn’t intended to post anything on Palin. I have nothing to add that hasn’t already been said. And most of what has been said would have been better unsaid: the delight in speculation without the slightest basis in evidence is among the worst tendencies of . . . . Continue Reading »
As some of our readers have noticed, Locke is a big subject around here. We don’t share a single interpretation of his philosophy (you should listen to Ivan), or of his influence on the American regime. But we agree that the positions expressed above all in the 2nd Treatise of Government . . . . Continue Reading »
So this started as a comment on Peter’s great post below but took on a life of its own. Peter humorously accuses Deneen and his fellow travelers of a kind of insincerity since they seem to take great enjoyment in the many advantages afforded us by the modernity they often disdain. I . . . . Continue Reading »
1. A couple of readers suggested that I drop the pointy headed Strauss stuff and comment on the trendy localism posts of the Porchers, the (First) Thingers, and all that. My real experience is that most of them were kind of boring—no offense. 2. It goes without saying that I’m against . . . . Continue Reading »
Inspired by Patrick Deenan’s outstanding essay about sociologist and cultural philosopher Robert Nisbet, I’d like to define a term that appears as a theme in his work and was popularized by Russell Kirk: the moral imagination. It can be defined as a uniquely human ability to conceive of . . . . Continue Reading »
This question, I learned from our Porcher friends, is the stock “traditionalist” or “paleo” shot against Leo Strauss. It’s hard to know what it means, exactly, or why they think it’s at least a symptom of evildoing. But indulge me in some relatively pro-Strauss . . . . Continue Reading »
The latest issue of Society is out and I have a review essay in it of Barry Bercier’s provocative The Skies of Babylon: Diversity, Nihilism, and the American University. Below is a brief excerpt of my contribution to the issue: At the very end of The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom . . . . Continue Reading »
“All we ask is that decisions be based upon reason.” The speaker was a political scientist, addressing other political scientists. The subject was the role of the American judicial branch. But the frustrated assertion of the authority of simple reason is a familiar one in contemporary . . . . Continue Reading »
Okay, so there’s blood on the floor. The bottles have been smashed, the tables flipped over. But now perhaps we should heed Professor Wilson’s suggestion and bring some order to this brawl. Not Marquess of Queensberry rules: we’ll keep it bare-knuckle. Yet it might worth selecting . . . . Continue Reading »
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