I flew into Toronto recently on a smallish regional plane from Chicago. It was a wild landing, the plane flopping this way and that in a strong wind. At times, we seemed certain to land wing-first, not the kind of landing one dreams of. Even after we landed, we could feel the wind pushing the plane . . . . Continue Reading »
In a decades-old article, Robert Solomon criticizes the “liberal American sexual mythology” found in the work of Tom Nagel: “His analysis is cautious and competent, but absolutely sexless. His Romeo and Juliet exemplify at most a romanticized version of the initial phases of . . . . Continue Reading »
In his treatise on the Passions of the Soul , Descartes gave a fairly traditional description of gratitude ( reconnaissance ) and ingratitude. Gratitude is “a sort of love, excited in us by some action of him to whom we offer it, and whereby we believe he has done us some good, or at least . . . . Continue Reading »
Philosophy cannot be philosophy without theology. Philosophy has to exceed itself to be itself. Gratitude is the lever for philosophy’s fulfilling transcendence of itself. Here’s a sketch of the argument: Philosophy, let us say, is the analysis of human existence as such. But we . . . . Continue Reading »
“They draw near with their mouths, and honor Me with their lips, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their fear for me is commandment of rulers” (Isaiah 29:13; cf. Matthew 15:8). This well-known prophetic condemnation of hypocrisy implies a neat theory of language. First, it . . . . Continue Reading »
Peter Gordon has an excellent discussion of Jurgen Habermas’s alleged “turn to religion” in the latest issue of TNR . Gordon wants to show that Habermas has long shown interest in religion, and that his recent obsession with it is not evidence that he has abandoned his commitment . . . . Continue Reading »
Nietzsche in Beyond Good and Evil : “Philosophers . . . have wanted to furnish the rational ground of morality - and every philosopher hitherto has believed he has furnished this rational ground; morality itse,f however, was taken as a ‘given.’ . . . it is precisely because they . . . . Continue Reading »
Ramachandra notes a couple of limitations in recent post-colonial discussion. One is the blindness to the influence of Christianity. Christianity is “naively identified with Europe and the United states,” and thus missionaries, their achievements, and their disciples, are considered . . . . Continue Reading »
Aristotle says his philosophical opponents “destroy necessity.” So long as they are looking at the creation, his opponents are right: Nature is wholly contingent, entirely unnecessary, like art. Aristotle searches for, and thinks he finds, necessity in creation. His philosophy is a . . . . Continue Reading »
In the Metaphysics , Aristotle says that the metaphysical and epistemological errors of previous philosophers can be traced to their focus on the sensible world: “because they saw that that all this world of nature is in movement and that about that which changes no true statement can be . . . . Continue Reading »
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