Rousseau, Modernity, Music

by Peter J. Leithart

On Rousseau's relevance to our world. Continue Reading »

23 Nov 2015

The Voracious Nought

by Peter Lawler

I just got back from giving a lecture at a small liberal-arts college. The tenured professors were complaining. (That, after all, is allegedly what tenure gives professors the unlimited right to do). Their main complaint: Students are no longer doing the reading for “core texts” or . . . . Continue Reading »

8 Apr 2014

Human Condition v. Human Nature: My Response to Chantal Delsol

by Carl Scott

In the thread below, Chantal Delsol graciously responded to my observation that her more recent book had dropped the occasional references to human nature used in earlier books. While still utilizing the term “natural” to reference to certain biological determinations, she affirmed that . . . . Continue Reading »

2 Feb 2012

Carl’s Rock Songbook #25: Simon and Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence”

by Carl Scott

Sounds of Silence, as few other songs can, gives one a genuine scare regarding modern life. It is like pages out of Spengler, or Rousseau, condensed to a poetic moment. How does it do this? I’m sure much could be explained by the ominous melody, and the way the cherubic voices are contrasted . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Oct 2011

As I lay dying

by Will Wilson

Chris Dierkes at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen has a thoughtful post up contesting Sir Edward Downes’ son’s description of his parents’ decision to undergo voluntary euthanization as “a very civilized act”. This passage was perhaps the most interesting: All I’m . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Jul 2009

What Face Transplants Tell Us About Our Souls

by Austin Stone

"Socially crippled" — strangely, this phrase appears to be kosher while regular-old-crippled is out ("differently abled, thank you"). Either way, at Slate, William Saletan is raising a ruckus over the notion that "appearance alone can be grounds for a potentially . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Dec 2008

Moral Kitsch, Nihilist Disgust, and the Strange Truth About our Souls

by Austin Stone

A maximalist, Mr. Luhrmann doesn’t simply want to rouse your laughter and tears: he wants to rouse you out of a sensory-overloaded stupor with jolts of passion and fabulous visions. That may make him sound a wee bit Brechtian, but he’s really just an old-fashioned movie man, the kind . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Nov 2008

Modernity and Restlessness

by Austin Stone

One of the hallmarks of the modern conception of man is a kind of anxious inquietude — we struggle to ovecome the diremption and alienation that haunts our consciousness. In the Lockean account,  our restlessness is a function of our distance from nature — our capacity for . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Nov 2008

Postmodern Conservatism and Economics

by Austin Stone

What is a Postmodern Conservative view of economics? While  a true postmodern conservatism is cognizant of the power of markets and the great advantages of the prosperity it generates (and the reliable incompetence of government in providing regulatory supervision), it is also aware of . . . . Continue Reading »

2 Oct 2008