From the preface to a conversation with Richard Rorty (A pragmatist philosopher who argues basically that “Truth” is just the description of the world which most people agree on as the most useful at the moment, and who also is a big fan of liberty, equality and fraternity as the best moral guides we have): [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Politics’
Finding the best path by ceasing to look
The “second summer of love” in England has had a profound impact on my life. The rave/dance scene that grew out of it bequeathed the world most of the music I found fascinating for about a decade from 1997 to, say, 2006-ish. Certainly much about me morphed and changed over that period, but electronic and [...]
A Collection of Thoughts on Adulthood, Science, and Philosophy
11 Dec 2009 at 15:43
by Adam
in Anthropology
tags: adulthood, anthropology, culture, education, Philosophy, Politics, schema, wine
TL;DR version: “Truth” is beyond the ken of human experience; we just tell stories and do the best we can. To me, some definition of adulthood should include awareness of life as consisting largely of a number of scripts, and a realization that we can write our own. Connoisseurship of wine is an example: we [...]
What is Progressive?
I read the linked-to story about white men not being very progressive over the weekend, but leave it to Melissa at Shakesville to articulate one of those back-of-the-head thoughts a straight white male like me had when I saw it: I’ll be a pedant, in my usual way, and note there are, in fact, not [...]
I Must Read This Book
28 Oct 2009 at 15:26
by Adam
in Misc.
tags: activism, book, culture, left, liberal, Philosophy, Politics, Society
Philosopher Richard Rorty believes that there is hope for America, but that today’s Left is not meeting the challenge. He contrasts the cultural, academic Left’s focus on our heritage of shame (which, he admits, has to the extent that it makes hatred intolerable had the positive effect of making America a more civil society) with [...]
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