Monthly Archives: August 2006

News

I will be back home in Decem­ber it looks like. This is a very good thing. All my course­work should be com­plete by then, and all that will remain are exams — lan­guage and com­pre­hen­sives, and, of course, the dis­ser­ta­tion. Things are good, but busy. The courses I have this semes­ter are going to be …

August 26, 2006 – 10:53 pm | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Note on “Perpetual Peace”

What makes Kant’s short essay remark­able is the light it sheds on Rousseau’s “gen­eral will.” For Kant, rea­son is the gen­eral will — hence, Rousseau’s talk of a leg­is­la­tor begins to make more sense. There can be one per­son who under­stands what is best for the many; the trick is to bring the many to that …

August 22, 2006 – 4:35 pm | By ashok | Posted in kant, philosophy | Comments (2)

Does Power Corrupt?

“That kings should be philoso­phers, or philoso­phers kings is nei­ther to be expected nor to be desired, for the pos­ses­sion of power inevitably cor­rupts reason’s free judge­ment.” — Kant, Per­pet­ual Peace Kant is an amaz­ing thinker, but this quote is nowhere near sub­tle enough to get at the truth. The truth is that some­one must always …

August 17, 2006 – 10:51 am | By ashok | Posted in kant, philosophy | Comments (2)

On Frost’s “Mowing:” Death, Love and Dante

Mow­ing Robert Frost There was never a sound beside the wood but one, And that was my long scythe whis­per­ing to the ground. What was it it whis­pered? I know not well myself; Per­haps it was some­thing about the heat of the sun, Some­thing per­haps, about the lack of sound– And that was why it …

August 14, 2006 – 6:08 pm | By ashok | Posted in frost, poetry | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Learning (a poem)

for Nancy — happy 21st birth­day in pennsaukenfire­men always com­forta suited gen­tle­manblankly star­ing once there wereno stares. king george’s men­marched in redordered, pur­posedto the bat­tlebleed­ing. the heart movesas it will.thisall gentlemen know.

August 11, 2006 – 12:01 pm | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Comments (4)