Monthly Archives: September 2008

Re: Manners and Silence

This posting in the Telegraph on our lack of silence raises several deep questions, including ones about manners, but doesn’t do so in a condescending way: Perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into The Sun and its night at the opera. Applauding after each aria may not be the done thing, but it is not …

September 16, 2008 – 2:32 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged , | Comments (5)

Links, 9/15/2008

Ario’s meditation on Dessau wastes no words – the difference between a carrot and a pumpkin has perhaps never mattered so much. The images Jennifer shares are always lovely, whether conveyed through pictures or words. A regular reader of this blog whom I talk to via e-mail has had problems recently, and evacuating because of …

September 15, 2008 – 5:09 pm | By ashok | Posted in links | Comments (1)

Bookstore

There’s a new Barnes and Noble open near me. I’ve been walking there nearly every day to read, although I carry my own books. Always the dissertation text and one other book – the recent one has been Heidegger’s “Introduction to Metaphysics,” for obvious reasons. It’s comfortable there: well-lighted, nice furniture, fitting temperature. But the …

September 13, 2008 – 11:02 am | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged , , | Comments (6)

It is possible to go over your own head…

…and I did that in the Heidegger/Dickinson post. Still reading to make sure that even if I misrepresent an issue or two, nothing is so crucially wrong it can’t be remedied. I really should have waited 20 years or so and made sure I read a lot more Aristotle before posting on this. Oh well. …

September 12, 2008 – 2:23 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged | Comments (3)

Heideggerian Considerations on a Poem of Dickinson’s: How do Nature and Reason Relate?

part 1 | part 2 “Love – is anterior to Life…” (917) Emily Dickinson Love – is anterior to Life – Posterior – to Death – Initial of Creation, and The Exponent of Earth – 1. When commenting on Dickinson’s “Love – is anterior to Life…” some time ago, I said the following: Human reason …

September 10, 2008 – 11:20 am | By ashok | Posted in dickinson, philosophy | Tagged | Comments (0)

Links, 9/08/2008

Mostly excellent article in the NYTimes arguing that the Taliban conquered Pakistan when forced from Afghanistan, which is why it is so effective in Afghanistan now. Only problem with the article is the Bush-bashing: Bush trusted people in Pakistan who couldn’t be trusted, but our author has met some in Pakistan who can be trusted …

September 8, 2008 – 7:15 am | By ashok | Posted in links | Comments (1)

Gray, Humid Days

I like gray skies, but not when humidity hangs in the air. Moist air doesn’t give space – this a gray day gives through its light. Objects stand distinct when the sun doesn’t use them only to reflect its brilliance. The humidity makes me wonder about how best to love. One doesn’t want to smother, …

September 7, 2008 – 4:57 am | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged | Comments (1)

Creating Statesmen, Part 2: Democracy, Oligarchy and Xenophon’s Depiction of Charmides

for David Sullivan and Joe Connole, with many thanks Background: The Pelopennesian War, 431-404 BC, pit the Athenian democracy against the Spartan republic. Now Athens had not always been a democracy; once it was a kingship, and there were traces of noble lineage among the Athenians. One of the people of such descent was Plato …

September 5, 2008 – 10:12 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics, xenophon | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Creating Statesmen, Part 1: Aristotlean Natural Right

All material quoted below is from Leo Strauss’ Natural Right and History, “Classic Natural Right,” pp. 156-164 1. We begin by distinguishing between nature (Gk. physis) and convention (Gk. nomos). Convention we are all familiar with – men make words and laws; proper practice establishes something as a convention. Money is the ultimate extension of …

September 3, 2008 – 9:41 am | By ashok | Posted in aristotle, philosophy, politics | Tagged | Comments (3)

9/11/2001

The events are real enough. I’m still debating what role 9/11 played in my thought and actions. I had class at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ early that morning. My dorm two years before had a clear view of the New York skyline; I used to get up in the morning sophomore year and the …

September 2, 2008 – 7:05 am | By ashok | Posted in academia | Tagged , | Comments (6)