Tag Archives: books

Temptation.

I want to post on the election, and I have no idea why. Yesterday I spent a good bit of time thinking about how all the entries written about the election are now a waste, consigned to the dustheap. No one – not even me – cares what I thought about Joe Biden some weeks …

November 4, 2008 – 9:26 pm | By ashok | Posted in media, personal, politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Comment on Neal Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age:” Hackworth, Authorship and Philosophy

Subject to change when I reread the book. IT IS POSSIBLE to conceive of knowledge as reflecting an eternal order, a way things should best be done. Knowledge in this case would be linked to Being, whose permanence would be seen in moral laws, aesthetic standards, and intellectual discipline. Confucian and Victorian mores are of …

October 17, 2008 – 1:50 am | By ashok | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)

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)

On Reading Slowly

Just a thought, nothing more: I wonder if all the intellectual virtues can be had merely through reading carefully. Usually we encourage students to get books done so we can start discussing the whole. But that quite obviously serves the end of rereading, of getting more out of the book the second time. Rereading is …

June 23, 2008 – 4:15 pm | By ashok | Posted in education | Tagged , | Comments (0)

See Paul’s Book…

…Paul Drozdowski, illustrator and iconographer, has illustrations from his latest book available here. Please take a look if you get a chance, and the artist loves compliments even if they’re dropped in the comments section below.Technorati Tags: books, art, orthodoxy Powered by ScribeFire.

January 10, 2008 – 11:15 pm | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

How Does One Determine Whether Old Books About Politics Are Applicable Today?

Politics seems to be too closely related to circumstance for any political decision to be grounded in something timeless. A commitment to a principle such as “our roads should be safe” has obvious practical overtones. When other decisions such as alliances with dictators are made, the practical overtones are plain and disturbing, but even a …

September 20, 2007 – 5:20 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Can We Hold People Accountable For Not Having the Same Tastes We Have?

J’accuse “Harry Potter” I should make it clear that I haven’t read any of Harry Potter. But I have friends whose tastes I trust who absolutely love the series. And the writer of the article above does himself no favors in my mind when he says he would have spent less time with the classics …

July 19, 2007 – 1:54 am | By ashok | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (3)

Five Questions for Henry Midgley of Westminster Wisdom

Henry Midgley of Westminster Wisdom fame was kind enough to answer a few questions recently about himself and his blog that would only be asked by incredibly nosy people like myself. I hope you get the same enjoyment I do out of hearing people talk about what they love and hope for: thanks so much …

July 2, 2007 – 1:09 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, education | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

On Literary Blogs

Hmm. I suppose I should say that I’ve never gotten into literary blogs. Some involve reading groups, many discuss gossipy things about authors and the publishing industry, and all review books and god they’re all snobby. And being snobby isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but this is the kind of “snobby” where they will accuse …

June 13, 2007 – 10:06 am | By ashok | Posted in blogging, media | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Over at Josh’s Blog, A Discussion About Evelyn Waugh’s "Decline and Fall"

“Decline and Fall” is my second favorite book and I must have read it 9284379279347827 times by now. I highly encourage you to contribute to the discussion at Josh’s blog if you’ve read it, or read it and then start contributing.I should say that putting the book in the genre of “satire” tends to marginalize …

June 3, 2007 – 10:13 pm | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (1)