One of my favorite things to experience from great albums is a sense of place. Sometimes it’s over-the-top and therefore a failure (I’m apparently in the minority, but I just can’t get into Exile on Main Street). Sometimes it’s more subtle, but therefore more compelling. Every time I’m in London, The Clash’s London Calling or … Continue reading Three Stops from the City to the Suburbs
All Posts by Date
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
I was tempted not to see this movie, assuming it would be just another hipster-doofus romance in Michael Cera's increasingly arrested film development. And Scott Pilgrim certainly is that. But I'm happy to report that it's also a remarkably inventive and entertaining movie. If you haven't seen the previews, the basic idea is to imagine … Continue reading Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
More Handwringing about the Value of Philosophy
Via Leiter Reports, I checked out a recent NYT feature called 'Room for Debate' (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/8/19/x-phis-new-take-on-old-problems) in which smart people weigh-in on questions of general interest/social importance. In the latest installment, six eminent philosophers (one, I hate to admit, younger than me) offer responses to this question: Do experimental methods offer new horizons for philosophy departments, … Continue reading More Handwringing about the Value of Philosophy
Spanning Time
There's a fun discussion of Vincent Gallo's Buffalo 66 over at the AV Club -- including a clip of the great photo-booth scene. I was struck by the fact that Scott Tobias seemed very concerned that his readers' lack of empathy for Gallo's character would prevent them from being able to appreciate the movie. I … Continue reading Spanning Time
Prison Ethics
I'm currently reading Dostoevsky's prison memoir, The House of the Dead. I'll have more to say about it when I finish (though my progress has slowed substantially since restarting gainful employment for the fall). So for now I'm just asking a question, one posed in the opening section of D's 1861 work. ... it seems … Continue reading Prison Ethics
On the Idea of Public Justification
Given our preceding discussion of Rawls’ intended scope for his theory of justice as fairness, I thought it might be useful to say a bit more about his idea of public justification. First, a bit of groundwork. Rawls writes at the beginning of Political Liberalism, “Justice as fairness starts from within a certain political tradition … Continue reading On the Idea of Public Justification
A Nasty Anecdote
One of the most memorable episodes from Don Quixote, one which in fact I blogged about in this space a few years ago, involves Quixote’s visit to a farm. He and Sancho happen upon a peasant being abused by his overseer. The peasant describes a tale of woe to Quixote; Quixote in exchange offers to … Continue reading A Nasty Anecdote
The Insulted and Injured
This is the first major novel D wrote after returning from exile. I read a rather strange translation – it’s by Ignat Avsey, and he’s titled it Humiliated and Insulted. I’ve gone with Frank’s translation to title this blog. As far as the translation goes, this was the only one I could find in English … Continue reading The Insulted and Injured
On getting into position
OK, I finally got my hands on a copy of Theory of Justice. Sorry for the delay. Our previous discussion of Rawls has been fascinating and has gone in a lot of different directions. I have a better sense now of the rational/reasonable distinction that Rawls is employing, and I now recognize that Rawls doesn't … Continue reading On getting into position
Broome on Rawls: A Puzzle
In Parfit's Reasons and Persons, there is an interesting appendix on "Rawlsian Principles" in which the economist and philosopher John Broome raises an objection to Rawls's Difference Principle (an objection apparently inspired by some opening remarks by Parfit). That principle, recall, states that "social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are...to … Continue reading Broome on Rawls: A Puzzle
